by Lorie Ann A. Cascaro
She had known independence long before she became a full-grown woman. But, even after achieving success in her career, she still considers herself “a work in progress.”
That’s the woman behind the scenes of GMA Channel 5 Davao—Mariles Gamboa-Puentevella—station manager who also oversees the Cagayan de Oro (CDO) City and General Santos (Gensan) City operations of the network.
Born in Silay City, Negros Occidental, Puentevella paid her way through college at the University of Saint La Salle in Bacolod City for a bachelor’s degree in mass communication which she finished in 1986.
“Although still a freshman, I started working in 1981 as a disk jockey (DJ) of an FM radio station, Magik 103, or the West Wind Broadcasting Corporation on a graveyard shift (10 p.m. to 2 a.m.). It was an independent FM radio station owned by some of the rich families in Bacolod City,” she said.
At the time, she was earning three pesos an hour with night differential, which was enough to help pay for her tuition. Her parents, the late Hector A. Gamboa and Angela Cantre, provided for her allowance money since her income as a DJ would put her through college.
Having chosen broadcasting as her profession, Puentevella remained with the company for 14 years. After a stint as DJ, she later on handled trainings for new DJs, and, eventually, became a program director of the radio station.
Sometime in 1997, she joined ABS-CBN radio operations as program director of its FM station in Bacolod. “I was later promoted and relocated as station manager in Iloilo City,” she said.
Puentevella asked for and took an early retirement package in 2003, and returned to Bacolod where she handled events for various corporate accounts including beer companies and local establishments, and dabbled in some trade marketing projects for telecommunication companies.
“Maybe, I misunderstood my situation. Maybe, all I wanted to do was just to take a break from the whole (broadcast) thing. At the time, however, I felt that I needed to go,” she said. Still on speaking terms with her previous employer and co-workers, she said, “I cannot say that there is any bad blood between me and my former employer. When we meet on the street, we can still exchange pleasantries by engaging in small talk.”
“In 2005, having consumed everything in that retirement package due to my trips to Boracay,” she chuckled, “I moved to Manila and applied for several job openings, including the GMA network.”
Done with her so-so entrepreneurial ventures and Boracay trips, this lady Taurus who describes herself as fiercely independent had not yet retired with finality from her chosen profession.
During her job interview with the GMA Manila, Puentevella was told that the only opening left was in Davao City. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that the company was looking for a station manager.
When asked by the human resource officer whether or not it would be alright with her to work in Davao City, she quipped, “Where do I sign?”
That was five years ago when she had never been to Davao except on one weekend trip. But, she didn’t hesitate to accept the offer which she considered a golden opportunity to get her act back on track, so to speak.
“I’ve been here since 2005. Ayoko nang umalis (I don’t want to leave anymore). I love it here. Dito na ako (I will stay here),” she said, smiling.
A work in progress
After 20 odd years in radio broadcasting, Puentevella said that operations in radio and TV are similar, except that they happen to be different media. “The only burden in managing TV broadcast is that it has a bigger scope and responsibility, especially for GMA,” she added.
Unlike working at a small, independent FM station, she said, being a part of GMA TV Network was something new to her. “It was new to me in a sense that there were certain values that I needed to revisit, and even corporate processes that I had to familiarize myself with. It’s easier now, and I guess, it helps that I’m older. But, even if I’m not an on-air personality, there’s a certain level of integrity and credibility that I have to maintain within the community, within the network,” she said.
Her experiences in radio broadcasting trained her to do what she is doing right now—dealing with strong, clashing personalities, as well as with all kinds of operational discrepancies with regards to on-air operations. She said, “Both radio and TV have all these, they only have different names.”
In terms of sales performance, Puentevella claims that she is not a sales person. “Hindi talaga ako marunong magbenta (I really don’t know how to sell). Fifty percent ng aking buhay ngayon ay maghabol ng quota. But, I still manage to be surprised because we almost always reach our targets. On top of that, I was also able to retain accounts.
I guess it’s a newly developed skill that I have to continuously work on. I always thought of myself as a marketing and operations person. I can do that with my eyes closed,” she said.
Learning to work with a minimal budget from her experiences in managing a radio station, Puentevella said, “Radio stations usually have meager budgets so one had to learn to work with available resources. At some point early on in my stint with GMA, this experience worked its magic for me. Two years ago, I received an award as Station Manager of the Year. GMA Davao was the only station that had made a net profit among all GMA regional TV stations in that year.”
