DZMM listeners and DZMM TeleRadyo followers have certainly heard and/or seen the difference in the Saturday and Sunday morning show Magandang Morning with Julius and Zen these days.
The show recently got a boost with new segments on DZMM TeleRadyo (also available on ABS-CBN TVplus and cable TV).
Simulcast on DZMM Radyo Patrol 630, the program hosted by broadcast journalists Julius Babao and Zen Hernandez is still your news-driven show spiced up with interviews and commentary on the week’s biggest issues.
Recently, it introduced new segments to provide their loyal listeners and viewers useful tips and information that they can use in their day-to-day life.
In “Ano’ng Meron,” Julius and Zen share places that families can go to, or activities they can try to bond and relax over the weekend.
In “Kayod-Kayod,” they give listeners a glimpse of the lives of Filipinos at work while everybody else are having their day-off, like policemen, nurses, and vendors.
Julius and Zen also feature the other side or the lighter side of people in the news in “Dahan Dahan Lang.”
The program still feature a rundown of the hot topics in the country, interviews with newsmakers, flash reports from DZMM Radyo Patrol, and in-depth discussions on current issues that the show has been known for since its inception in 2003.
Original anchor Julius shared his excitement as the program undergoes a transformation on its 15th year. “It brings joy to me to know we have developed a loyal following through the years. I am happy that the show is evolving as we continue to explore more ways to improve the program and make it more interesting for our listeners and viewers.”
Zen, meanwhile, continues to relish the opportunity to work with a broadcast veteran like Julius, who helped her learn the ropes as a radio newbie when she joined the program in 2015.
“I felt excited and nervous to work with him at first. He was surprisingly a very warm person and probably the least intimidating person even though he was already a well-known journalist. I still look up to him now but he has also become a friend so the tense feeling that comes with being in the same program with a journalist of his caliber is already gone.”
Julius also has good words for Zen, his third co-anchor in the show after his wife Tin-Tin Bersola-Babao and Nina Corpuz-Rodriguez.
“We complement each other because Zen is also a journalist. We are like sparring and dancing when discussing issues. We know how to take turns in asking questions or in expressing our thoughts. I am proud of how far she’s gone in her career and she deserves it because she is an intelligent and articulate journalist who always comes to work prepared,” he explained.
VIPs, celebs mark World Pandesal Day
Despite the Feb. 6 fire that razed to the ground Quezon City’s pioneer and award-winning 79-year-old Kamuning Bakery Café and caused losses, owner Wilson Lee Flores, his staff and bakers remained optimistic.
On Tuesday, Oct. 16, Flores is inviting the public to the annual “World Pandesal Day” starting at 11:00 a.m. at the ruins of the bakery along Judge Jimenez Street corner K-1st Street, Barangay Kamuning, Quezon City.
Some 70,000 pan de sal and other food will be given away to the guests. Quezon City Vice-Mayor Joy Belmonte will lead Kamuning Bakery’s will be among the guests of honor during the celebration.
On Oct. 28 at 8:00 a.m., there will be a medical, dental and optical mission at Kamuning Bakery Café in cooperation with Chinese General Hospital led by its CEO Dr. James G. Dy. The public is invited and can have free consultation with the doctors during the mission.
These Oct. 16 and Oct. 28 events are the last two events to be held here, before Kamuning Bakery Café’s ruins are totally demolished, except for two surviving pugon brick ovens that will be retained for heritage preservation during its reconstruction.
With hashtag #WorldPandesalDay, this is a unique socio-civic and cultural endeavor to highlight the importance of the Philippines’ humble yet popular pan de sal, to underscore the importance of all people helping solve the age-old problem of hunger.
Wilson Lee Flores said an inspiration for World Pandesal Day is the Bible story of a poor boy who gave five loaves of bread and two fishes, which faith in God multiplied to feed thousands.
On Oct. 12 at Quezon City’s anniversary celebration at Crowne Plaza Galleria Hotel, the city government led by Mayor Herbert Bautista gave Wilson Lee Flores the “Manuel L. Quezon Gawad Parangal Award”.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte said, “My warmest greetings to the Kamuning Bakery Café as it celebrates World Pandesal Day. Food plays an integral part in our people’s identity as it reflects our culture and history which have been shaped by various influences of the past. This milestone does not only celebrate the ingenuity of our bakers and their unyielding passion for bread, but also empowers local community bakeries as they preserve and pass down traditional cooking methods.”
President Duterte added, “This administration looks forward to working closely with you in solving the problem of hunger that is rooted in poverty and social inequality. Together, let us work towards achieving our goal of a brighter, more prosperous and sustainably progressive nation. I wish you a fruitful and meaningful celebration.”
Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said, “Wilson Flores’ acquisition of the bakery added to the popularity of this Filipino bread through his promotion of the vanishing traditional baking methods, his World Pandesal Day initiative and his Pandesal Forum which has gathered media people, artists, thinkers and government leaders as well as ordinary folks in his bakery to talk about national and international issues or simply to shoot the breeze while enjoying freshly-baked pandesal. I am glad that Kamuning Bakery Café has resumed its operation as the maker of artisanal breads and an affordable venue for relaxed discussions.”