VETERAN broadcast journalist Anthony Taberna was ready to retire and merely settle on his highly-paid YouTube channel after being jobless for a time. Until the hard-to-resist offer of Manny Villar’s AllTV came his way.
“Ang bilis nilang kumilos,” said Taberna, who’s popularly called Ka Tunying. “Bukod sa tokis, umaksyon agad. Nag-iisip pa lang ako kung magde-desisyon ako, pinapatawag na ako agad for a meeting. Wala kaming hindi pinagkasunduan.”
After nearly three years of not being seen on free TV, Taberna will return to the medium where he has made a name for himself.
Anthony conceived the public affairs show “Kuha All” with the new management of Channel 2, now known as AllTV.
It will be a public service program, he said.
“If you will notice, hindi pa rin nawawala ang crimes all around us, napakaraming aksidente. Ang mga tao ngayon, sinaniban na ng mga cameramen at reporters. Nakukunan na ng video ang lahat ng nangyayari around us. Pero hindi lang mga video na nagte-trend ang ipapakita natin. ‘Yun ding mga tao na nagte-trend sa social media. Ang layunin natin, matulungan sila,” he said.
In the pilot episode, Kuha All will feature people who were crime victims.
“Nakakapagturo din sila sa ibang tao kung paano makaka iwas sa krimen,” he said.
“Yun ang public service dimension ng programa natin. Matutulungan natin ang tao na naging biktima ng krimen,” he added.
Taberna cannot be thankful enough that he has been given a chance to return to mainstream television.
Though he’s seen on social media constantly, “iba talaga ang mainstream television,” he said.
“When I talked to the management of AllTV and I was given this opportunity, ang feeling ko ay the same when I first had my own show once upon a time. That was almost 20 years ago. Medyo young pa tayo noon. Parang hindi pa tayo tinatablan ng pagod,” he said.
Taberna is pleased to work with the production team behind “Kuha All” that consists of young workers assembled from other networks.
“Isa lang naman ang objective namin. To present one product not just what the people want, but what the people need. Malaking bagay ang production team ko. Kasi parang nanganganay ulit ako,” he said.
Taberna insisted his“Kuha All” is not the kind of public service program where the subjects would end up shouting, hair pulling and fighting in front of the camera.
“This is one program where viewers will be informed, educated, entertained will have a feeling of fulfillment especially when you become part of helping the subjects in our features,” he said.
Doing TV shows can be “exhausting, stressful and time-consuming” for Taberna. He was ready to retire, but the offer given him was too good.
“They gave me an offer I could not refuse,” he said.
He will always be grateful to ABS-CBN, which gave him a platform with shows like Umagang Kay Ganda, XXX: Exklusibong, Explosibong, Expose and Dos Por Dos on DZMM.
“‘Yun ang mga klase ng programa that prepared us for the future. I will always be proud of those shows,” he said.
Taberna credits his wife, manager and “ex-girlfriend” Rossel Velasco for constantly helping him manage his schedule and appointments
“Kuha All” will air its pilot episode today, November 26, 5 p.m. on AllTV. The show aims to be a vehicle that can educate, entertain and serve viewers by discussing different issues and concerns captured on camera by people from all walks of life.
It will have three segments per episode.
“Kuha Rin” willhighlight snippets of the latest and trending videos, while “Kaya All” will feature a case study who will be assisted through any means of support needed to resolve the issue being discussed.
The show will end with Taberna’s no-holds barred commentaries about the topic at hand through the segment, “Kuha mo.”
“Nakita ko kung paano kailangan ng ating mga kababayan ang intervention. The public service component of this show, pambihira talaga. Hindi lang natin sila inilalapit sa mga government agencies, tayo mismo, kasama ang ating mga partners ang tumutulong sa kanila,” he said.
