Bantay Radyo to hook up, resume broadcast

AVID Bantay Radyo listeners may soon hear their local AM station in the airwaves again but on another frequency.

Provincial Board (PB) Member Grecilda Sanchez, PAFI Foundation president, said two weeks of being off the air was “just too long.”

Sancehz said they will hook up to other radio stations in the province using a telephone line and the Internet.

“We will be heard in the third district—in Toledo City and Balamban, among others,” she said.

The network of AM radio stations, managed by PAFI Foundation, went off air after their transmission sites were disabled two weeks ago by the confiscation of “exciters” that control radio frequencies.

Frequency
Sanchez  said the hookup with other stations was only a temporary set-up.

She said they are waiting for the devices which were  taken by representatives of Sarraga Integrated and Management (SIAM) Broadcasting Corp.which owns the radio franchise.

While a case is still being heard in court, Sanchez who has sued SIAM for not renewing the management contract with PAFI Foundation, said she is optimistic  they will get the parts back and eventually go on air using its own frequency.

The main broadcast comes from dyDD 1260 kHz studio presently located along Escario Street in Cebu City. The  station also airs over dyHH 864 kHz in Bogo City, and dyZZ 1458 kHz in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.

Off the air
Since Monday, administrative staff have started moving their things from their office in the Dacay building to a new spot in the Uy Fang building along Sanciangko Street.

Busay Barangay Councilman Ellodoro “Yody” Sanchez, vice president for operations, said their rental contract  expires on Aug. 17.

The station’s marketing, sales,  administrative office and booth will be moved but the transmitter on top of the building will stay.

PAFI rented a 100-sq. m. office space in the building for almost 15 years, Sanchez said.

He said they used the lull in operations  as an opportunity to move their office to a bigger space.

“It’s closer to the office of PAFI so it’s easier for (Gigi) to monitor the operations,” he told Cebu Daily News.

Yody  said they hope to serve their listeners better and improve their broadcast signals with the move.

Both Gig and  and  Yody Sanchez denied that they were moving because  PAFI was  unable to pay the rent.

“For the past 14 years, we’ve never been indebted to Dacay. There may be some delays in payment, but that is just part of business,” Sanchez told reporters.