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On their 20th anniversary, the people behind the longest-running morning show in Philippine television open up about important lessons and their secrets for achieving success — which may or may not include enough sleep.
Each weekday before dawn for the last 20 years, GMA Network Center comes to life. Producers, hosts, cameramen, and crew members all come in for Unang Hirit, the longest-running morning show in the Philippines.
Typhoons, strong winds, and other emergencies are no match for the UH barkada, who promptly makes it on time for its regular 4:55 a.m. airing.
They are all motivated by one thing: service to the Filipino people, no matter what.
It is this single goal that has inspired the UH team for the past two decades, the guiding light that has led them winning the ratings and collecting awards.
After consistently winning local honors, the show was nominated in the Live Breaking News category of the 2018 Golden Nymph Awards of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival in Monaco. It has also gained renown for taking viewers to faraway journeys, with its "Holy Land" coverage and "Unang Hirit sa Vatican and Italy" coverage winning Catholic Mass Media Awards.
With the show turning 20, several members of the UH team tell GMA News Online what it’s like working on the award-winning show, the important lessons they’ve learned and the role of sleep — or the lack thereof.
“Mahal ko 'yung trabaho. I love my job. Sabi nga ng iba, 'pag minahal mo yung trabaho mo, mamahalin ka niya pabalik. Tuwing umaga talaga, paggising ko, lalo 'pag galing ko [ng] Saksi, sasabihin n'yo konti lang tulog ko. Pero wala iyon eh kasi paggising mo, parang kailangan mo maglingkod eh.”
“Paggising mo, parang eager ka maibahagi mo sa mga manonood ang mga announcement sa television. Paggising mo, parang alam mo may nag-aabang sa iyo na balita. Nakaka-inspire talaga iyon. Parang nakakawala ng pagod.”
“It's my job, and that is what I get paid to do. I have a very strong sense of responsibility and sense of mission. If I'm entrusted with something, I take the responsibility seriously. But more than that, it's the friendship, among us hosts, and the early morning audience who count on us to join them in their breakfast table.”
“I used to just watch Unang Hirit when I was a student and never thought that one day, I will also be part of this wonderful show that offers genuine public service. To those who tune in because they trust us and rely on us to give the freshest news of the day as well as class and work suspensions due to calamities... I feel we owe them so much for believing in us all these years.”
“'Yung alam mong maraming tao ang nag-aabang ng mga ibabalita niyo. 'Yung somehow alam mong ang bawat gagawin at desisyon mo may malaking epekto sa magiging araw nila.”
“Binibigay namin 'yung buong puso talaga namin sa show. Bukod sa time, wala kang tulog. 'Pag nabigay na namin yung magandang coverage, at yung public service, at the end of the day, tanggal lahat nung pagod, puyat, at stress, kasi after nu'n, we feel fulfilled na nakapag-serve kami for the Filipino people.”
“'Yung Unang Hirit naman kasi, ever since hindi lang naman talaga good vibes ang gusto natin ihatid. Gusto rin naming ihatid ang public service and information. We also want them to know kung anong nangyayari. With UH, kapag meron kaming calamities, fire... lagi kaming may public service talaga. Magbibigay ng pakain, pa-breakfast or kung ano pwede naming itulong.”
“Twenty years is a long time in any person’s life, and all the major events that happened in my life happened while I've been working with UH: meeting and marrying my husband, having my children, watching them grow into fine individuals. UH is not just a show to any of us, it is our family and second home.”
“Unang Hirit is like a family. In a family, not everything is perfect, just like in our own families. There are times when discussions are necessary. There are times when you're upset with one another. But those moments pass. I'm not just talking about with hosts, but also with our staff, na especially because we go on live everyday so, meetings can go wrong. There are times when tensions run very high. So there are times when we might have snapped at each other. At the end of the day, we say sorry and go back to normal. We can't hate each other forever because we're family.”
