Renewed hope, a lasting impact! GMAKF turns over 120 permanent concrete housing to Yolanda survivors in Tacloban!

GMAKF’s Operation Bayanihan quickly responded to the needs of those affected by typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

The Kapuso Village Tacloban is the first permanent housing project in the area for survivors of typhoon Yolanda.

It was an emotional turnover ceremony as 120 concrete houses were turned over to the beneficiaries of the Kapuso Village in Tacloban.

City Councilor Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez representing the City Government of Tacloban receives the ceremonial key to the Kapuso Village Tacloban from GMAKF EVP and COO Mel C. Tiangco.

Kapuso stars Bianca Umali, Miguel Tanfelix, Kris Bernal, Barbie Forteza, Marian Rivera, Dingdong Dantes and Julie Anne San Jose joined GMAKF EVP and COO Mel C. Tiangco in giving the residents an early Christmas gift.

A year after Yolanda hit the Philippines, the survivors’ stories of resilience continue as they rebuild from the ruins of their storm-ravaged homes.

 

Since the typhoon’s landfall in 2013, GMA Kapuso Foundation (GMAKF) – with its long-standing commitment to Serbisyong Totoo – has been a steadfast advocate in turning these stories of loss into stories of hope through its quick response in times of need and its extensive disaster relief programs.

 

On the anniversary of Yolanda, GMAKF officially turned over 120 permanent concrete houses of Phase II and III of its Kapuso Village in Tacloban City to select families displaced by the super typhoon.

 

GMAKF is the first NGO to turn over permanent concrete housing to Yolanda survivors in Tacloban City.

 

A total of 172 houses were turned over since July 2014. An additional 231 houses will be ready for occupancy in the coming months, fulfilling in part the Foundations’ 403-unit concrete housing project in the area.

 

“For the Yolanda survivors, a year definitely will not suffice to alleviate the pain from the loss of family members and ruined homes. However, our commitment in rebuilding lives through this long term project will help regain the hope of many displaced residents,” shares GMAKF EVP and COO Mel C. Tiangco.

 

The beneficiaries were emotional during the turnover as they recalled the height of the storm and what they went through. Even so, they were grateful for the outpouring of assistance they received from GMAKF and its partners.

 

Through the generosity of numerous citizens all over the world, the project was able to come to fruition. Furthermore, GMA Network and its roster of stars showed the true meaning of the Kapuso spirit by participating in GMAKF’s Yolanda rehabilitation efforts.

 

Just this month, GMA launched its 2014 “Share the Love” Christmas campaign reminding its viewers that rebuilding lives entails a collaborative effort from generous hearts and passionate spirits.

 

GMA unveiled the campaign with an event plug featuring Mel Tiangco joined by Kapuso stars as they shared an early Christmas with the residents of the Kapuso Village in Tacloban.

 

The plug garnered positive reviews on Facebook with users commenting on the wonderful message of the campaign and GMAKF’s tireless efforts in helping those in need. Facebook user Gerolou says, “That’s why kind-hearted people trusted GMA Kapuso Foundation because they can see where their donations go… hope to fulfill 400 or more houses for Yolanda victims onward!”

 

Meanwhile, Facebook user Khryss, a Yolanda survivor, praises the video saying, “It makes my heart smile upon seeing this video and the song has really moved me. Thanks for motivating a lot of people in doing humanitarian missions. We are still blessed to have people like you.”

 

Since its launch, over 100 Kapuso celebrities and News and Public Affairs personalities have shared the love by sponsoring food, toys, medical treatments and medicines for the Kapuso Foundation’s beneficiaries in the country, including other Yolanda-affected areas.

 

In addition to the housing project in Tacloban, GMAKF also pledged the construction of 24 new classrooms under its Kapuso School Development project within the Kapuso Village. Meanwhile, another Kapuso Village will soon rise in Palo, which includes 169 concrete houses and 10 classrooms.

