Batibot Explained

Genre:Educational
Creator:
Director:Kokoy Jimenez[1]
Open Theme:Batibot theme song
Country:Philippines
Language:Tagalog
Num Seasons:4
Camera:Multiple-camera setup
Company:Philippine Children's Television Foundation[2]
Network:
Related:Sesame! (1983–84)

Batibot is a Philippine television educational show produced by the Philippine Children's Television Foundation (PCTF). It debuted in 1984 as the replacement of Sesame, a co-production of PCTV and the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) from 1983 to 1984.[3]

History

Sesame! (1983–1984)

See main article: articles and Sesame!. The precursor of Batibot was Sesame!, a Filipino version of the American children's show, Sesame Street.[4] Sesame! was a co-production of the Philippine Children's Television Foundation (PCTF) and the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) with support from the Philippine government. It aired in 1983 as a bilingual (Filipino and English) program.[5] [6] The series featured two Muppet-style characters Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing. Both characters were inspired from a Filipino fable, "The Monkey and the Turtle", which was annotated to English by José Rizal in 1889.[7]

Government support ended in 1984 and the co-production arrangement with CTW was cancelled.[8]

Batibot (1985–2003)

PCTF decided to produce its own show titled Batibot and debuted in February 1985.[9] Batibot was conceptualized and produced by Feny Delos Angeles-Bautista, a teacher from the Community of Learners Foundation and writer Rene Villanueva. Unlike the bilingual (Filipino and English) Sesame!, Batibot was done entirely in Filipino and featured stories in a Philippine context. An arrangement with CTW was made in order for the characters Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing to continue their appearance including one human character Kuya Mario.

Airing on weekdays with a time slot of 10:30 AM,[10] [11] the series consistently ranked in 1985 among the top 10 daytime shows in the Philippines, outdoing the ratings of Sesame! and Sesame Street, which first aired in the country in 1970.[9]

By February 1989, the producers were experiencing financial constraints which placed uncertainty regarding the future airing of the show.[8] PCTF were in negotiations for an Indonesian version of Batibot; coincidentally, CTW were also in negotiations for an Indonesian version of Sesame Street. Shortly thereafter, CTW informed PCTF of their decision to repossess the characters Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing. PCTF negotiated with CTW for the continued use of the characters for four more years under a license arrangement. Despite, the extension to use the characters, PCTF decided to phase out their appearances because of the costs.[3] By 1994, the two characters were returned to CTW and were never used again.

In 1999, Batibot was relaunched as Batang Batibot airing on a Saturday morning timeslot.[12]

Batibot ended its run in 2003.[13] [4] [14]

TV5's Batibot (2010–2013)

TV5 announced in 2010 that it would revive Batibot. It premiered on November 27, 2010.[15] TV5's version of Batibot featured a different set of human characters, Ate Maya and Kuya Fidel. Instead of a Monday–Friday broadcast format, the new series was aired on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.[16] The airing of the series lasted until 2013.[6]

Cast and characters

Batibot featured characters portrayed by puppets as well as human characters. Most of the puppets used for the show were locally made. Kiko Matsing and Pong Pagong who were among the main characters of the original Batibot were owned and crafted by CTW.[9]

Sesame

Human characters
Puppets

Batibot

Human characters
Puppets

Batibot (2010)

Human characters
Puppets

Spin-offs

Batibot has its own spin-off program Koko Kwik Kwak (named after a bird character), which also aired on GMA Network from 1999 to 2002 every weekday mornings.

Mobile app

Batibot Games
Developer:OrangeFix
Released:Android
iOS
Genre:Educational

On August 14, 2015, Smart Communications launched a mobile app for Android devices based on the show. Smart together with the Community of Learners Foundation commissioned OrangeFix to develop the app.[4] The development of the app content costed around .[6]

The Batibot app is specifically targeted to children from kindergarten to Grade 3. It is aligned with the Department of Education's kindergarten curriculum and is in Filipino. An iOS version of the app was released on July 5, 2017.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Friends, colleagues pay tribute to Batibot director Kokoy Jimenez . . https://web.archive.org/web/20160821065716/http://www.interaksyon.com/entertainment/friends-colleagues-pay-tribute-to-batibot-director-kokoy-jimenez/ . August 21, 2016 . dead.
  2. Web site: JTVKatigbak . Batibot directors speak on educational TV production . February 4, 2016 . The College of Development Communication - University of the Philippines Los Baños . April 20, 2012.
  3. Web site: How Batibots Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing Became Part of Talks on U.S. Military Bases in the Philippines . Esquire Philippines . September 7, 2020 . June 12, 2021.
  4. News: Salazar, Marlet . Batibot reincarnates as mobile app . February 4, 2016 . . August 27, 2015.
  5. Web site: Carballo, Bibsy M. . Batibot coming back with a bang . September 15, 2020 . . April 19, 2010.
  6. Web site: Smart launches Batibot app, the first learning app . https://web.archive.org/web/20150822191348/http://www.mb.com.ph/smart-launches-batibot-app-the-first-learning-app-in-filipino/ . dead . August 22, 2015 . February 4, 2016 . . August 14, 2015.
  7. Web site: The history of Jose Rizal's "The Monkey and the Turtle" . Alvaro Limos, Mario . Esquire Philippines . July 21, 2020 . June 12, 2021.
  8. Web site: Abbugao, Martin . Filipino Sesame Street facing tough times . February 4, 2016 . . February 12, 1989.
  9. Web site: Lohr, Steve . Home Grown Values Replace Kermit in Filipino Version of Sesame Street . February 4, 2016 . . July 24, 1985.
  10. Web site: TV Guide . July 28, 2019 . . March 16, 1987. 14.
  11. News: TV Guide . July 28, 2019 . . Standard Publications, Inc. . March 20, 1987 . 14.
  12. Web site: Caña, Paul John . How Batibots Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing Became Part of Talks on U.S. Military Bases in the Philippines . October 7, 2020 . Esquire . September 7, 2020.
  13. Web site: Carballo, Bibsy . Batibot & little kids in need of a boost . February 4, 2016 . . March 7, 2012.
  14. Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxDhvAlnkHU
  15. Web site: Godinez, Bong . Batibot will return to Philippine television starting November 27 . September 19, 2020 . PEP . November 22, 2010.
  16. Web site: Carballo, Bibsy . Batibots problems on a Saturday morning . February 4, 2016 . . July 4, 2012.
  17. Web site: Actor Junix Inocian dies in the UK at 64 . InterAksyon . February 12, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160214230723/http://www.interaksyon.com/entertainment/actor-junix-inocian-dies-in-the-uk-at-64/ . February 14, 2016 . dead.
  18. Web site: Where Are They Now: The Cast of Batibot . January 23, 2014 . 8 List.

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