FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) Second Regular Session 1 SENATE P. S. Res. No. ui __ ,’

Introduced by Senator Richard J. Gordon

RESOLUTION HONORING FIDELA “TIYA DELY” MENDOZA-MAGPAYO AS THE “FIRST LADY OF PHILIPPINE RADIO” AND FOR HER LIFETIME SERVICE AND DEDICATION TO THE BROADCASTING INDUSTRY

WHEREAS, the 29th of October 1920 marked the birth of a woman who would change the history of Philippine radio;

WHEREAS, as early as the 1940s, Fidela “Tiya Dely” Mendoza Magpayo, who was born to Bulacefio parents in Malate, Manila, started her career in radio, changing hats from becoming a newscaster, a commentator, a radio dramatist, a producer, an announcer, a singer, and an on-air counselor;

WHEREAS, she started her career in broadcasting as a singer actress in Atang Dela Rama and Gerry Brandy’s musical variety show at the pre-World War II radio station KZRF;

WHEREAS, at the ripe age of eighteen (18), Tiya Dely became a radio announcer, working with the likes of Frankie Gomez, and also became a singer in the comedy group of Andoy Balunbalunan and Dely Atay-atayan;

WHEREAS, Tiya Dely was such a success that her program withstood the Japanese Occupation and that she was one of only a handful of radio announcers who were still able to broadcast over the lone radio station PIAM;

WHEREAS, seemingly unsatisfied with just being a media personality, and giving utmost significance to education, Tiya Dely took up Foreign Service at the Far Eastern University of the Philippines, but later shifted to Political Science, which was the degree that she obtained when she graduated in 1950;

WHEREAS, a well-rounded and multi-talented individual, Tiya Dely also served as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the period between 1946 and 1950;

WHEREAS, Tiya Dely provided not only entertainment, but also training on basic language skills through her maiden platter program in 1952, which adapted an anagram theme; WHEREAS, Tiya Dely’s first counseling program was at dzRH, starting in October 1953, where she provided much-needed solace and valuable advice to the troubled and confused;

WHEREAS, she then moved to dzMM and became an announcer-producer for ABS-CBN in 1957:

WHEREAS, while still in dzMM, she gained the distinction of being the last radio host heard on air before the Lopez-owned station was shut down during the Marcos regime;

WHEREAS, Tiya Dely thereafter worked in different radio stations like dzBB and dwWW, where she was a news anchor together with Joe Taruc and Noli de Castro, who so believed in her outstanding capability as a radio broadcaster that they sought her training;

WHEREAS, while she spent most of her time on radio, she also dabbled in singing and acting in a number of motion pictures and in the Manila Grand Opera House;

WHEREAS, with her gentle voice and disposition, which reached beyond our shores, millions of listeners around the world belonging to djfferent generatjons had been drawn and had remained loyal to her since the days when she first popularized Filipino music on the radio;

WHEREAS, aside from providing entertainment to her listeners, the programs of Tiya Dely also offered valuable information to the public on matters pertaining to family values and relations, health, law and governance, among many others;

WHEREAS, they also made available various forms of assistance and public service, especially to the most needy:

WHEREAS, because of Tiya Dely’s indispensable role in the broadcasting industry and in alleviating the quality of I’ife of her avid listeners and the general public, she had been given numerous awards arid recognition;

WHEREAS, Tiya Dely had been given the Pama-As Gintong Bai (Centennial Women) Award by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts; the Gawad Saguisag Quezon, in honor of her more than 60 years in broadcasting; the UP Gawad Plaridel Award, given to outstanding radio practitioners; and she had been twice bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award, both by the Rotary Club of lntramuros (RCI), in coordination with UNTV 37 and Breakthrough and Milestones Productions International, and the Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster sa Pilipinas;

WHEREAS, her program, “Kasaysayan Sa Mga Liham Kay Tiya Dely,” won Best Counselling Program in the 1994 Catholic Mass Media Awards;

2 WHEREAS, in the same year, she was awarded Best Female Newscaster by the Golden Dove Awards:

WHEREAS, it therefore came as no surprise when she was elevated to the Hall of Fame by the Citizen Awards for Television for her show "Hamon ng Kampeon";

WHEREAS, Tiya Dely had also been recognized by the international community when she was cited as one of the Outstanding Women Artists Lifetime Achievement Awardees for Broadcast Arts by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Earthsavers;

WHEREAS, she was lastly with radio station dzRH, working with great professionalism and immeasurable dedication, as an announcer, producer and newscaster, and as the host of musicals, drama shows and her very own public service program, "lnyong Lingkod, Tiya Dely";

WHEREAS, it is but proper that the greatest recognition and appreciation be given to our Tiya Dely, the Dorothy Dix of the Philippines, wife to the late Colonel Leonor Reyes, a war veteran; mother to her Violeta, Delia and Leonor Jr.; advocate for the preservation of Filipino values; devout Catholic and philanthropist; and one of the very few who worked, and shined, in all media - stage, radio, motion picture and television. Now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the Senate of the Philippines, to honor Fidela "Tiya Dely" Mendoza-Magpayo as the "First Lady of Philippine Radio" and for her lifetime service and dedication to the broadcasting industry,,

Adopted,

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