DYRC (648 AM) Aksyon Radyo is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

owned by

MBC Media Group The Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC), doing business as the MBC Media Group, is a multimedia company in the Philippines. It is currently owned by the FJE Group of Companies of Fred J. Elizalde, which also operates hotels and Pasay-based amusem ...

and operated by RJR Media Solutions Inc. It serves as the flagship radio station of MBC's regional AM network Aksyon Radyo. The station's studio is located at the Eggling Subdivision, Busay Hills,

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

, and its transmitter is located at Brgy. Tangke,

Talisay, Cebu Talisay, officially the City of Talisay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 263,04 ...

History

DYRC began as KZRC (''Radio Cebu''), first established by the Radio Corporation of the Philippines (RCP) in

in 1929; the first radio station in

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

province and the pioneer of provincial radio broadcasting. Had a one kilowatt power, it was used to be a relay of KZRM in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

for a few months in an unsuccessful experiment. In 1931, RCP, which halted its operations, sold its stations to department store operator ''Erlanger and Galinger''. KZRC resumed its operations in 1940 after being bought by another department store, ''H. E. Heacock Co.'' of Samuel Gaches, becoming a sister station to KZRH in Manila, and returned its Cebuano broadcast. It broadcast from the top floor of Gotiaoco Building, owned by Chinese trader Pedro Gotiaoco which also housed the local branch of ''Heacock's''. Its station manager, Harry Fenton, would later become a guerrilla leader during the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas''; ) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan, Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during Wo ...

. It was the only

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

station in the city, yet short-lived again, prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when it was used as the mouthpiece of the guerilla movement. The station was later bought by Isaac Beck, who, after the war, sold the station to the Elizaldes which owned

Manila Broadcasting Company The Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC), doing business as the MBC Media Group, is a multimedia company in the Philippines. It is currently owned by the FJE Group of Companies of Fred J. Elizalde, which also operates hotels and Pasay-based amusem ...

(MBC). The station, eventually renamed DYRC, was opened by an MBC subsidiary Cebu Broadcasting Company on September 21, 1947, debuting the post-war provincial radio broadcast. Later that year, at that time it was the most listened to station, DYRC produced its first female voice announcer, Ginny Peralta Vamenta. DYRC carried the slogan ''"The Voice of Cebu"'' until prior to the period of nationwide martial law. Vamenta and Henry Halasan topped the bill in prime time broadcasting. Some famous personalities aired on DYRC were

Nene Pimentel Aquilino Quilinging Pimentel Jr. (, December 11, 1933 – October 20, 2019), commonly known as Nene Pimentel, was a Filipino politician and human rights lawyer who was one of the leading political opposition leaders during the regime of Ferdin ...

, Former Congressman Antonio Cuenco, Asia's Queen of Songs Pilita Corrales, veteran broadcaster Angelo Castro Sr., Former DILG Undersecretary Inday Nita Cortez Daluz, Arch. Angel Lagdameo, lawyer Jane Paredes, among others. Star Cebuano singers featured in DYRC were: Josie Lauron, Josephine Ferrer, Stacs Huguete, and child singer Amapola Cabase popularly known as Amapola, to name a few. Bandleaders and pianists leading the DYRC-DYBU bands were Emilio Villareal and Manny Cabase. In September 11 1972, the station along with DYBU went off the air, due to martial law under Ferdinand Marcos. In 1973, it returned on air under the new management and their branding became Sunshine City a localized version of DWIZ. In 1978, the frequency migrated to 963 kHz under the NARBA to GE75. In 1991, it became Radyo Balita after the dissolution of all Sunshine City stations especially DWIZ the frequency moved to 648 kHz from Bombo Radyo Cebu. On January 4, 1999, Padayon Pilipino Media Consultancy Services Inc. took over the management of the station and changed its call sign to DYXR. This marks the birth of Aksyon Radyo. Back then, its studios were located at Brgy. Tangke,

. In August 2010, the station went off the air and Padayon Pilipino's management migrated its operations to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

under Aksyon Radyo's US News Bureau division. On September 21, 2010, BisaLog Broadcasting (owned by lawyer/host Rhina Seco, DZRH-Aksyon Radyo News Bureau Manila's Niño Padilla, and Aksyon Radyo Program Director Ed Montilla) took over the management of the station and brought back its original callsign DYRC as part of its 70th anniversary. It moved to Unit 301 Doña Luisa Building, Fuente Osmeña. At the same time, DYRC launched "Dangpanan", the local version of DZRH's "Operation Tulong" that offers free medical, dental and legal services to the needy; as well as a music format on Sundays. In the wake of the

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

of Pedro Calungsod in 2012, DYRC adopted a temporary branding Radyo Calungsod.Radio anchor shot dead in Cebu City
/ref> In May 2018, Manila Broadcasting Company and RJR Media Solutions took over the operations of DYRC with Atty. Rudolph Steve E Jularbal as its Station Manager (who also happens to be the station manager of DYRC's parent station, DZRH). Just recently, the station moved to its current studios in GD Uyfang Building. The present DYRC Station OIC is Rodolfo "Dodie, Dr LOVE" Ladrera Jr. On November 15, 2021, Aksyon Radyo along with sister stations launched their new logos and its new corporate slogan, ''Sama-Sama Tayo, Pilipino!'' (lit. ''We are all Filipinos!'').

History

References

See also