GMA gets 9 nominations in 12th Asian TV awards

The Philippines bagged a total of 13 nominations in the 12th Asian Television Awards, which will be held on November 29 at the Suntec Convention Hall in Singapore. GMA garnered nine nominations while ABS-CBN had four. GMA's 24 Oras will be competing against two ABS-CBN news programs, Bandila and TV Patrol World, for Best News Program. 24 Oras was nominated for its coverage of "Super Typhoon Milenyo," while Bandila and TV Patrol World were recognized for its coverage of the "Subic Rape Case Promulgation" and the "Taguig Hostage Drama," respectively. Other GMA News and Public Affairs programs were also nominated in other categories. Philippine Agenda's "Education" (an election-primer special) and Emergency's "Mga Batang Magsusunog" were nominated for Best Social Awareness Program. Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho was nominated for Best Infotainment Program and Reporter's Notebook as Best Current Affairs Program. Reporter's Notebook anchors Maki Pulido and Jiggy Manicad were nominated for Best Current Affairs Presenter. Ogie Alcasid and Michael V will compete with each other for Best Comedy Performance by an Actor for GMA's longest-running gag show Bubble Gang; Michael V. has won three times for this category. Veteran actress Gina Pareño is once again nominated for Best Drama Performance by an Actress for her performance in the "Rehas" episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya, a drama anthology of ABS-CBN. Meanwhile ABS-CBN's noontime game show Pilipinas Game KNB? will vie for Best Game Show or Quiz Program. The Asian Television Awards is an award-giving body that recognizes and rewards programming and production excellence in Asian television industry. It receives about 1,400 entries each year from a wide range of broadcasters, including free-TV stations and pay-TV platforms. It also accepts nominations from independent production houses in Asia. Last year, there were 33 categories that were presented during the 11th Asian Television Awards. However, according to www.asiantvawards.com, the Awards reduced it to 29 categories this year to ensure better representation of the productions. GMANews.TV is the official website of GMA News and Public Affairs, a unit of GMA Network Inc.- Philippine Entertainment Portal