When senior broadcast journalist Julius Babao confirmed that he’s leaving ABS-CBN and will be anchoring a show on TV5, viewers were quick to speculate that he’s replacing Raffy Tulfo, who is currently seeking for a Senate seat, as the main man of the network’s news arm.
In a virtual junket held Wednesday, Babao clarified that he is replacing Tulfo as anchor in Frontline Pilipinas but not as the network’s “action man.”
“It’s an honor to be Raffy Tulfo’s replacement in Frontline Pilipinas, I have a lot of admiration for him. It’s so happened that he’s running for Senate and he needed to step out, and I came into the picture. I was there in the right place and at the right time when the program needed a new anchor,” Babao shared.
Luchi Cruz-Valdez, head of News5, the news and public affairs department of TV5, also clarified their decision to have Babao on board.
“Every journalist has his equity, personality, and advocacy, these are the things that we factor in whenever we ask someone to join our team. Raffy is one of a kind as Julius is, and it’s totally unfair for us to expect Julius to fill in the shoes of Raffy,” Cruz Valdez stated.
“It’s not only impossible, it’s also unfair. So, no, we don’t intend to replace Raffy with somebody like him. Raffy will continue with his cause to give public service as Julius will also with us,” she went on.
A broadcast personality for over three decades, Babao steps into the frontlines as a “beteranong journo” and “lingkod bayan” to deliver the day’s top stories with fellow veteran anchor Cheryl Cosim. Together they will deliver the most pressing issues on politics, the economy, welfare, and the COVID-19 crisis.
Babao’s transfer to the Kapatid Network raises the ante for TV5 especially as it gears up for its coverage of the elections in May.
Babao’s over 30 years of experience serves to add to the combined journalistic expertise of its roster of anchors.
Aside from anchoring Frontline Pilipinas, Babao seeks to continue his life mission of service to Filipinos through a program that aims to extend exceptionally generous assistance to select and deserving small and medium scale enterprise (SMSE) owners and even underground economy-reliant Filipinos even as the country navigates the economic and social challenges ahead.
Babao started his journalistic career with GMA 7’s DZBB in 1990 before moving to ABS-CBN in 1993 as a reporter for its flagship newscast. He later anchored the station’s morning show with his wife Christine Bersola in 1996 and then filled co-anchor duties in various primetime, evening, and weekend newscasts before finally wrapping up his 28-year stint with the Kapamilya Network last year.
Watch Julius Babao’s daily broadcast in Frontline Pilipinas starting Feb. 7, every 5:30 p.m., live on TV5 and via livestream at News5 Facebook and YouTube pages.