# Balitang Bisdak

Balitang Bisdak (also known as GMA Regional TV Balitang Bisdak; transl. Bisdak News) is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by GMA Cebu. Originally anchored by Bobby Nalzaro, it premiered on October 4, 1999, replacing News at Seven Cebu. Lou-Anne Mae Rondina currently serves as the anchor.

## Overview

Presented from the studios of GMA TV Cebu, it provides news and features around Cebu City, Metro Cebu, and province of the same name and the rest of Central Visayas including Negros Oriental, Bohol, and Siquijor; as well as Eastern Visayas (including Northern Samar, Western Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran and Leyte where interviewees speak Waray while Southern Leyte also uses Cebuano, which is spoken by them), through the station's news teams and stringers across the two regions.
The newscast airs every Monday to Friday from 5:10 PM to 5:40 PM on GMA Cebu (TV-7) and via satellite on relay stations GMA TV-10 Tacloban, GMA TV-11 Bohol, GMA TV-5 Dumaguete, GMA TV-5 Calbayog, GMA TV-8 Borongan and GMA TV-12 Ormoc. It is also aired on a slightly delayed basis over radio station DYSS 999 AM at 6:00 PM.
Balitang Bisdak was also re-aired for national viewers under GTV's late night block "Regional TV Strip" on a weekly basis. It aired every Tuesday at 11:50 PM from May 19, 2020 to July 20, 2021.
The program also airs worldwide on GMA News TV International.

## History

The newscast was first aired on Channel 7 in Cebu on October 4, 1999, two years after Bobby Nalzaro left Bombo Radyo Cebu in 1997 and transferred to GMA Cebu as a regional news anchor and became a solo anchor of the newscast until 2009 when Atty. Rose Versoza joined in the newscast and stayed until 2015.
To strengthen its commitment of bringing the latest, most credible and most comprehensive news from the region, in July 2013, the newscast started its international broadcast on GMA News TV International alongside other regional newscasts Balitang Amianan (formerly 24 Oras North Central Luzon and 24 Oras Amianan, now One North Central Luzon) and One Mindanao (formerly Testigo, 24 Oras Southern Mindanao and 24 Oras Davao).
Balitang Bisdak ended its 15-year run on November 7, 2014, as it adopted the branding of its now-main newscast 24 Oras into 24 Oras Central Visayas effective November 10.
However, on February 1, 2016, 24 Oras Central Visayas reverted its branding back to Balitang Bisdak, after more than a year hiatus opposite GMA Dagupan's Balitang Amianan.
On November 13, 2017, Balitang Bisdak was relaunched similar to sister newscasts Balitang Amianan and One Mindanao, and it is now available in major parts of Central and Eastern Visayas, by simulcasting the program through its relay stations in Tacloban, Bohol and Ormoc. Co-anchor and veteran correspondent Alan Domingo joined Nalzaro and Quibod-Castro in the anchor team.
Two days after the launch of GMA Regional TV Weekend News (later Regional TV Weekend News, now Regional TV News), on July 29, 2019, Balitang Bisdak updated their graphics and introduced a modified logo and new opening titles patterned with its co-produced national newscast (featuring the scenes of the program's coverage area). For the first time, the newscast had a more relaxed set-up with couches instead of the tables and chairs that viewers usually see on typical newscasts, intending to be an extension of viewers' living room, further connecting the news anchors and the viewers. In addition to the new studio set, Balitang Bisdak opens its doors to the public as it invites viewers to participate as live studio audience every Friday.
On June 29, 2020, the program merged with GMA Iloilo's One Western Visayas due to GMA Regional TV's decision to suspend GMA Cebu's program production due to the increasingly intense situation in Cebu City caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With that, reports from the newscast delivered in the Cebuano language are then transmitted to the Iloilo station and will be broadcast in the network's regional stations in Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas. In the interim, the program is de facto named GMA Regional TV's Unified Newscast in the Visayas, One Western Visayas-Balitang Bisdak newscast. Aside from Cebuano and Waray, the program now uses Filipino on studio presentation alongside Hiligaynon reports from One Western Visayas. This marks the return of a multilingual newscast of the network since GMA Davao's One Mindanao which used Cebuano and Filipino before switching to full Cebuano. On July 2, 2020, Bobby Nalzaro returned as co-anchor. The merger ended on July 10, 2020, when the program returned on July 13 due to the resumption of GMA Cebu's program production. The program also reverted its overall medium of delivery in the Cebuano language.
On May 3, 2021, the program added Samar to its coverage area. And with it, comes a new opening billboard.
From March 17 to 21, 2022, the newscast held a tribute for main anchor Nalzaro, who died at the age of 58, leaving Domingo and Quibod-Castro as anchors. Co-anchor and veteran correspondent Lou-Anne Mae Rondina joined the anchor team on May 2, 2022, for the newscast until July 28, 2023, when the latter was transferred to the morning newscast GMA Regional TV Live! the following week.
On January 26, 2024, co-anchor Cecile Quibod-Castro marks her last appearance after almost 2 decades (although she remained as an anchor in Regional TV News which eventually fused as a segment on Balitanghali), leaving Domingo as the sole main anchor for the newscast.
On September 2, 2024, the newscast tweaked a major revision of its title card. It changed its font color to blue, the logo for GMA Regional TV was removed, and the graphics and OBB were changed to reflect it under GMA Integrated News.
28 days later, on September 30, 2024, Lou-Anne Mae Rondina replaced Domingo to coincide with another revamping of the newscast. Also, the GMA Integrated News OBB replaced the GMA Regional TV's own OBB. The display of the headlines is also changed, with the main headline serving as the title and the program's name serving as the subtitle.

