REYFORT Television, a division of Reyfort Media Group (RFMG), put together a new team that will lead its television division and bring the media format to more Filipino-Canadians in Canada.
Joining the team as its Chief Executive Officer for RFTV is Paul La Rosa. La Rosa has been working with RFMG since 2013 as a script writer and director of some of its shows, and helped develop new TV concepts, reorganize RFMG of companie,s and redefine the current long-running TV program Philippine News Canada-Balitang Vancouver. He has a degree in Art Direction for TV and Films, Classical Animation and photography through the Vancouver Film School and VanArts. He is also in the accounting and marketing communications field, as well as a customer service background. La Rosa has also worked as an administrator for a local film production company and spent a few seasons working in the Vancouver film and TV industry as a cast member.
“Rey Fortaleza’s dream is to have the largest Filipino Canadian multimedia company in the country,” La Rosa shares. La Rosa says that RFMG has achieved a part of this with the newspaper’s PNT and Showbiz Today. “I am extending his dream with the revamping of Reyfort TV, starting with PNCBV. My objective is to provide an unbiased platform to all our kababayans about what’s important to them, and to support their endeavours as a fellow Filipino.” La Rosa’s dream is to have several Filipino produced TV programs in Canada to eventually have an RFTVchannel – owned and operated by Filipino Canadians.
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Rosette Correa is RFTV’s Director of Programming and Senior Anchor for Philippine News Canada-Balitang Vancouver (PNCBV), and Senior Editor for PNT. Correa joined RFMG in 2014, when she volunteered to help write articles for PNT. A journalist by hobby, she is currently a teacher in the Catholic School System, and a concurrent contributor to the BC Catholic. Correa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Design from the University of the Philippines, her Master’s Degrees in English and Special Education, as well as her Doctor of Philosophy major in Educational Management from the University of Perpetual Help. She was an educator’s journal writer, and a writer of textbooks for Diwa Publishing in Manila. Correa also speaks at educators’ and religious conferences in Manila and here in Vancouver.
“I joined RFMG because I want to debunk the myth that Filipinos can never be united,” Correa says. She admits she’s an idealist, but she believes that Filipinos, wherever they are in the world, seek to find solace in a Filipino community because they speak the same culture, thus, they have a desire to be united. “I believe that those who seek to destroy these bonds are not Filipino at all, because it is not characteristic of a Pinoy to want to destroy a beautiful culture like ours. We are a genuinely loving and happy people!” She adds that people who do seek to divide the community will never stop, but what we can do is to unite, cooperate, and move forward for the promotion and preservation of our heritage and leave a legacy to the next generation of Filipino-Canadians. She says she shares Rey Fortaleza’s dream to reach many Filipinos in Canada and unite us once and for all. Correa hopes that her work with RFMG will give the Filipino community a venue to present their work that will benefit all Filipino-Canadians and reach out to them.
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Rolly Fortaleza is RFTV’s Director of Photography and VP of RFMG. Fortaleza has been with RFMG for the last sixteen years, and has recently taken the helm of RFTV with La Rosa and Correa. He received his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the Far Eastern University and worked as a Graphic Artist for nineteen years at Venture Graphics. He is currently the director and senior editor of PNC-Balitang Vancouver.
Like La Rosa and Correa, Fortaleza hopes to bring more Filipino-Canadians together through PNT and PNC-BV. He says that bringing Pinoys closer together through print and television is one of the best ways to unite us. “Being able to cover events and sharing it with the rest of Canada is very important for me, because we should all seek the common good,” Fortaleza adds. He has covered many Pinoy events in Vancouver, and has established many friendships with the different Filipino-Canadian associations who have been supporters of RFMG for a long time.
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Efren Saylon is RFMG’s Distribution Manager in Alberta. Saylon lived in Vancouver for eight years before moving to Edmonton, and has known PNT while he was in BC. Saylon said that when Fortaleza called him to ask him if he was interested in distributing PNT in Alberta, he immediately said yes because he knew that the newspaper carried Filipino values and aimed to help many Filipinos in whatever way it can.
“PNT is an established, or I shall I say, an ‘institution’ when it comes Filipino newspaper publishing in Vancouver, and it is just of matter time to established its footprint here in Alberta,” Saylon adds. He seeks to spread the Filipino culture this way in Alberta, where Filipinos are the second largest ethnic group, because of the many oversees Filipino Workers or OFWs.
Right at the moment, PNT will be here in Edmonton, then Calgary and Red Deer. We are planning to reach as far as Fort Mcmurray, Grand Prairie and Llloydminster. Saylon hopes to feature as many Filipino community events in Alberta such as the Heritage Festival which is slated from July 30 to August 1 this year. He also says that various Filipino organizations in Alberta here are planning to celebrate Philippine Independence Day celebrations in June. Saylon hopes to showcase the Filipino Heritage through RFMG and RFTV so that we can share our proud culture with the rest of Canada.
