Historical Background

 
    For several decades now, radio modulations on community bands have been fragmented and without direction, with most frequencies so occupied with unnecessary modulations or stymied by jammers that when the need calls for immediate radio assistance for relay of urgent messages, the responsible communicator when available, could hardly cope with exigency. Sadly, most of the time he was unavailable. To help remedy the situation, some responsible communicators banded themselves into a developmental radio group that is truly responsive to the needs of the community. In the early 1990's, Gil de la Torre received a portable radio, Icom 02AT from Ariel Suguitan, and his dream of utilizing radio for social change since then begins . He first founded Mediacom as radio group. Its name can be traced back from civic organization which he founded--Media Dynamics in 1975. This organization had assisted poor but deserving students pursued their studies in college thru sponsorship of several kindhearted individuals and philanthropists.

In 1991 the registration of Mediacom group at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was not considered, a  group of RMN-DZXL newscasters had already registered it in the late 80's. Following this, Gil de la Torre had coined the word Radiocom in place of Mediacom. To promote Filipino gung-ho spirit, the name Kabalikat Radiocom was adopted. Thus, Kabalikat Radiocom, originally conceived and established by Gil de la Torre was registered in 1992 under SEC Registration No. 92-755.

Gil de la Torre, as Kabalikat Founder, had organized 51 chapters nationwide until 1993. Aside from Radiocom, he had also organized several radio communications groups in Metro Manila to assist Kabalikat in communication linkages and services for effective networking. Among these are: Kamagong Radio Assistance Group (KRAG) based in Cubao, QC, Lakas Antipolo Radio Communicators League (LARCOM) in Antipolo, Rizal; Youth Assistance Civic Action Group (YACAG) in Sampaloc, Manila; Group of Youth Assistance Communicators (GRAYCOM) Paco; He also assisted in the establishment of CAVERS, a CB-VHF radio communicators in Montalban, Rizal.

From 1990 to 1992, the Founder had organized 51 chapters. But in the later part of 1993, a certain quarter in the Manila chapter, (this was the first group established by De la Torre), created disunity and do not  live up to the Kabalikat  ideals. To unify the Kabalikat and preserve its nationwide existence, Celso P. Corpuz Kabalikat (18.00) assisted the Founder in strengthening  the organizational setup and called for a national assembly on May 1, 1994 in Olongapo City.  It should be noted that  50 out of 51 Kabalikat existing chapters signified adherence to the  renaming of the group into Kabalikat Civicom and recognizing it as the national organization. Today, Kabalikat Civicom developed into a nationwide communication network of civic communicators, became a PRIME MOVER that immediately, or at the soonest possible time, responded to any exigencies or emergencies that arose. Since then, the Kabalikat Civicom, in a concerted effort to relate public need of development to reponsible community communication, established network or radio assistance stations in various sectors of the locality. The work of educating the people in the dynamics of nationhood has become the primary program plans of Kabalikat network of communicators.

The Organization was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Telecommunications Commission as the Kabalikat Civicom Association, Incorporated by the following incorporators: Gil de la Torre, Celso P. Corpuz, Engr. Silver Abubo, Dr. Cezail F. Villanueva, Leandro L. Lazaro, Diego Magpantay Jr, Vedasto Dayan, Francisco Morales, Hilario Pasag, Dean Edgar Geniza and Joed Tividad.

The Kabalikat Civicom is a developmental communication group of several radio and television stations nationwide. The Kabalikat Civicom is a Corruption Prevention Unit of the Ombudsman. Recently, the Kabalikat has entered into a Memorandum of Agreements with several government agencies, to wit: Department of Transportation and Communications, Department of Interior and Local Government, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Philippine National Police, to name a few. It is interesting to note, aside from its Kabalikat groups in VHF, HF, SSB and CB, it has organized a nationwide network of mobile phones communicators and established the largest worldwide web network of civic communicators.

Thus, the Organization originally conceived as a mere responsible civic communication body, has now grown  in today's worldwide Kabalikat Civicom -- to serve as link to the complex network of active communication efforts geared towards nation building.

 

 

 

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