## Personalities
### Anchors

* Lou-Anne Mae Rondina (Main anchor and correspondent)

### Correspondents

* Alan Domingo
* Nikko Sereno
* Fe Marie Dumaboc
* Chelo Vallena (Supervising Producer)
* Mark Regie Abella (Playback Operator)
* Orchids Lapingcao (Production and Logistics Support/Floor Director)

### Former personalities

* Pablito "Super Bob" Nalzaro$^†$ (Main Anchor; 1999–2022)
* Cecille Quibod-Castro (Co-anchor, 2005-2024; one of the three main anchors of Regional TV News)
* Atty. Rose Versoza (Co-Anchor; 2009-2015)
* Monching Auxtero
* Ana Desamparado
* Ara Labra
* Jun Veliganio
* Mark Anthony Bautista
* Bexmae Jumao-as
* Greggy Magdadaro
* Ching Pelayo
* Lalaine Go
* Aynee Triumfante
* Vic Serna
* Ademar Ochotorena
* Chona Carreon (Senior Correspondent)
* Lian Sinculan
* Yuri Deldig a.k.a. Yuri Richards$^†$ (House Attack segment reporter)
* Victor Camion (Dumaguete correspondent; now with 89.5 Brigada News FM Dumaguete)
* Leo Udtohan (Bohol correspondent; now with 90.3 Radyo Bandera News FM Bohol)
* Ronnie Roa (Leyte correspondent)

## Segments

* Alerto (Police News)
* Game On! (Sports News)
* Flash Report (Breaking News)
* Huli Cam (Reports on footages in CCTV)
* Newsstand (Other Reports)
* Ronda Waray (Other Reports in Eastern Visayas)
* Serbisyong Puso (Public Service)
* Showbits (Entertainment News)
* GMA Regional TV Presents (Special Reports)
* Extra
* Extra Income (Money News)
* Bida Ka
* Hanepbuhay
* Bisdak Bae
* Good News
* Reklamo, Ipa-Bisdak mo! (Complaint News)
* Balitang Barangay (Community News)
* Batang Bisdak (Kiddie News)
* Manglaag Ta! (Travel News)
* Lami Syah!/Food Trip (Food News)
* Lahi Rah (Viral News)
* Hayop sa Balita (Animal News)
* GMA Integrated News Weather Center (Weather News)
* #SpreadKindness
* 'Sa Maaan? (Questions)
* Kwento ng Pilipino (Story News)