 

GMAKF has also turned over 15 classrooms in Barangay Sulangan, Guiuan, Eastern Samar. Moreover, construction and rehabilitation is underway for 40 classrooms in Quinapondan, Eastern Samar and in Villaba and Kananga in Leyte.

 

Going beyond immediate disaster relief efforts, GMAKF is committed to utilizing its resources to create a lasting impact on the lives of their beneficiaries.

GMA Network Earns Fourth Peabody, Dedicates Victory to Yolanda Victims

New York—GMA Network formally accepted the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award in New York City on Monday, May 19, for its coverage of SuperTyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in November 2013.

GMA News and Public Affairs Senior Vice President Marissa L. Flores received the Peabody Award on behalf of the network at a ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Also in attendance were First Vice President for News Programs Jessica A. Soho and news anchor/reporter Jiggy Manicad, who represented the GMA News teams who covered Yolanda.

GMA News and Public Affairs Senior Vice President Marissa L. Flores, First Vice President for News Programs Jessica A. Soho and news anchor/reporter Jiggy Manicad, who represented the GMA News teams who covered Yolanda.

“This is for the survivors, the Filipinos and our unsinkable spirit. Philippines, Mabuhay!” Flores said after accepting the award. “Receiving this award is bittersweet for us at GMA Network because it is on the account of the suffering of Filipinos from Typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda, the strongest typhoon to have made landfall,” she added.

The Peabody Award is considered the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize for print media, and the Oscar Awards for film.

On its website, the Peabody Awards cited GMA Network for “overcoming the challenges posed by a historic storm to provide coverage that was thorough, candid and compassionate.”

“Faced with daunting logistical challenges and sharing in the national shock and grief, GMA reporters and crews from State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, 24 Oras (24 Hours), Saksi (Eyewitness), 24 Oras Weekend and Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (One at Heart, Jessica Soho) provided desperately needed spot news coverage and information, gaining strength and perspective as they worked. They followed up with solid reporting and public-service broadcasts about the aftermath, heroic acts and relief efforts. The coverage includes footage of storm-surge rapids ripping through streets and apocalyptic winds decapitating houses that’s so close-up and intense that it’s a wonder the videographers survived.” it said.

The winning programs chronicled the GMA News teams’ detailed reportage of the typhoon from before it hit the Philippine area of responsibility to its unforgiving blows to the Visayas region and its painful aftermath.
“We accept this with immense gratitude on behalf of the people of GMA News and Public Affairs who risked their lives to tell the story,” added Flores.

This is the fourth Peabody Award that GMA Network received on behalf of the Philippines. The network earned its first Peabody in 1999 for the I-Witness documentaries “Kidneys for Sale” and “Kamao” by Soho and for Jay Taruc’s child labor story on Brigada Siete. Kara David’s I-Witness episode “Ambulansyang de Paa” succeeded in 2010 followed by Reel Time’s “Salat” in 2013.

GMA is the only news and public affairs organization in the country to have received this prestigious award for excellence in broadcast journalism. Along with GMA News in this year’s roster of winners are the series Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, three HBO documentaries, and twelve programs by the broadcaster PBS. Personalities present in the awarding ceremony included NBC anchor and special correspondent Tom Brokaw who received a personal award and Anthony Bourdain of CNN’s Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.

GMA NEWS WINS A PEABODY FOR ITS YOLANDA COVERAGE

Peabody Medal

GMA Network

GMA News earned its fourth George Foster Peabody Award for the Network and the country for its special coverage on the assault and aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda.

The GMA News coverage of typhoon Yolanda was broadcast overseas via GMA Network’s flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV and the international news channel, GMA News TV International.

GMA news teams were reporting from all over the Visayas region on the 8th of November 2013, when the super typhoon, and the powerful storm surge that followed, took the lives of thousands in just a few minutes.  In the aftermath, families were in search of the missing and surrounded by the dead.  There was no food or water and no communication with the outside world.  News teams were documenting the victims of the disaster even as they faced the same conditions.

