Veteran journalist and anchor Noli de Castro announced on Thursday, October 7, that he was again leaving his home network of several decades, ABS-CBN, as he has set his goals on a political comeback in the coming 2022 elections.
De Castro, 72, made the announcement on TeleRadyo ahead of his oath-taking as a member of Aksyon, presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s party. He is set to run for senator under ‘Aksyon Demokratiko’ party of Mayor Franciso Isko Moreno Domagoso, who is running for president in next year’s elections. “Sorry to say na ito ho ang huling araw ko na dito sa TeleRadyo for so many years,” he said in his morning program ‘Kabayan’
Moreno had personally appealed to him to run for senator, said ‘Balita’. Despite initial misgivings of his family, ‘Balita’ decided to go for it, bolstered by his belief in the Manila mayor.
“Ako po’y makikipagsapalaran sa bagong uri ng panunungkulan o public service pero tuloy-tuloy ang ating public service. Pero itong pagkakataong ito mas magiging malawak na po ang isasagawa pong public service kung suwesuwertehin sa tulong na rin ninyo,” he said. De Castro claimed that he wants to address three crises brought about by the pandemic, economic crisis, health crisis, and learning crisis.
This isn’t the first time De Castro had bid goodbye to ABS-CBN, which he had been a part of since the 1980s. In 2001, De Castro left ABS-CBN to seek a Senate post. At the time of his resignation, De Castro was vice president of ABS-CBN’s radio station DZMM, he headed its flagship news program TV Patrol’s production team, and was anchor of several news shows, including ‘TV Patrol’ and ‘Kabayan’.As he signed off, De Castro said he was saddened to be leaving an ABS-CBN that is still without a congressional franchise. “At sana’y dumating ang pagkakataon na lahat ho na matanggal sa ABS-CBN ay makabalik na,” he added.