“'Pag ikaw naging bahagi nu'n, para kayong pamilya. Hindi trabaho ang ginagawa nyo. Araw-araw magkakasama kayo. So naging mas relaxed, mas at ease ka. Na hindi actually trabaho ang ginagawa mo kung hindi, parang bahagi ng isang pang-araw araw na buhay.”
“If you can only see our Viber thread, hanggang doon ‘yung saya. Si Arnold, mahilig gumawa iyan ng memes. Kung ano, ine-edit niya ang mga pictures.Everyone is really having fun. Minsan even after the show, we're still here talking. Nakatambay lang kami rito.”
“Kami ‘yung pambansang taga-gising. Kasama niyo kami nag-a-almusal... Tapos paggising mo sa umaga, bubuksan mo Unang Hirit para lahat ng information na kailangan niyo malaman, absorb na habang nag-a-almusal kayo.”
“Covering Typhoon Yolanda in Leyte is my most memorable experience as a host and reporter for Unang Hirit. I guess, kaya rin hindi ko ito makakalimutan — malapit sa puso ko ang Leyte bilang ito ang probinsya ko. ‘Yung makita mo ang mga kababayan mo na mawalan ng aria-arian at mawalan ng mga mahal sa buhay — napakasakit. Nakita ng mga mata ko kung gaano katatag ang mga Pilipino. ‘Yun bang kahit na ang paligid nila eh durog na at baon sa kawalang-pag-asa — ‘Yung mga puso nila at pagnanasa na mabuhay pa, kapit na kapit sa kanilang kaluluwa. ‘Yung kanilang tiwala sa grasya at awa na ibibigay ng Diyos, ay nag-uumapaw.”
“Most unforgettable would be when I was asked to cover special news reports like the Manila bus ban, Resorts World Attack, the recent earthquake in Kidapawan, earthquake in Bohol a few years back, and when I went to France to represent UH. I guess everytime I am being asked to cover for UH it becomes unforgettable because I know as a reporter, I become a part of history.”
“Not a single one stands out but one that comes to mind and I definitely won't forget is when I did the live shake drill segment and rapeled from the eighth floor of the MMDA building. I announced during that live segment that I was terrified and had a fear of heights. I did it anyway and was glad to make it down safe. Didn't cure my fear of heights though.”
“Most of my unforgettable experiences in UH involved mounting the show under challenging and unexpected circumstances. 'Yung mabubura ang lahat ng naunang plano kapag may malaking kalamidad, 'yung mag-iisip at maghahanda ng public service efforts sa loob lang ng ilang oras, o 'yung eere ng five to six hours para sa isang special news coverage. Minsan, umere pa nga kami ng Linggo dahil sa malaking bagyo. 'Yung halos igapang ng team 'yung airing — pero pagkatapos, kahit pagod at walang tulog, in high spirits ang lahat dahil maraming natulungan at matagumpay na nairaos ang programa. Tough times really bring out the best in this team.”
“I think the most memorable coverage is the Holy Land Coverage in 2018. I devoted so much time and effort in preparing that coverage. Ako mismo ang gumawa, 'yung istorya, 'yung research. Before we left on the first week of December, there was civil unrest in Jerusalem and the management did not allow us to travel during that time. I was really, really, really frustrated, but little did I know that it would be rescheduled to a better date. Hindi natuloy ng December [pero] natuloy namin ng Holy Week. Everything went well. The coverage ran smoothly. Hindi kami nagkaroon ng problema sa signal para makapagdala ng live feed from Jerusalem to here. After seven months, we won the Best in Live Coverage Award from the Catholic Mass Media Awards.”