“Facing logistical challenges and sharing in the national shock in the face of what may have been the most powerful typhoon in history, GMA news teams provided desperately needed spot news coverage and information, gaining strength and perspective as they worked, and followed up with solid reporting on the aftermath, heroic acts and relief efforts,” cited the Peabody Awards Board.

GMA News won the Peabody for its overall Typhoon Yolanda coverage which was composed of entries from the newscasts 24 Oras, 24 Oras Weekend, Saksi, State of the Nation and the public affairs magazine show Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.  It is a precious win that the network shares with the Yolanda survivors who continue to struggle to rebuild their communities.

The George Foster Peabody Awards, the broadcast and electronic media equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, aims to recognize the stories that matter.  Winning requires a unanimous vote from the 16 member board.   Besides GMA News, this year’s list of winners include the series Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, three HBO documentaries, twelve programs by the broadcaster PBS and a personal award for journalist Tom Brokaw.

GMA Network was first recognized by the Peabody Awards in 1999 for the I-Witness documentaries “Kidneys for Sale” and “Kamao” by Jessica Soho and Jay Taruc’s child labor story on “Brigada Siete.” Kara David’s I-Witness episode “Ambulansya de Paa” was awarded in 2010 followed by Reel Time’s “Salat” in 2013.

GMA is the only news and public affairs organization in the country to have received this prestigious award for excellence in broadcast journalism.  The 73rd Annual Peabody Awards ceremony will be held onMay 19 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

For more news on the Kapuso Network’s programs visit the website www.gmanetwork.com/international, Facebook pages www.facebook.com/GMAPinoyTV, www.facebook.com/gmalifetv, andwww.facebook.com/gmanewsinternational, and Twitter pages @GMAPinoyTV and @GMA_LifeTV.

Marian Rivera turns over 100 bangka to Yolanda victims Via GMA Network’s Kapuso-Adopt-A-Bangka Project

Marian turns over 100 bangkas via GMA’s Kapuso Adopt-A-Bangka Project

 

Exactly a month after its launch, GMA Network’s Kapuso Adopt-A-Bangka Project was able to fulfill its commitment to give out, for its first wave, 100 bangka to the fisherfolk communities of the Bantayan Island in Northern Cebu through a turnover ceremony held on February 18.

 

Said campaign, which was launched by GMA Regional TV, the business unit which manages the regional TV operations of GMA, on January 18, in partnership with the Bantayan Island Association of Hotels, Resorts, Bars, and Restaurants Inc., intends to help provide long term livelihood opportunities to those affected by super typhoon Yolanda in Northern Cebu by rehabilitating and rebuilding their bangka through the help of various sponsors.

 

Present during the formal turnover of bangka were: Kapuso Adopt-A-Bangka Project Ambassadress, Marian Rivera; Kapuso Adopt-A-Bangka Project Key Point Person and AVP/Head, Integrated Marketing Services Division of GMA Regional TV, Oliver Victor Amoroso; Kapuso Adopt-A-Bangka Project Co-key Point Person and Station Manager of GMA Central and Eastern Visayas, Ann Marie Tan; and Bantayan Island Association of Hotels, Resorts, Bars and Restaurants, Inc. President, Allan Monreal.

 

For updates and developments on the Kapuso Adopt-A-Bangka Project, the campaign websitewww.kapusoadoptabangkaproject.blogspot.com may be visited.

The bayanihan spirit lives on in the Kapuso community abroad despite Yolanda tragedy

Filipinos in NY

In the wake of super typhoon Yolanda, Filipinos abroad fervently monitored the developments in the rescue and relief operations hoping to gain news of their kababayans in the Visayas Region.

 

As a way of helping these Filipinos outside the country, some of GMA Pinoy TV, GMA News TV International, and GMA Life TV carriers agreed to broadcast a free preview of the said channels.

 

“We support the efforts of the international community in helping the victims of Yolanda,” says Joseph T. Francia, GMA Network Vice-President and Head of International Operations. “Through our international channels, we hope to bring our Kapuso viewers closer to home by providing them with up-to-date information on the developments since the tragedy and details on how they could help in the relief operations.”

