In a letter addressed to the Board of Directors of the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC-13), Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea relayed that President Duterte had approved the nomination of Hexilon Alvarez, son of former Senator Heherson Alvarez and PETA founder and DZRH Radyo Balintataw host-producer Cecile Guidote Alvarez, as the network’s new President and CEO.
Before joining IBC-13, Alvarez served as President and CEO of Preferred and Proven Therapies, Inc., a firm in collaboration with ActRx Foundation, an international humanitarian and medical research group which sought to provide a free, national antidengue program in the Philippines.
Alvarez is also no stranger to media and its influence within society, who started his career as a segment host on RPN-9’s “Crossfire on Line”. “TV used to be one of the most detrimental adversaries that prevented the youth from learning – the ‘idiot box’ was one thing that kept kids away from opening books and studying. Now it will be their most trusted ally to ensure that not a single Filipino will be left behind,” says Alvarez.
By law, government-owned networks must have education at the forefront of their programming. Last October 5, 2020, concurrent with the beginning of classes for public schools in the Philippines, IBC-13 formally launched the regular broadcasting of educational TV programs by the Department of Education’s DepEdTV. For Alvarez, this is only the start. If disseminated properly, DepEdTV paired with take-home learning modules has the potential to make the network a more effective partner in educating the Filipino youth. Even in this age of social media, television and radio remain to be the more accessible media platforms for many Filipino families. Alvarez’s vision for IBC 13 is making educational materials more accessible – and exciting!– to more of the Filipino youth, especially in these times of uncertainty.
Despite it being the less accessible platform, Alvarez (as a firm advocate for the social media’s capacity to serve the public) believes an aggressive social media campaign definitely still has its part to play in attaining these goals.
With such effective strategies towards a more relevant, interactive, fun DepEdTV on IBC 13, Alvarez is certain big corporations would be enticed to further invest in the programs. “Now, who wouldn’t want to invest in educating our youth in an effective manner? It’s simple, succinct, and it makes sense. Synergism is key. That’s how we will do this.” IBC-13 and DepEdTV will continue to rise up to challenges of adapting and addressing the issues of education during the pandemic.
Malacañang’s appointment on Alvarez, first as a board of director in 2020 then later on as President and CEO, came in last July 6th. Alvarez aims to focus on IBC-13 taking on a more proactive role in maximizing the potential of a blended learning set-up for the Filipino youth.
