Batibot

Batibot
Title card
Genre	Educational
Created by	Feny Bautista Rene Villanueva
Directed by	Kokoy Jimenez[1]
Opening theme	Batibot theme song
Country of origin	Philippines
Original language	Tagalog
No. of seasons	4
Production
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Production company	Philippine Children's Television Foundation[2]
Original release
Network	People's Television Network (1985–91) Radio Philippines Network (1985–91, 1994–95) ABS-CBN (1991–94) GMA Network (1995–2002) TV5 (2010–13)
Release	1985 (1985) – June 30, 2002 (2002-06-30)
Release	November 27, 2010 (2010-11-27) – 2013 (2013)
Related
Sesame! (1983–84)

Batibot is a Philippine television educational show produced by the Philippine Children's Television Foundation (PCTF). It debuted in 1985, a co-production of PCTV and the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) from 1983 to 1984.^[3]

Background

Main article: 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 Turtle and the Monkey", 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]

History

Batibot (1985–2002)

PCTF decided to produce the show Batibot. Debuting in February 1985,^[9] it 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] In 1994, Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing were returned to CTW's new management.^[5]

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

Batibot ended its run on June 30, 2002.^{[13][14][4][15]}

TV5's Batibot (2010–13)

TV5 announced in 2010 that it would revive Batibot. It premiered on November 27, 2010.^[13] 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]

Batibot

Junix Inocian as Kuya Mario Bodjie Pascua as Kuya Bodjie[16][17] Sienna Olaso as Ate Sienna[17] Ching Arellano as Kuya Ching Dwight Gaston as Kuya Dwight Isay Alvarez-Seña as Ate Isay[17] Soliman Cruz as Mang Mokyo[17] Alvin Froy Alemania as Popoy Adriana Agcaoili as Ate Jojie Rafael Mallanes as Rap Rap Sheila Gamo as Ate Celia Gerry Sanga as Kuya Mola

Puppets Kiko Matsing performed by Sammy Badon and assisted by Toots Javellana Pong Pagong performed by Deo Noveno Filimon - a duck with telescope Irma Daldal - very talkative TV field reporter Direk - loud-mouth director from segment of Sa Likod Ng Tabing. Koko Kwik-Kwak – a bird character inspired from the Philippine Eagle, based from Big Bird of Sesame Street[14] Manang Bola – a forgetful fortuneteller[14] Kapitan Basa – a character who has a magic book which he uses to answer questions from children[14] Sitsiritsit and AlibangBang – a curious duo of aliens[14] Ningning and Gingging – characters based from Ernie and Bert of Sesame Street[14]

Batibot (2010)

Human characters Abner Delina as Kuya Fidel[14] Kakki Teodoro as Ate Maya[14]

Puppets Irma Daldal* Koko Kwik-Kwak* Manang Bola* Kapitan Basa*: Sitsiritsit* AlibangBang* Ningning Gingging* Tarsi- a tarsier[14]

• – from the original Batibot

Accolades

Accolades received by Batibot

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2000	14th PMPC Star Awards for Television	Best Children's Show	Batang Batibot	Won	[18]
2011	20th KBP Golden Dove Awards	Best Children’s Program	Batibot	Won	[19]
	Anak TV Seal Awards			Won	[20]
2012	Prix Jeunesse International Festival 2012	Up to 6 years old Non-fiction		Finalist	[21]
	26th PMPC Star Awards for Television	Best Educational/Children's Program		Nominated	[22]
	Anak TV Seal Awards			Won	[23]
2013	27th PMPC Star Awards for Television	Best Children Show		Won	[24]
		Best Children Show Host	Kakki Teodoro, Abner Delina	Nominated

Video game

Batibot Games
Batibot Games icon
Developer	OrangeFix
Platforms	Android iOS
Release	Android WW: August 14, 2015 (2015-08-14) iOS WW: July 5, 2017 (2017-07-05)
Genre	Educational

On August 14, 2015, Smart Communications launched a videogame for Android devices, based on the show. Smart together with the Community of Learners Foundation commissioned OrangeFix to develop the app.^[4] The development costed around one million Philippine pesos.^[6] It was specifically targeted to children from kindergarten to Grade 3, and 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]

References

1. "Friends, colleagues pay tribute to Batibot director Kokoy Jimenez". Interaksyon. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016.
2. JTVKatigbak (April 20, 2012). "Batibot directors speak on educational TV production". The College of Development Communication - University of the Philippines Los Baños. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
3. "How Batibot's Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing Became Part of Talks on U.S. Military Bases in the Philippines". Esquire Philippines. September 7, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
4. Salazar, Marlet (August 27, 2015). "Batibot reincarnates as mobile app". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
5. Carballo, Bibsy M. (April 19, 2010). "Batibot coming back with a bang". The Philippine Star. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
6. "Smart launches Batibot app, the first learning app". Manila Bulletin. August 14, 2015. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
7. Alvaro Limos, Mario (July 21, 2020). "The history of Jose Rizal's "The Monkey and the Turtle"". Esquire Philippines. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
8. Abbugao, Martin (February 12, 1989). "Filipino Sesame Street facing tough times". United Press International. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
9. Lohr, Steve (July 24, 1985). "Home Grown Values Replace Kermit in Filipino Version of Sesame Street". The New York Times. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
10. "TV Guide". Manila Standard. March 16, 1987. p. 14. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
11. "TV Guide". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. March 20, 1987. p. 14. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
12. Caña, Paul John (September 7, 2020). "How Batibot's Pong Pagong and Kiko Matsing Became Part of Talks on U.S. Military Bases in the Philippines". Esquire Philippines. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
13. Godinez, Bong (November 22, 2010). "Batibot will return to Philippine television starting November 27". PEP. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
14. Carballo, Bibsy (March 7, 2012). "Batibot & little kids in need of a boost". The Philippine Star. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
15. "Batibot Redux: Original Cast Reunion!!!". YouTube. October 8, 2008. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
16. Carballo, Bibsy (July 4, 2012). "Batibot's problems on a Saturday morning". The Philippine Star. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
17. "Where Are They Now: The Cast of Batibot". 8 List. January 23, 2014.
18. "Happy, triumphant faces at the 14th PMPC Star Awards for TV". The Philippine Star. October 9, 2000. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
19. "TV5 receives recognition from the 20th KBP Golden Dove Awards". The Philippine Star. November 4, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
20. "TV5 kiddie shows win Anak TV awards". The Philippine Star. December 13, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
21. Lozada, Aaron Erick (March 1, 2012). "Batibot earns nod at prestigious Prix Jeunesse International Festival". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
22. "PMPC bares nominees for 26th Star Awards for TV". PEP. September 26, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
23. "ABS-CBN dominates 2012 Anak TV Awards". PEP. December 5, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
24. Santiago, Erwin (November 25, 2013). "Marian Rivera wins Best Drama Actress, Coco Martin and Richard Yap tie for Best Drama Actor at 27th Star Awards for TV". PEP. Retrieved November 10, 2025.

External links

• Batibot (1984-2002) at IMDb
• Batibot (2010) at IMDb