 

Filipinos worldwide, despite being separated by land and sea, are once again united with a sense ofbayanihan as they endeavor to rebuild their home country together.  Motivated by a common purpose, our fellow Filipinos overseas have made significant contributions to the relief efforts for the victims of the recent typhoon.

 

In the US, a variety of fundraising events were organized for the benefit of those affected by Yolanda. Among them, a benefit concert called “Malama” (which means “care” in Hawaii) by the University of Hawaii and the Philippine Consulate in Honolulu, Hawaii; clothing sales such as the “Philippines Fashion Relief” by the Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Philippine Consulate General of New York; a lunch fundraiser at the Sunda New Asian Restaurant  in Chicago organized by the Philippine Consulate General where Sunda co-owner and Fil-Am Bill Dec, Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim, and other members of the Filipino community in Chicago discussed the current state of the Philippines ;  and, gatherings like “Friends of FilCom: Giving Together to Rebuild Lives” by The Filipino American Communities of Northeast US. Special masses and prayers are also being offered for the victims.

 

Along with the outpouring of aid from different institutions and foreign governments, there is no shortage of support from various Filipino communities around the world. Filipinos in Contra Costa County and Vallejo, California are continuously raising funds and donations.

 

In Europe, the Samahang Pilipina Bern held a cake sale which garnered thousands of dollars with passersby donating money even without buying  pastries. Meanwhile, in Singapore, officials and staff of Pinoy Star Magazine, Filipino Association of Singapore, Kultura Performing Arts, and Afreight Cargo, in collaboration with the Philippine Embassy in Singapore, came together to gather donations for the survivors.

 

The support from the international community continues as more initiatives have been planned by various groups in an effort to hasten the rehabilitation. Benefit concerts, auctions, a film festival, and a benefit dance by Power ng Pinoy and the Cheryl Burke Dance Studio were scheduled for the latter part of November until the first week of December.

 

The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, UAE will organize “Brunch for a Cause and Relief Operations” while Xpress Money, in association with UAExchange, has waived fees among UAE exchange branches in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain until December 8, 2013.

 

For details on how you can help, you may visit GMA Kapuso Foundation’s website, www.gmanetwork.com/kapusofoundation.

Filipinos in NY

GMA Network artists and news and public affairs unite for the victims of typhoon Yolanda

There is nothing more unique than the heart of a Filipino—soft enough to care for the weak, strong enough to rise up to the challenge. GMA Network knocks on this very heart as the country faces another great challenge—the nation’s survival and recovery from typhoon Yolanda.

 

With the joint efforts of GMA Kapuso Foundation and YES Pinoy Foundation, last November 17, the Kapuso Network invited everyone to take part in a one time television special aptly entitled, “TIBAY NG PUSONG PILIPINO, A GMA Telethon for the benefit of the victims of typhoon Yolanda.”

 

This special featured a powerhouse cast of respectable names in the music and showbiz industry, headlined by the biggest and brightest Kapuso stars, with the special participation of News and Public Affairs personalities.

 

Viewers got to see various Kapuso artists in heartwarming production numbers, live updates in the affected areas, and special activities (such as live telethon, and repacking of goods) all for the survival and recovery of the victims of typhoon Yolanda.

 

As of November 26, GMA Kapuso Foundation has received a total of Php166,083,570.95 in cash andPhp26,244,191.88 worth of in-kind donations. Total amount of donations is Php192,327,762.83.  Those who wish to extend financial aid to GMAKF may visit the GMA Kapuso Foundation website athttp://www.gmanetwork.com/KapusoFoundation.

 

Meanwhile, to know the details on how to subscribe to GMA International channels – GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV and GMA News TV International, please visit the GMA International websitewww.gmanetwork.com/international, Facebook pages www.facebook.com/GMAPinoyTV,www.facebook.com/gmalifetv, and, www.facebook.com/gmanewsinternational, or Twitter pages@GMAPinoyTV and @GMA_LifeTV.