The Duque family owns and operates the multi-located Lyceum-Northwestern University (LNU) in Pangasinan. This info was shared by our amiable hostess, academic affairs director Norma Rutab, as she uncovered a lunch spread of milkfish, vegetables and Korean beef. We were in disbelief when we learned the institution was home to a population of 10,000. It dawned upon us what an important role the institution plays in this hubbub-charged city.

When the crisply dressed choir of the LNU filed onstage, the Anak TV team did not expect a surprise. Jaded after having been to many similar events nationwide, listening to a vast number of performing locals rendering an equal variety of renditions of the anthem, the LNU choir was a delightful surprise. They were deadringers for the renowned Madrigals.

The symposium on TV literacy was off to a good start, never mind that the temperature inside the cavernous gym was reaching uncomfortable levels. It was to be Anak TV’s first engagement in Dagupan, the “Bangus Capital,’’ and all that mattered was to spread the gospel of responsible TV in this part of the country.

It was as though the searing heat outside conspired to make the venue even muggier. The Dagupan crowd numbered three hundred by the time the opening formalities concluded. It was gratifying to see the local DepEd contingent, along with a mixture of parents, students and faculty, braving the swelter and gamely fanning themselves, straining to listen. Rutab was herself pleased at the turn out.

EYE OPENER

To many, like Mass Communication senior Mary Ann Tedoco, the session was an eye opener. She admits to being a TV addict but after listening to findings of studies made relative to TV viewing, she began fearing for her two-year old nephew who, she says, watches cartoons incessantly.

Different from many young TV fanatics, Tedoco is not gaining weight as a consequence of too much TV. In fact, she hardly eats on time on account of television. After the afternoon soiree with Anak TV, Tedoco became resolute about minding her nephew’s as well as her own TV consumption. She only wishes that as TV users like her adopt prudence, the networks will also practise serious self-regulation as they pursue financial gain.

The dapper director of Humanities, Romeo Reloza, could not help but quote the famous passage from the Spiderman movie. Indeed, broadcasters who wield enormous power by virtue of their strategic position in society should constantly be reminded that over and above authority,
responsibility is expected of them.

Reloza, a Communications graduate of St. Louis University, found himself a convert to volunteerism when he began moving the massive podium, transfixing the huge fans, lifting chairs and helping out in the raffle.

After the TV literacy symposium, he felt more recharged in his media work, realizing that part of the burden of responsibility lay on his shoulders. “Responsibility should be shared equally by media producer and consumer,” he explains.

When the crowd had viewed the video messages from Mikee Cojuangco, Piolo Pascual, Mike Enriquez, Julius Babao, Love Añover and many others, three break-out groups were formed. They were tasked to evaluate the program entries and determine which ones stood a chance to sport the seal of child sensitivity.

When the final task was done and darkness was about to set in, the crowd burst out in shrieks when giveaways from Anak TV’s faithful partners were raffled off. Anak TV bags and travel certificates to any Negros Navigation destination excited the Dagupeños.

In conclusion, student affairs dean Eugene Reyes rose to thank the team for bringing the timely advocacy to their backyard. He offered a more lasting partnership with Anak TV, suggesting that LNU and its many campuses be used as a Pangasinan base. The offer was not only in keeping with the school’s tradition of social responsibility but in realization of the oft-repeated motto that indeed, it takes the entire village to raise the child.