In my career as a writer/ media person, I have worked at two ABS-CBN subsidiaries: Star Cinema and ABS-CBN Publishing. Since I am a freelance writer, I have been tapped in the past to do short-term projects by the broadcast network's other departments/subsidiaries such as marketing, PR, radio, sports, and SKYcable.
Through the years I have personally witnessed and experienced the Kapamilya culture.
Because of my numerous interactions with the company and its people, I believe I can describe what it's like to be part of the Philippines' biggest media company.
I started at ABS-CBN's Star Cinema right after college, a young graduate who was gung-ho on working in the movies. Back then, Star Cinema was a new film production outfit set to make a mark in the industry dominated by big studios.
The entire ABS-CBN TV production department was located on one floor, which also housed the private offices of the TV executives. ABS-CBN Talent Center was tiny 16-square meter space that had one desk and a sofa. Star Cinema's own office, located beside the mess hall, was a small room that could fit only four desks. The network had reopened seven years earlier and the exuberant, raring-to-go spirit was very palpable among the people who were there.
Perhaps one of the benefits of being in a small, growing organization was the accessibility to the company's bosses. A film production assistant (P.A.) like me could run into Ms. Charo Santos-Concio, then head of TV Production and Star Cinema's Executive Producer, in the corridor and ask her pointblank, "Will you still get me for the next movie?" She eventually did. I stayed as production assistant for two more films and as promotions coordinator for 20 more films.
In my four-year tenure at Star Cinema, I developed my skills in copywriting and promotions work, which laid the foundation for the career I now enjoy as an independent publicist. ABS-CBN's sister company also helped put food on my family's table. Not just through the salary that I took home every two weeks, but through the rice subsidies (one sack of rice) that I received every month.
In 2003, I found myself back at ABS-CBN; this time at its Publishing division. I was lucky to be offered to edit API's (ABS-CBN Publishing Inc.'s) first and only soap opera digest called Teleserye Mag, and then be part of the editorial team of API's lifestyle celebrity glossy, StarStudio Magazine.
The network had grown magnificently - as epitomized by the impressive 15-story Eugenio Lopez, Jr. (ELJ) Building. Still, access to our bosses, particularly Ma'am Charo (who was then head of ABS-CBN Entertainment) and Ms. Cory Vidanes (who was then head of TV Production), was simply a phone call away. CSC (Ma'am Charo's initials) and CVV (Tita Cory's initials) always had time for our team; they never turned down our interview requests.
One of my favorite anecdotes about Tita Cory I like telling is how she continued to eat in ABS-CBN's main building cafeteria even when she was already a network executive. To me, Tita Cory's action signified that she, a former production assistant, was one with the rank-and-file.
The cafeteria in the main building was the venue for monthly forums with then ABS-CBN President and Chairman Mr. Eugenio Lopez III a.k.a. EL III a.k.a. Sir Gabby. Called the "Kapihan with the Chairman," employees and talents were welcome to attend the gathering and air their concerns. Those who had to stay in their respective offices due to work could watch the forum on their computers and send messages since it was aired through the office intranet.
I have vague recollections of what transpired during these Kapihans. We were always busy at the magazine. But I do remember sending a comment questioning why there were separate lanes at the cafeteria for on-retainer talents and regular employees. Talents like myself, I said, should not be "second-class citizens" in the same company.
I did not think what I said would make much of a difference. A few days later, our editorial assistant, Manila, reported that the cafeteria lanes had been abolished and talents could line up anywhere we wished. "It's because of the comment you made," she told me.
I cannot categorically claim credit for that. But what I can say with absolute certainty is that ABS-CBN's leaders -- the executives--do listen to the people under them.
Around 2008, I resigned from the magazine because there was going to be a reorganization. The new editor-in-chief was bringing his own team. In the process, I was going to be demoted from associate editor to staff writer. My pride was hurt and I emailed my sentiments to one of my bosses.
To my surprise, she called me on my cellphone and said that the division's head was going to hear me out. I got my audience with the division's head who listened sympathetically to me. I said I didn't want my old job back. I just wanted someone to know what I went through.
That unfortunate incident is now water under the bridge. Show me a company or organization that does not have politics, intrigue and deficiencies, and I will show you a company that does not exist. Like my late mom had told me — every family has its own dysfunction. Businesses are no different.
But every family has its blessing or grace.
At ABS-CBN, this grace comes in the form of the Lopez Achievement Awards (LAA), an annual competition among the Lopez Group of Companies to which the media company belongs to. LAA is like the holy grail that Lopez companies aspire for. More than the trophies and the jackets that team members of the winning companies get as prizes, it's the honor that brings greater pride.
For some years, I have helped co-write LAA nomination write-ups for SKYcable, which is a company under ABS-CBN.
Separate teams would tell me their success stories and best projects and how hard they worked to meet their objectives to bring awe and delight to their customers. Listening to their stories always got me inspired. Anyone who's ever felt disillusioned by big business or lacked a sense of purpose at work will find renewed hope and direction. To the employees of SKY, it is hardly about the bottom line. Instead, it is about being of service. My SKY-subscriber friends who've been assisted by my contacts at SKY can attest that service is a commitment that the cable/internet company takes very seriously.
Without a doubt, ABS-CBN has made a big impact on my professional life and personal life.
Humility. Openness. Service. These are the legacies of my days as a Kapamilya.
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