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| Ang Senado Ng Pilipinas production team (L-R: cameraman Mark Hepuller, segment producer JV Roque, segment producer and researcher Red Madridano, segment producer Camille Cabal, make-up artist Maria Edna Diomampo, executive producer and director Janina Magundayao, cameraman Ford Cabrera) and host Catherine Vilar (fourth from left) with Senate President Francis Escudero (fifth from left) taken on September 17, 2024 (Image Source: IBC TV 13/Senate Of The Philippines) |
On July 21, 2024, the Intercontinental Broadcasting Company (IBC) launched Ang Senado Ng Pilipinas, a weekly one-hour public affairs program that aims to make the Senate of the Philippines more accessible and relatable to the common Filipino by highlighting the work of the upper chamber of the Congress and showing how their efforts affect the public’s daily lives. Hosted by veteran journalist Catherine Vilar with over 20 years of background in the local broadcast industry, the program has interviewed a handful of senators from Senate President Francis Escudero, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, then-Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel, and then-Senator Cynthia Villar, among many others.
Within just a year of airing, the program has steadily gained recognition from the local press through a 2025 Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) Star Awards for Television nomination for “Best Public Affairs Program” 2025 Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) awards and Vilar's recognition by the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) as “Outstanding Public Affairs TV Program Host” for the year 2024-2025. The show has a number of segments that bring to light the multi-faceted work of the Senate. These include:
• Open House: News reports on the latest hearings and issues concerning the upper chamber, as told by IBC 13’s Senate correspondent Jaybee Santiago.
• Sen-ter Stage: Exclusive face to face interviews with senators, both past and present.
• Batas Explained: A deep dive on the laws and bills that were either enacted or still in the advanced stages of the legislative process. It features interviews with the lawmakers themselves, or representatives from various government agencies enacting these laws, as well as the direct beneficiaries of such laws to give more context on how these laws impact Filipinos.
• Senate Persona: Short profiles on individuals who have graced the halls of the Philippine Senate. They may be former senators or former resource persons in the Senate’s hearings, or members of the Senate staff and secretariat.
• Behind The Senators: Interviews featuring members of the Senate’s staff and secretariat who work behind the scenes to help the senators perform their duties on the daily.
• Flashback Senate: A look back on a historic moment that has transpired within the Senate walls.
• Senate Onward: A rundown of the week-ahead schedule of the Senate.
Recently celebrating its first year anniversary, Ang Senado Ng Pilipinas will continue to highlights the day-to-day efforts of the Philippine Senate for the general welfare and well-being of the Filipino people as well as the continuing and evolving progress of the nation while celebrating and acknowledging its history and accomplishments benefitting the state. Ang Senado Ng Pilipinas airs every Sunday at 9:30 am on IBC TV 13, available on free and pay TV and online via IBC TV 13's official Facebook page and YouTube channel. Among the fresh episodes to be shown is the show's special analysis episode on the recently-concluded 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on August 3, 2025.
(With words by Camille Cabal, IBC TV 13)
