I am humbled by the Ka Doroy Broadcaster of the Year Award conferred upon me by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) during 29th KBP Golden Dove Awards Night on September 30, 2026 at Aliw Theater, Pasay City.
The award is named after Teodoro “Ka Doroy” Valencia, a legendary dedicated broadcaster, journalist, and civic leader. It is the highest individual award for a broadcaster given by the national office of the KBP.
Ka Doroy represented the values that every broadcaster and journalist must continue to uphold such as hard work, credibility, courage, professional ethics in broadcasting, and service to the public.
Among the previous awardees were veteran broadcasters and journalists Tina Monzon-Palma, Ricardo “Dong” Puno, Solita Monsod, Noli de Castro, Ted Failon, Mel Tiangco, Luchi Cruz-Valdez, Rey Langit, Joe Taruc, Angelo Palmones, Jessica Soho, and many others. I noticed that most of the awardees came from Metro Manila.
That is why I am particularly humbled that even though I came from the province, I received such an award. I thank KBP for expanding their recognition not only to broadcasters in Metro Manila but also to those outside Luzon, as in my case.
But I submit that this honor is not about me. It is about the ideals of the broadcasting and media industry I serve, the listeners who continue to trust radio station DYHP RMN Cebu, and the men and women behind it.
Beyond commenting on the burning issues of the day and seeing to it that the station’s news reporting meets the standard of objectivity, I decided long ago to utilize the power of the microphone to help those in need during disasters, such as earthquakes and typhoons. And on many occasions, the station has raised a respectable amount of money from our loyal listeners from all over the world, some of whom chose to remain anonymous. To them, I am eternally thankful.
As I said in part of my acceptance speech: “I would like to emphasize the public service aspect of broadcasting. I am telling you now why I am quite emotional in receiving this award because exactly, one year ago today, at this very time, a 6.9 earthquake struck the Northern part of Cebu. It killed 79 people on the spot, injured thousands, and caused billions of damage to infrastructure. I know that our fellow broadcasters who are here maybe can still recall because that earthquake captured nationwide attention and made headlines across the country.
“Amidst that incident, we used our microphone, not simply to report what was happening, but we also used our microphone to help the victims. When I launched our relief operations, modesty aside in my program in DYH RMN Cebu, we gathered ?4.3 million in cash donations on top of the in-kind donations that we received at the station.
“So, we were among the first to respond to the needs of the victims. We were able to give cash assistance to the families of those who died, and we distributed relief goods to those who survived.
“And then just one month after that tragic earthquake, another devastating calamity struck Cebu, and that was the Super Typhoon Tino, which cause flooding, massive flooding, killing 158 people, injuring thousands, and causing damage, millions of damage to infrastructure.
“Again, we used our microphone to move people, and modesty aside, despite the fact that it’s just a period of one month, a short period of time from one to another, we were able to gather ?3.8 million in cash donations on top of the in-kind donations that we gathered.
“With that experience, I realized that we broadcasters, we are instruments of public service and that the microphone, our microphone, is very powerful. That’s why we have to use it responsibly in such a way that we can inform, educate, and whenever possible help others.”
I accepted the award with humility, gratitude and renewed commitment to public service through the media.
To God be the glory!