Side by side news reporting, I also dabbled in television/public affairs programs, either as a Writer or/and Producer.
ASSIGNMENT: Continuity Writer, NBN Business, October 2005 – June 2006
Details: Business Journalism is a specialized form of Journalism. There are business lingo’s that only Business Journalists know. I consider writing for NBN Business a special part of my career as a Journalist because more than the hard news and feature stories, this gave me the challenge to learn the ropes in PHISIX, currency exchange, oil price hikes – their cause and effect. And I enjoyed learning the basics of Business Journalism through this program.
ASSIGNMENTS: Writer, GSIS Program, December 2002 – May 2003
Voice Talent, MMDA on the Road, December 2002 – May 2003
Details: GSIS and MMDA are both government agencies. The GSIS is the Government Social Insurance System. The MMDA is the Metro Manila Development Authority. I was at the helm of information and education-filled programs produces by these government agencies.
ASSIGNMENT: Head Writer,‘WOW Philippines’, August 2003 – September 2004
Details: Traveling is one of the perks that come with my job as a Journalist. It is one of the perks that I love. That is why it was extra special for me to work for one of the most significant projects of the Department of Tourism, “WOW Philippines”.
Aside from being the slogan of the then Tourism Secretary and now Senator Richard Gordon, “WOW Philippines” is also the title of the Tourism-sponsored television show hosted by him.
“WOW Philippines” showed a new Philippine destination every week. It was a weekly live show and aired from the NBN Studio or from the Philippine destination that was featured. More than places, we showed people, culture and industries. I was there since the conception of the idea of how the program should look to the last episode. More than being a Head Writer, I also assisted the Executive Producer in all minute details of every episode shown.
ASSIGNMENT: Freelance Writer, Lakbay TV, October 2002 – July 2003
Details: ‘Lakbay TV’ was also a tourism-related television program showing different angles of the tourism industry every week.
ASSIGNMENTS: Freelance Segment Producer/Writer, Breakfast, July 2003 – September 2004
Voice Talent, AM@NBN, October 2002 – January 2003
Head Writer and Producer, Good Morning Pilipinas!, May 1999 – 2000
Details: ‘Breakfast’, ‘AM@NBN’ and ‘Good Morning, Pilipinas’ were all morning programs. They showed news and lifestyle stories. ‘Breakfast’ and ‘Good Morning, Pilipinas’ both aired everyday while ‘AM@NBN’ aired weekly.
My most significant Morning Show experiences were with ‘Breakfast’ and ‘Good Morning, Pilipinas’. I worked as a Head Writer for ‘Good Morning, Pilipinas’ once a week and Producer once a week. During my ‘Breakfast’ stint, I was assigned with interviews.
ASSIGNMENT: Freelance Script Writer, Rated K, July – December 2004
Details: “Rated K” is a once-a-week, 60-minute magazine program of ABS-CBN, a private television network in the Philippines. It features human interest stories and no-holds-barred interviews with interesting people. I worked for the program as a Freelance Writer. We used a single theme every week and worked around it.
ASSIGNMENTS: Freelance Script Writer, Tipong Pinoy, October 2002 – July 2003
Writer, UGAT Documentary Series, January – December 2000
Details: “Tipong Pinoy” was a weekly television program about Philippine History. Its objective was to make history interesting to the youth so we used a different approach more than the usual scholarly methodology. I remember writing about the evolution of Philippine Costumes and the Philippine History of Dance.
The UGAT Documentary Series is a two-part documentary focusing on the History of the Filipino People.
My assignment was to focus on the religion of early Filipinos. I was given the chance to dig our roots by scouring the Tabon Caves where the earliest burial sites in the Philippines were found.
I also had the chance – along with my Producer and Crew – to live with the Indigenous Peoples and realize their long lost customs and traditions. This experience is, until now, etched in my mind. As the saying goes, “You will not know where you’re going, unless you know where you came from.”
ASSIGNMENT: Writer, Milenyo Filipino, 31 December 1999
Details: As the world waited for the Y2K Bug to crash all computers, we stood by in NBN. We waited for the Bug to explode but also celebrated the New Year with a big bang – a special program prepared by the Network – when the Y2K Bug seemed to fade like an illusion.
