PNoy derides Noli “Kabayan” de Castro in TV Patrol celebration

TV Patrol news anchor Noli “Kabayan” de Castro and PNoy

“Bato-bato sa langit ang tamaan huwag magalit.”

A better analogy for this Filipino adage would be, that if you start throwing stones at somebody, don’t feel bad if some of those stones will fall back hitting you.

Well, in the most inopportune time and occasion, the celebration of ABS-CBN’s 25^th anniversary of TV Patrol, the stones thrown in the form of “raw opinion and speculation” by former Vice President Noli de Castro, more popularly known as Kabayan, the anchor of the newscast, against the Aquino administration, finally came down and struck back at him.

President Benigno Aquino, PNoy, who was invited to the celebration, used the opportunity in deriding Kabayan for his uncouth and unfounded remarks in one or two occasions in the past.

What piqued PNoy, perhaps, is the fact that Kabayan himself has had stint in the government, having been elected senator in 2001, and was the vice president of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from 2004 to 2010. He then returned to media, reclaiming his spot as the top anchor of TV Patrol.

And so it was coming to de Castro as PNoy found the ‘payback’ time and place to unleash his tirade against him, even in his presence. Serves him right!

It must have been humbling, coming from the President, but it should be a lesson learned for Kabayan and those like him in the media who thinks they have the monopoly of saying what it pleases them, whether it is truth, lie or unsubstantiated commentary.

“Anim na taon ang ipinagkaloob sa kanya para tumulong sa pagsasaayos ng mismong inireklamo niya. Pero ngayon, tayo na nga ang may bitbit na problema, tayo na nga ang tutugon dito, pero masakit nga ho, may gana pang hiritan ng nagpamana?”

(He was given 6 years to help fix what he was complaining about. But now, we are already carrying the burden, we are the ones responding to this but what is painful is that, the one who passed on the problem still has the gall to criticize.)

More specifically PNoy was referring to Kabayan’s unsavory remarks in the TV Patrol newscast after a reporter mentioned about the increase passenger arrivals at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 sometime in October 2011. The President said that De Castro then retorted, “Nasa NAIA 3 ka kasi; kung nasa NAIA 1 ka, doon malala.” (That’s because you’re in NAIA 3. If you’re in NAIA 1, it’s much worse there.) Obviously, such remarks were uncalled for. Why, didn’t the anchor, who has been a government official, knew that NAIA 1 is more than 30 years old?

In another instance, PNoy said Kabayan insinuated that a rescue operation of the National Bureau of Investigation was just a set-up and the kidnappers were paid ransom to release the foreign child.

This is not how the news – viewed by millions of listeners – should be, if news anchors like De Castro and his ilk are seen as respected members of the broadcast media. Personal opinion, especially if unconfirmed, is trash and affects the credibility of the news and the source.

This only confirms my distaste for TV Patrol newscast for a long time now. Kabayan Noli’s propensity of making snide and unwarranted remarks are simply pathetic.

And so again, “Bato-bato sa langit ang tamaan huwag magalit.”

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