“It would be the Resorts World Attack coverage in June 2017. Past midnight, I was roused by my news feed abuzz with initial reports about the incident with some calling it a terror attack. It wasn’t far-fetched because Marawi was still under seige by Maute-ISIS then and the entire Mindanao was under Martial Law. We immediately pulled together a team headed by our breaking news anchor Connie Sison. By the time Unang Hirit aired, we had pieced together the initial story that it was the handiwork of a disgruntled gambler. We continued to provide updates in a totally unplanned special marathon coverage. This coverage virtually put Unang Hirit on the World Map as it earned a citation from the Golden Nymph Awards in the prestigious Monte-Carlo Festival in Monaco.”
“May isang live coverage ni Ate Susan [Enriquez] sa Zamboanga. Nagbibigay kami ng libreng tawag, libreng sabon sa isang evacuation center. Tapos biglang may dumating na mga sundalo. Meron silang bitbit na isang guy, umiikot sa isang school kung nasaan kami. Nandoon siya sa loob ng compound, sa school na ginawang evacuation center. Tapos nahulihan siya, sa bag niya, ng maraming iba't ibang cellphone na pwede gamitin na improvised explosive. Super nakakatakot iyon.”
Even for former hosts, the experience of working on Unang Hirit remains unforgettable.
Hans Montenegro still remembers vividly his most emotional moment on the air.
“I was on location in Bicol with Lyn Ching, and all of a sudden, this happened. We both took the bus overnight to be back in the studio the next day. And you know, we were all segment hosts but we all became news anchors that morning, the morning after 9/11,” he said.
He spent several years living in New York, and the place held great significance for him. “I remember breaking down after my segment where I kinda did a report on Tower Number 2 going down the South Tower. Umiyak talaga ako,” he said.
For Paolo Bediones, what remains is the bond he shared with his colleagues.
“It's the camaraderie that you share, the laughs. You forget it's the morning. You forget it's early morning when you're with this bunch of guys, na every single time, you can't help but laugh and just enjoy. At a certain point, you even feel guilty that this is called a job,” he said.
GMA News anchor Pia Arcangel, who still occasionally pitches in as host for the show, still remembers just how far the show goes to make one feel special.
“Sinurprise nila ako with a phone call from my then-fiance. I wasn't actually part of the show yet. I was pitching in for Rhea back then. It was a few days before my wedding. Parang bago lang ako, tapos naisip ko, parang napaka-sweet naman for them to do that. Hindi pa naman ako officially part ng UH fam, pero ginawa nila para sa akin iyon,” she said.
“Isa sa mga natutunan kong lesson dito, una, 'yung emosyon mo ay hiwalayin sa trabaho. Hindi nila kailangan makita iyon kasi iyong iba, titinitingala ka, inspirasyon ka. Tagapagbalita lang tayo at sila na yung bahala magdesisyon. Pangalawa, kailangan mahaba ang pasensya mo. Kasi kami yung magse-set ng tone eh. Kung ano ang magiging mood ng mga Pilipino sa buong araw na iyon.”
“When you love what you do, working isn’t a burden. It becomes one’s fuel to live with a purpose. It’s not always easy to get up so early but it’s always worth it because I know, my job helps our kababayans daily in different ways, from giving traffic situations, to just giving them good vibes through our smile.”
“Apart from the learnings from the various topics every single weekday on TV, a life lesson that I am still trying to learn is learning to let go. By that I mean UH is a live TV show, and when something is live, anything can happen, meaning a lot of mistakes and accidents here and there. So learning to let go is something we all have to learn. No host is perfect, and 25 years of the same job does not mean we’re invincible. The best way to handle these is to let go and smile. I’ve mastered the smile part, and I’m slowly learning the other lesson.”
“They may sound trite but these sayings/lessons sound the truest: You’re never too old to learn; You’re only as good as your last show; And when you fall, just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again.”
“More than a job, it's a calling, and it is important. It's the sense of purpose in doing what we do. On social media we get comments from people who used to watch us while they were getting ready for school, and now they still watch us before they go to work. We are a lot of people’s go-to show for news and information. If only for that, we learn to value and appreciate the purpose of all this.”
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