By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
“Winning battles for us is not all about being on top of a survey or conquering other media stations. Winning battles for us is on how we touch the lives of so many people, on how we contribute something to them.”
This is what Rey Espeja Umalay, station manager of Radyo Bandera Iloilo 88.7 News-FM, has to say as the radio station celebrated its second year anniversary on July 5.
Since its inception, Umalay shared that in two years of being the first news FM radio station in Iloilo, the core struggle is introducing their radio station and how they will be recognized by the people of Iloilo.
But with the station’s journey of perseverance in providing service and assistance to the masses, Radyo Bandera Iloilo boasts more than 327,000 followers on their Facebook page, positioning itself as the leading FM radio station on Facebook in Iloilo.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ramel Uy, chief executive officer and president of Radyo Bandera Sweet FM-Philippines Network, stressed that their role goes beyond being a typical radio station.
“We, the Radio Bandera Philippines, is not just a radio station. We are a network whose main purpose is to extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in whatever possible way we can. Indi lang nga naga dul-ong kami sang impormasyon, balita, kalingawan, but gadul-ong man kami sang serbisyo publiko,” he said.
Through their corporate social responsibility initiative, “Serbisyong Bandera Para sa Masa Wow May Puso!”, Radyo Bandera Iloilo has been providing help and assistance to communities affected by various challenges or crises.
Ahead of its second anniversary celebration, the radio station organized “Ride for Life,” a charity ride for a cause that gathered around 300 riders. Proceeds of the event will go to 10 “poorest of the poor families” in Iloilo City.
Based on their mapping, Umalay said they already reached 75% coverage in the Iloilo province and they are actively planning to establish more radio stations, particularly in the fifth district area.
“We are planning to saturate the province of Iloilo… More radio stations are [being planned] to be launched this year. Hopefully, we can achieve a hundred percent saturation all over the province of Iloilo, including Iloilo City,” he said.
Radyo Bandera Iloilo currently has four affiliate stations across the province. These stations are situated in Calinog, Leganes, Miagao, and Passi City.
