10 Years of Mission and Evangelization: DXGN 89.9 Spirit-FM Davao celebrates its 10th Reopening Anniversary

Within the grounds of San Pablo Parish Compound in Juna Subdivision, Matina, the home of the studios and office of DXGN 89.9 Spirit FM has long been the center of Catholic broadcasting in Davao City. Its transmitter, perched atop Shrine Hills in Matina, sends a 10-kilowatt signal across the city and into the surrounding communities, carrying music, prayers, and the Good News 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to anyone within its reach. The official radio station of the Archdiocese of Davao, DXGN 89.9 Spirit FM is more than a broadcast frequency. It is a ministry on the airwaves and last June 13, 2026, it marked its tenth reopening anniversary.

The story of DXGN started in 1968, during the directorship of Fr. Rogelio Antalan, when the Archdiocese of Davao first seriously considered establishing a Catholic radio station. Fr. Antalan was sent to Manila to study broadcasting — a forward-thinking investment at the time and the groundwork was laid through BTMC radio, established under his supervision in collaboration with the Daughters of St. Paul. In its early years, the operation was modest, largely confined to recording songs and radio plays. But the vision was always larger than its means.

In 1985, the late Archbishop Antonio Ll. Mabutas took decisive steps to bring that vision to life, inviting newscaster and ADDU mass communication professor Ms. Cecile Estardo to conduct a full radio feasibility study. The completed study was submitted to Germany’s Misereor, the Catholic Bishops’ Organization for Development Cooperation, and secured the funding needed to move forward with help from Msgr. Julius Rodulfa, then the Archdiocesan procurator, the funds were used to acquire a 4,000-square-meter lot for the transmitter in Shrine Hills, Matina, along with studio equipment and music albums. On May 15, 1988, after the 22nd World Communications Day, DXGN went on the air for the first time, with Ms. Estardo as its pioneering station manager. Programming followed a mixed format, half religious and half commercial, with a strong emphasis on Filipino values and gospel-based music.

What followed, however, was decades of struggle. Financial pressures eventually forced the archdiocese to hand operations to the Notre Dame Broadcasting Corporation (NDBC), which rebranded the station with the tagline “DXGN: Pinoy Radio!” The shift to OPM hits resonated deeply with Davaoeños, and the station climbed to number one in radio surveys. But fierce media competition, repeated equipment breakdowns, and mounting operational costs proved too much, and the station closed once more before the 1990s ended. The late former Archbishop Fernando R. Capalla revived it in 1996, and successive managers kept the mission going through the 2000s, even as the station closed for a third time in 2008.

The fourth and current reopening came in December 2015 when test broadcast was done, the result of years of quiet preparation, community fundraising, and the tireless work of volunteers, clergy, and lay leaders who refused to let the signal go permanently dark. Archbishop Capalla even donated proceeds from his own birthday fundraising entitled the Life Run to help finance the comeback. Now, DXGN’s operation remains strong with the support of the current Archbishop, Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D, and with the dedication of the station’s staff and volunteers.

To mark ten years since its formal re-opening last June 13, 2016 of uninterrupted broadcast, the Commission on Social Communications of Davao was brought the celebration to the streets with “Dagan Para sa Dekada” — a community fun run last June 13, 2026 (Saturday) participated by at least 1,988 runners at the Bago Aplaya Coastal Road Esplanade, Talomo, Davao City. The event offered three race categories open to all — 3KM at ₱500, 5KM at ₱750, and 10KM at ₱1,000 — with every registration including an event shirt, race bib, snacks, hydration, a finisher’s medal, a raffle entry, and insurance. Gun starts are set at 5:00 AM for the 10KM, 5:05 AM for the 5KM, and 5:10 AM for the 3KM. Raffle prizes include ₱5,000, ₱3,000, and ₱2,000 for the top three winners, with ten additional cash prizes of ₱500 each and ten DXGN merchandise winners. All proceeds benefit the Commission on Social Communications of Davao.

DXGN 89.9 Spirit FM has closed three times and come back four. It has outlasted equipment failures, financial crises, shifting media landscapes, and years of silence. It has survived not because of institutional power, but because of the unending support, collective faith of clergy, laity, volunteers, donors, and listeners who believe the Good News deserves a signal. A decade after its latest comeback, that mission of evangelization is still standing and ongoing.

Daghang salamat mga Ka-Spirit! Sama-sama together, always and forever!