Edward Mico Joseph Agustin

Composer Jimmy Antiporda playing his keyboard inside ABS-CBN Studio 7, TV Patrol’s home.

Article (news)

Amid bad news, TV Patrol's theme music still brings hope: arranger

Andrew Jonathan Bagaoisan

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — He may be best known for his band Neocolours’ hits such as “Tuloy Pa Rin” and “Maybe”, yet the most prevalent piece of music created by Jimmy Antiporda is not a pop song, but the soundtrack of the news.</p><p>That piece opens and provides the score for ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol, the Philippines’ longest-running local-language newscast.</p><p>To many Filipinos, the theme conveys urgency--and at times, dread. To others, especially the young who haven’t sat through TV news in years, nostalgia. And to those who continue to rely on TV Patrol for their view of the world, stability and dependability.</p><p>But whatever is evoked, it’s no small feat this music remains the acoustic glue of the iconic newscast for 15 years now—becoming an icon in itself. </p><p>Also part of the theme’s longevity: its nod to the rest of TV Patrol’s history in music, with parts of past scores referenced in just 30 seconds.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/26/tv-patrol-eras-anchors-breakdown-0205">READ: The eras and anchors of TV Patrol: A breakdown</a></div><p>Since it debuted on June 30, 2010, Antiporda’s arrangement has transcended both the airwaves and the generations touched by the 38-year-old news program.</p><p>Much so that when asked a few years back during the pandemic to update the sound into a “more subtle” one that fit the times, he admits finding the task difficult.</p><p>“Medyo mahirap matalo ‘yong theme song na ‘yan (It’s quite hard to beat that theme song),” Antiporda told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>&quot;I tried doing it but I cannot undo it anymore.”</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zOrGWEE-fig?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>That the theme was kept unchanged shows then-Kapamilya news executives agreeing with the music producer, who likens the score to a sculpture.</p><p>&quot;Ang hirap ibahin ang nakaukit (It’s a challenge to alter what&#x27;s been carved). That&#x27;s it,” he added. </p><p>&quot;That&#x27;s why it&#x27;s still there. That&#x27;s why it&#x27;s still strong.”</p><div><strong>ALLEGRO</strong></div><p>Few brands in the Philippines have sonic designs recognizable with just a few notes.</p><p>The motif Antiporda’s arrangement is built on (that 8-note fanfare heard at the theme’s climax) has been synonymous with the newscast for much longer—close to 30 years now. </p><p>“Walang iba ang maiisip mo kundi ang TV Patrol (Nothing else comes to mind but TV Patrol),” said anchor Noli De Castro in an interview last February.</p><p>De Castro a.k.a. “Kabayan” had the final say in picking the musical elements that accompanied his assumption as solo anchor in 1996, former production team members recounted.</p><p>The selection pulled from a mix of different themes compiled by then-scorer Egay Rustia.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GplKRIxPGx8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>The melody that eventually landed the opening billboard or OBB came from a brass-driven piece titled “Allegro” by US composer Frank Gari. Rustia described it in a 2012 conversation as echoing the beeps of the Filipino jeepney.</p><p>A radio man at heart, De Castro recalls the sound as enlivening. </p><p>“Buhay na buhay ang music…talagang pang-newscast (The music was animated, truly for a newscast),” he said.</p><p>It was apt for the 1996 rebrand to a fast-paced 30-minute program and true as well to allegro, the tempo for fast, spirited, and lively.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/03/05/22/how-tv-patrol-evolved-in-35-years">READ: How &#x27;TV Patrol&#x27; evolved in 35 years </a></div><p>That essentiality of the musical score goes back to TV Patrol’s roots in 1987, when it premiered with the suspenseful, startling synth piece “Pulstar” by Greek composer Vangelis. Behind it were Patrol’s first director, broadcasting legend Angelo Castro Jr., and producer Becky Cabral.</p><p>Future National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab was then tapped in the early 1990s to compose indigenous music-inspired themes used across ABS-CBN News shows. </p><p>TV Patrol played iterations of the music for a few years, but it was more famously used and adapted for two decades in late-night newscast “The World Tonight&quot;.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cyUkomIY0lY?&amp;t=31s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>‘LIKE A TRAILER&#x27;</p><p>Antiporda entered the symphony in 2006, a decade after “Allegro” became TV Patrol’s main musical identity and had been rearranged three times since by composer Jessie Lasaten.</p><p>Two years earlier, Antiporda composed the debut theme for GMA’s primetime newscast “24 Oras”—a pulsing, string-heavy sequence that evoked epicness.</p><p>This time, Patrol asked him for the counterpoint: “something dramatic”.</p><p>“Almost like a…trailer, a film,” Antiporda said.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s something that, you know, &#x27;yong &#x27;pag napakinggan mo, masi-stir ‘yong emotion mo (when you hear it will stir up your emotions).”