Saipan turns radio-gaga over KWAW

Every night, disc jockey and general manager Rolly Mamuntag has his hands full answering the telephone, listing down the request of his countless listeners to play their favorite songs.

Those who cannot contact the radio station, including residents from Tinian just send in their requests through fax. “As soon as I put down the phone, it will be ringing again in split seconds. The fax won’t stop ringing, we always run out of paper,” said Mr. Mamuntag.

No doubt, three months old radio station KWAW (100.3 FM) is making waves in the CNMI. The two-hour OPM (Original Pilipino Music) program started from 10:00 to 12:00 p.m. in October 1999.

After a month, the radio station was deluged with calls so it had no choice but to extend the program to four hours just to accommodate the request of its growing number of listeners.

Businesses have started noticing the radio station and advertisers have been knocking on their door. The Department of Labor and Immigration has become a regular advertiser.

Filipinos, who are by nature sentimental, just kept on calling to dedicate one love song after another to their wife, friends or lovers.

Rolly M., as he is popularly known to his listeners, is no stranger to broadcasting since he worked in various radio stations in Manila for 14 years before moving to Guam in 1985.

In Guam, he didn’t have the chance to go back to his first love, until the offer came in 1999 to assume the post as general manager of KWAW in Saipan. His family is based in Guam, thus he has to shuttle back and forth to visit them.

But wait, the radio program does not cater to Filipino audience alone. Those who want to listen to popular foreign artists, should tune in from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. during which English songs are featured. With the revival of old American hits in Manila, you can still catch Filipino artists singing their latest hits.

Filipino-American Lee P. Ganacias, owner of the radio station, has already set his eyes in expanding the radio program to the whole Micronesian region. This early, he is planning to set up a radio station in Pohnpei.

With his background in electronics and communication, Mr. Ganacias set up his RadioCom firm in 1982 servicing not only the Northern Marianas but the whole FSM, too.

“We are hoping to get locals to regularly tune in to our program, not just Filipinos. We want to cater to everybody,” said Mr. Ganacias.

A music lover himself, he has been planning to set up a radio station in the CNMI in the early 80s but he could not find a local partner which was a requirement at that time.

When the regulation was revised and simply allowed U.S. citizens to enter the business, he came back and started planning in 1998. A year after, he is operating his own radio station in Saipan.

Equipped with modern facilities, the company is planning to relocate its digital transmitter to Mt. Tapochau soon so that it can provide a clear signal in the whole island of Rota.

“We came here because we want to be part of Saipan’s growth. We want to be the first Filipino-owned radio station,” said Mr. Mamuntag.