Jiggy Manicad and QRT: 4 years of searching for and reporting the truth

For four years now, GMA News TV's Quick Response Team (QRT) has been producing fast-paced presentations of breaking news. Its most notable stories include the Zamboanga crisis (September 2013), Central Visayas earthquake (October 2013), and Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban (November 2013). 

 

Conceptualized and anchored by broadcast journalist Jiggy Manicad, QRT has been lauded for its live on-the-ground reportage of conflicts, disasters, and crime, winning the Bronze World Medal in the New York Festivals under the category "Best Coverage of Breaking News" in April 2014 for its reportage of the Zamboanga crisis.

 

But behind these acclaimed reports are stories untold. Chasing truth can be tedious and even dangerous, Manicad proved as he detailed his experiences during an interview with fellow journalists last Friday.

 

Close call
 

Before positioning himself in front of live cameras, there was trekking through debris and cracked roads; finding himself surrounded in shrapnel after an explosion; wading through corpses, wondering if his missing crew members were dead.

 

"First time akong nakakita 'yung talagang nag-crack 'yung daan, humiwalay 'yung kalye, parang 10 feet 'yung tinaas ng isang kalye," he mused as he recounted QRT's Bohol earthquake coverage. "Tapos 'yung bata na ini-interview ko...bigla siyang yumakap sa 'kin. Na-feel ko 'yung takot niya."

 

The moment clearly stuck with him, that piece of naked human emotion in the midst of destruction. He revealed that he searched for that child again after the earthquake, and included him in his episodes of "Reporter's Notebook."

But while being on the scene provided him with unforgettable experiences and lessons, it has also, more than once, put him uncomfortably close to death.

 

During the Zamboanga siege coverage, Manicad narrowly escaped with his life.

 

"'Yung live position would be sa pinto ng elevator," he shared. "Naglakad na akong papuntang elevator. Bumalik ako, umikot lang ako, sabi ko, 'Sandali, 'yung microphone.' Pagtalikod ko, sumabog 'yung live position namin."

 

Later he found out that a bomb slipped into the area. A number of Red Cross members were rushed to the hospital using GMA News TV's van, since the ambulance was destroyed in the explosion.

 

Birth of QRT

 

Four years ago, Manicad read about Osama Bin Laden's death in an article on the Internet and it sparked the idea of a newscast that specialized in breaking news. Inspired, Manicad filed the proposal.

 

Since then, Manicad was named a multiple Outstanding Television Anchor awardee by Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption for his work in QRT, and is the 2015 Best Male News Presenter at the 2015 EnPress Golden Screen Awards for TV.

 

However, it was a crooked path for Manicad. The son of public school teachers, Manicad considers himself an "accidental journalist."

 

Originally, he dreamed of becoming a mechanic, but ended up studying Communication Arts at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Even then, he never imagined he would become what he is now.

 

"'Di ko nga inakala eh... from pagiging mekaniko, to ganito," he chuckled. "Nag-apply pa ko, porter for PAL. Sabi ko...baka dumating 'yung panahon, maging pilot ako. Porter to pilot."

 

But now that he's found his niche, Manicad said he has no plans of leaving.

 

"Vina-value ko talaga 'yung roots ko sa GMA," he stated, later adding that he and his team are already drafting improvements for QRT.

 

"Nagde-develop kami ng ibang mga segments...QRT talaga—magdadala kami ng experts, rescuers sa area," he said. "Nagde-develop din kami ng mga special reports for QRT na 'di lang 'yung talagang breaking stories. Susubukan namin na magkaroon ng oras for that para magkaroon ng variety ng stories."

 

Ongoing search for truth

 

"Ano ba talaga yung totoo? Anong nangyari?" 

 

This is what Manicad wonders to himself every time a tragedy or controversy rocks the country, every time he thinks that perhaps he's "getting too old for this."

 

Even as the helicopter he was in crashed during the Maguindanao massacre in 2013, even as his technical team was missing and feared dead during Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, the unanswered questions kept him going.

 

"Mapu-push mo talaga 'yung sarili mo to follow up on stories," he explained. "Para sa akin, important na malaman mo talaga 'yung ending ng story. Para malaman mo din 'yung katotohanan talaga."

 

And so, foregoing the script and makeup, his face dotted with sweat and toes itchy with grit, Jiggy Manicad reports.

 

"As a journalist, 'yung search for truth... Hindi mo pwedeng iwan na nakabitin 'yung isang information, o isang pagkakataon just like that," he said.

 

"Kailangan maging motivation 'yung katotohanan." —KG, GMA News