</p><p>Being self-taught as a composer in the 1980s by copying soundtracks from movies and TV on the piano, patterning his scores on Hollywood  came full circle for Antiporda.</p><p>The arrangement for “TV Patrol World” leaned into the strings as well for suspense but brought in electric guitars to do its 13-note buildup and then seal the deal with the “Allegro” theme.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GctE6dzJ07o?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>When then-news chief Maria Ressa met with him to work on a new composition for the 2010 revert back to “TV Patrol”, the peg was to base off on his previous work.</p><p>&quot;Sabi ko sa kanya (I told her), &#x27;Maria, actually, I can hear the melody already in my head.&#x27; I can hear the final outcome because nga, okay &#x27;yong pagkaklaro nung kanyang briefing (her briefing was clear),” Antiporda recalled.</p><p>&quot;Pagkatapos pa lang ng meeting, sa kotse pa lang, binubuo na sa utak ko &#x27;yong idea, the arrangement (Immediately after the meeting, even at the car, I was already forming the idea, the arrangement in my head).</p><p>&quot;Actually, when I say, &#x27;I can already hear it&#x27;, it will be easier for me to render it, play it.&quot;</p><p>‘PAAKYAT&#x27;</p><p>Driven mainly by the “Allegro” notes, the 2010 piece is underscored by a whir of hi-hats mimicking a helicopter’s thwop, which Antiporda says gives it urgency.</p><p>Those intensifying thumps of orchestra hits at the start, meanwhile, pay direct homage to “Pulstar” and the ‘80s era Patrol was born in.</p><p>But what differentiates this version from the past are the accompanying harmonies—a journey of jumps through 3 key signatures before landing back at C where it began.</p><p>“Paakyat siya. Actually, ang ginawa ko dyan, medyo hindi conventional na akyat,” Antiporda said.</p><p>(It goes upward. I actually did a somewhat unconventional rise.)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/05/05/23/3-years-since-shutdown-abs-cbn-news-strives-to-reach-more-filipinos">READ: 3 years since shutdown, ABS-CBN News strives to reach more Filipinos on multiple platforms</a></div><p>Demonstrating the progression on a keyboard, he described it as creating anticipation, excitement, and action in the music.</p><p>&quot;I felt, ‘Hmm, this is unique&#x27;. This is something exciting, &#x27;di ba, that I haven&#x27;t done before and probably hindi masyadong napupuntahan (don’t go to often),” he added.</p><p>The key signature changes also mirror the chord movements in Antiporda’s 2006 composition, just with the iconic notes. </p><p>In the background, a hum of string notes provide tension to the melody. And tying it all, the brass lead harks back to the original “Allegro”. </p><p>‘HOPEFUL&#x27;</p><p>Antiporda&#x27;s music can be heard every night on the country’s three leading primetime newscasts. </p><p>While “24 Oras” now plays a different arrangement of Antiporda&#x27;s 2004 original, TV5’s “Frontline Pilipinas” this year brought back his composition for its predecessor “Aksyon”, also made in 2010.</p><p>All scores, including TV Patrol&#x27;s, carry the same sense of urgency and suspense that have come to be associated with Philippine TV news.</p><p>In Patrol’s case, Antiporda points to the lows and highs of its story in sound as a reminder that the news is not all bad.</p><p>&quot;Merong mga hopeful tayo. And itong tinakbo ng music ito, papunta sa isang peak or climax na hopeful, positive, na may impact.</p><p>(There is hopeful news too. And this music’s journey leads up to a peak or climax that is hopeful, positive, and has impact.)</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SOZBwbjeoTk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>News fatigue worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic was among the reasons behind the attempt to tone down Patrol’s sound. </p><p>For Antiporda, his composition might be a tough act to top—for now.</p><p>&quot;Some things that you cannot repeat again eh. You know, &#x27;pag may tinugtog ka at that time, hindi mo na magawa ulit &#x27;yon eh. The same feel, the same vibe.”</p><p>(When you play something at that time, you cannot replicate the same feel or vibe.)READ: 8 million views in one night: Pinoys tune in as &#x27;TV Patrol&#x27; returns — online — amid ABS-CBN shutdown</p><p>Sticking to the same sound for a newscast is not unique. </p><p>In the United States, the half-century-old newscasts of the NBC, CBS, and ABC networks still use the same scores, and in the case of the latter two, reverted back to their classic themes after toying with other compositions for a time.</p><p>Plus, in this era of fragmented audiences and multiple creators, familiar tunes are an asset—one TV Patrol has established after decades of connecting to its audience.</p><p>The challenge to make a strong theme song even stronger remains, Antiporda said.</p><p>“[The] music and even our beloved TV Patrol [talk] about our daily lives,” he said.</p><p>“Sana ma-inspire sila sa music.”</p><p>(I hope they get inspired by the music.) </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D5crOBISUiI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SY3Me62SxVc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YPXZinb8kPo?&amp;t=2790s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2LEDl8_-e7I?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Longest-running score of a PH newscast pays tribute to its history in sound</p>