Archdiocese of Gets a New FM Station

(May 24, 2009) –  Not content with a successful FM station,  which caters to the young audience with its modern pop music,  the Archdiocese of Lipa went full swing in its evangelization effort through radio by inaugurating a new FM station, curiously with call sign DZAL, a pun on the Tagalog word “dasal”.  Of course,  AL stands for Archdiocese of Lipa.  And what a way to celebrate the World Communication Sunday!

Archbishop Ramon C. Arguelles led the group of his clergy, led by members of the Commission on Social Communication and Mass Media, local government leaders and lay leaders to brave the afternoon sun in trekking to Barangay Sto. Domingo, Batangas City.  After a concelebrated Mass and a simple program,  he climbed the knol, several thousand feet above sea level, to bless the newly-constructed transmitter site of this FM station which will carry much on the AM programs, that were the content of the Archdiocesan’s AM Station (DWAM-AM), whose transmitter conked out sometime in 2002.  That AM station was founded in 1972, shortly before Martial Law.  

In his message, Fr. Nonie Dolor, chairman of the Commission on Social Communication and MAss Media, maintained that while it could be said that the archdiocese was opening a new radio station,  the vision-mission of this station is just really a continuation and an improvement of an old one, which is “evangelization and the promotion of total human development”.  “This will truly bring back a community-based radio which our old DWAM-AM was before its termination due to its decrepit technical equipment,”  he added.  He paid tribute to his former assistant director and successor, Fr. Mike Samaniego, who made a study of this present scheme which they called “AM on FM”.  He also thanked the Prelature of Infanta, through CMN president, Fr. Francis Lucas,  whose franchise the station will be operating.  He also told his Sto. Domingo audience that their barangay, previously well-hidden and unknown,  will be known throughout the region as the site of DZAL-FM 95.9 Mhz.  

Presently,  the station is in its test broadcast.  “This will go on for at least a month,” Fr. Ilde Dimaano revealed to local media covering the event.  Fr. Dimaano is the present station director of CMN-Batangas and chair of the Broadcast Apostolate of the Commission.  A full-blast promotion is in effect, especially among the clergy and lay-leaders, as the station is expected to be used to advance the cause of the local church of Lipa,  which is in its third and last year of a three-year preparation for it centennial as local church come 2010.