Although she was not able to make it this year, she said, “I’m always a work in progress.”
Puentevella admits that she is currently too busy doing a lot of things, although she is not complaining. On top of her responsibilities in Davao, she has been overseeing the company’s operations in CDO and Gensan that started with festival participations and LGU partnerships since 2008.
Sales offices were established in CDO and Gensan last year, she said, and local programs will be launched this November. However, expansion of operations is in store for these areas within the next two years with more local programs and improved facilities.
As a manager, Puentevella admits that, at certain times, she would be a super hero to her co-employees and or a monster. She acknowledges that, sometimes her honesty makes her brutally frank although she never intends to demoralize or offend anyone, least of all, people she works with. In most cases, she admits this happens when she is in a rush to get her message across at the least available time.
GMA’s programming
Some discerning and perceptive listeners consider Testigo (witness), local news program of GMA Davao, as the strongest news program. Puentevella said it adheres to the principle of their national news programs, 24 ORAS (24 HOURS) and SAKSI (WITNESS), which is “serbisyong totoo” (genuine service).
“We are proud of our Davao news team for being aggressive, tough and, most importantly, credible. They are not afraid to tell a story as it is and delve deep to find out the real story behind the headlines. At the same time, we offer real public service to our viewers,” she said.
The “viewer is boss,” one of GMA’s core values, is behind the conscious efforts of the station to give Dabawenyo viewers programs that they want to watch. “We have experimented with various program mixes from canned programs to original programs. And, we are happy that our audience has responded well to some of our original programs in news and public affairs; entertainment and sports specials,” she said.
GMA Davao has been upgrading its antennas to improve coverage and reach in Southern Mindanao, and its other broadcast facilities. “Higher management is very supportive of our goal to better serve our regional viewers and offer them a good mix of programs to inform and entertain.
“Definitely, we will be having more national and local programs that are better suited to the tastes of our Davao viewers. We will not stop in our thrust for GMA to be Number One in viewers’ hearts in Davao and the whole of Southern Mindanao.”
A woman of independence
Puentevella got married young, at eighteen. She has two children: Erica, 25, a recruitment and training supervisor in the Ayala Land Group, and Patricia, 24, a consistent top selling medical representative of GlaxoSmithKline, a multinational pharmaceutical company. Both children reside in Manila.
At the moment, Puentevella enjoys her freedom and independence, living alone while being an “empty nester”—that’s how she considers herself.
Although some people may have noticed that a great number of female workers in the broadcast industry end up with broken marriages, she believes that this may be true with most media people, including men. She said, “Because media work often requires 24-hour on-call duties, a little extra effort is needed for marriage to work out.”
“But, sometimes, it’s not the work that breaks up relationships,” she said, and jested that she may elaborate if given an entire day to do it.
“I travel a lot in my work, driving my own car to CDO and Gensan, mostly by myself,” she shares. Puentevella has been doing it for the last three years, with a personal record of two hours and 17 minutes for the Gensan route, and five hours and a half to CDO. That’s only when she’s in a hurry.
“Driving is my form of yoga. It removes all the clutter in my mind while I focus on nothing else but the road,” she said. Sometimes, she makes stops along the way for cigarette breaks, to make new friends and reconnect with old ones, and to take photographs of some breathtaking scenery. “Ang ganda ng Mindanao (Mindanao is so beautiful). People often take that for granted because they see it everyday. Others never really get to see all these beautiful places,” she said, with a facial expression consistent with her tone of voice.
At the end of the day when all her work is done, she prefers staying at home with her beloved one-year old Labrador—Bogart, and either read books or watch DVD movies.
This smart 45-year old self-confessed free spirit, who is fond of listening to standards and rock-and-roll music, barely takes leave of her work except during long holidays. It was only last October that she had her first travel overseas after her children persuaded her to join them in Hong Kong.
Hoping to stay for the long haul in Mindanao, Puentevella is actively looking for a house in this largest city in the world, although she has not yet thought of putting up any business venture. But, for now, she is looking forward to have more travels abroad within the immediate future. In fact, she has already prepared the itinerary for her one-week multi-city trip with her daughters. But that’s for next year yet. In the meantime, she will continue to do the thing she loves most—managing GMA Davao.
