How Dr. Love and DJ Chacha give love advice on radio

(Editor’s Note: While Bibsy Carballo is on her month-long annual vacation abroad, representatives from the three networks will alternate in writing Live Feed: Butch Raquel for Kapuso, Peachy Guioguio for Kapatid and Kane Choa for Kapamilya. Every now and then, Bibsy will email a story from wherever in Europe she is.)

On ABS-CBN’s AM radio station DZMM Radyo Patrol 630, distraught listeners can run to Bro. Jun Banaag, OP, who has been giving advice about love and relationships to phone callers for almost 16 years since he returned from the US after a hiatus from radio.

Bro. Jun himself has a colourful history. He fell in and out of love. He sinned and repented. His painful but enlightening experiences in life and love thus make him a credible and approachable counselor on his nightly radio program.

“Pang Maalaala Mo Kaya. I fell in love with a woman aside from my wife. We left for the US and stayed for 10 years before I came back to straighten my life,” said Bro. Jun who anchors the program Dr. Love on DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 on weeknights.

Bro. Jun later decided to end the affair.  When he returned to Manila, Bro. Jun’s wife was the first person who welcomed him with open arms.

“I think that’s the true spirit of forgiveness.  And that is what I share to my listeners. If you forgive, you should learn to forget,” he said.

While AM radio listeners can find comfort in Bro. Jun’s religious reflections and straightforward counseling, FM radio listeners can run to Tambayan 101.9’s DJ Chacha who rose to popularity because of her light, witty, and humorous counseling style.

Tambayan 101.9 DJ Chacha recorded a single based on the ‘mwahmwah-tsuptsup’ expression she popularized.

DJ Chacha popularized the “mwahmwah, tsuptsup” expression in the Sexy Time portion in her radio program, wherein the caller would get the chance to say on air â€œmwahmwah-tsuptsup” with Chacha. 

She would even be asked to deliver her famous tagline by DZMM anchors when she delivers the entertainment news. She would gladly oblige when audiences at mall shows requested her to say the tagline.  It didn’t take long before Star Records turned the expression into a song and gave DJ Chacha her first single. 

Currently, she is the only lady DJ on weeknights to entertain desperate callers who need assistance.

“The advantage of being a woman is that we are deemed approachable because we can empathize with the callers’ problems. We are also more appreciative and we understand people’s emotions,” said DJ Chacha, who started her career on radio doing creative adlibs on Tambayan 101.9 in 2008.

She got her break in 2009 when she pinchhit for a DJ who went on leave. Her counseling style, rapport with her audience and humorous demeanor  didn’t go unnoticed. In 2011, she was given her own program where she got to entertain about three callers nightly.

Based on her experience in her two-year stint on Tambayan 101.9, Chacha has observed female callers are easier to coach as they tend to listen and be more open-minded.

“Male callers tend to reason out in the beginning and find it hard to accept the advice, but will eventually relent in the end,” she said.

According to sociologist Josephine Aguilar-Placido, people tend to discuss their dilemmas on-air not because they would like the whole world to know, but because radio gives them access to an instant response or solution from the DJs.

“They think some of the listeners may also be having the same problem. The assumption is that misery loves company,” she said.

DJ Chacha added that people call not just to get unbiased advice from DJs who do not know them personally but more importantly, they seek a shoulder to cry on.

Aguilar-Placido said radio stations would usually tap DJs who have well-rounded personalities and are dynamic in social interaction. They must possess expertise or experience in dealing with problems of varied nature.

“A good DJ is somebody who is also a wide reader because there are so many things in books that can help them analyze,” she says. “One must be prudent and respectful. It may sound very ideal but that is what is expected of them by the listeners.”

She added that giving options and keeping in touch with their callers to see the progress of their situations are also important.

DJ Chacha recalled that one of her callers got in touch with her recently to thank her for the advice she gave. Three weeks ago, the woman was crying because her boyfriend abroad suddenly stopped communicating with her. She heard rumors that her boyfriend has found a new lover and she wanted advice on whether she should wait for him or start entertaining other suitors.

“I told her to consider him an ex-boyfriend, but I also told her that a new suitor is not the solution to her problem. The caller followed my advice. It dawned on me that I was able to aid a person in distress,” she said.    

Bro. Jun even got death threats from a policeman whose paramour was getting enlightened about their relationship because of Bro. Jun’s teachings on his program. He also had to deal with a caller who was planning to kill himself because his wife left him. Like DJ Chacha, Dr. Love later learned from his caller that their conversation that night saved his life.

For Bro. Jun, what he is doing on radio is an act of ministry. Through his program, he wants to help save families and bring back the dignity of Filipino women who may be abused physically or psychologically by their husbands.

Counseling or giving love advice on radio can really be a tough job and it is also DZMM’s and Tambayan 101.9’s way of giving service to their audiences.