MD: "Riding With the "Bekis"

I WITNESS: "Misteryo ng Manalmon"

For Jay Taruc and his friend, Romeo Lee, venturing to the peak of Mt. Manalmon in San Miguel Bulacan is a fun climb. With caves and rivers, this place is suitable for neophyte climbers like Jay. Lee, a veteran mountaineer, teaches Jay the ropes while enjoying the great scenic spots.

But every step is a revelation for the two. Mt. Manalmon has secrets. Rumors of elemental figures and wandering shadows are circulating among the locals. Especially that of a dead actress who, some say, is not really dead but is seen walking on the summit of Manalmon. On their climb Jay and Lee indeed find horror stories on the mountain. But these horrors are not just of ghosts and spirits, but a deeper threat to the mountain’s history and natural beauty.

Join Jay Taruc on his mountaineering diaries in “Misteryo ng Manalmon” this Monday on I-Witness, on GMA after Saksi.

MD: "Hotline Pilipinas"

Motorcycle Diaries
Hotline Pilipinas
Setyembre 9, 2011

Tao ang pinakamahalagang yaman ng isang bansa. Ang kalinangan at husay nila ang bumubuhay sa ekonomiya. Kaya naman mahalagang may sapat na trabaho para magpatuloy ang daloy ng kita. Kung walang trabaho, wala ring pagkain ang bawat pamilya sa kanilang mesa.

Pero ang masaklap dito, milyun-milyon pa rin ang mga walang trabaho sa Pilipinas. Kaya naman tila isang salbabida sa gitna ng laot ang mga BPO o business process outsourcing kabilang na ang mga call center na sumasagip sa ating mga kababayang nawawalan na ng pag-asa. Sino nga ba naman ang hindi sasakay sa oportunidad na ito kung ang puhunan lang naman sa trabaho ay dedikasyong matuto at husay ng dila sa pagsasalita.

Sa call center nagsanay si Jay Taruc para sa panibago niyang pagtuklas at paglalakbay. Tinuruan siya rito ng wastong paraan ng pakikipag-usap sa mga Amerikanong kliyente na nasa kabilang linya. Nakilala rin niya ang mga call center agent na sanay na sanay na sa pakikipagtalastasan gamit ang wikang banyaga.

Malaki man daw ang kitang naiuuwi ng halos kalahating milyong empleyado sa mga call center, kaakibat naman nito ang hirap na dinaranas nila sa trabahong ginagawang umaga ang gabi. May mga ulat din na ang kundisyon ng pagtatrabaho ng walo hanggang sampung oras na pakikipag-usap sa telepono ay delikado sa kalusugan ng mga ahente ng call centers. Bukod dito, marami rin ang nakakapansin na mapusok din daw kasi ang lifestyle ng maraming empleyado dahil sa pakikipagtalik nila sa kung sino-sinong kasama sa trabaho, na nagreresulta sa paglobo ng kaso ng mga nagkakasakit ng sexually-transmitted disease.

Mahaba ang gabi para kay Jay Taruc, dahil susuriin din niya ang magkabilang mundo ng “buhay call center” – ang panaginip ng mas magandang buhay at ang realidad sa labas ng call center.

Ito ang tampok sa Motorcycle Diaries, ngayong Biyernes, 8PM sa GMA NewsTV Channel 11.

Motorcycle Diaries
Hotline Philippines
September 9, 2011

In a country as populous as the Philippines, no natural resource is as important as its people. It is the people’s hard work that drives the nation’s economy, and determines the very fate of every family. Their lack of work indicates how the economy is doing, and dictates what they would be eating.

With the country’s unemployment rate growing every year, both the government and the labor force have trumpeted the rise of BPO, or business process outsourcing, companies and call centers as God sent. These companies thrive on their employees’ dedication to learn and ability to speak English fluently – two characteristics Filipinos are quite known for.

Seeing this as an opportunity for another journey of discovery, Jay Taruc gets himself into the shoes of a call center agent. He gets to learn not only how one should talk to American clients from another continent, but also what everyday life is like for these workers.

Jay also looks into the dangers these call center agents face each time they start their day at night. He examines whether the high pay these workers get duly compensates the hazards of going to work and coming home in the dark, continuously talking for 8-10 hours straight, and being at risk of sexually-transmitted diseases – all-too-common risks that have become part of the call center lifestyle.

These call center agents live their lives and earn their living during the time when all others outside their buildings, friends and loved ones included, dream their dreams. Jay finds out how this affects their own dreams about their own futures.

Jay Taruc explores the life of a call center agent this Friday, 8p.m., in Motorcycle Diaries. Only on GMA News TV Channel 11.

MD: "Zookeeper"

MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

" Zookeeper ", September 2, 2011

This Friday, ride with Jay Taruc as he embarks on an extraordinary journey to the Manila Zoo, Asia’s oldest zoo. This time, he attempts to live the life of a zookeeper.

There, he meets Mang Pete who, for 30 years, has served as caregiver for Manila Zoo’s residents. Jay discovers that taking care of animals is not an easy task, and that a lot of hard work has to be done before the gates of the City’s premiere zoo could be opened for the public to enjoy.

As he tries to take care of the animals in cage, Jay also takes a look at the status of the animals in the country’s wild. The Philippines is one of the centers of biodiversity in the world. Sadly, several species of fauna are now in danger of being lost forever.

Jay examines if existing laws for the protection of animals in the country have sufficient bite to arrest the alarming decline of wildlife in the Philippines, and to protect the new species being discovered everyday from greed and exploitation for economic gain.

Get to know stories of journey and discovery with Jay Taruc on Motorcycle Diaries, this Friday, 8 p.m., on GMA News TV Channel 11.

MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

" Zookeeper ", Setyembre 2, 2011

Ngayong Biyernes, angkas na sa bagong biyahe ni Jay Taruc sa kanyang kakaibang destinasyon: ang Manila Zoo, ang pinakaunang zoo sa buong Asya. Susubukan naman ngayon ni Jay mamuhay bilang isang zookeeper.

Tutulungan niya si Mang Pete, na mahigit 30 taon nang tagapangalaga ng mga hayop sa Manila zoo. Matutuklasan ni Jay ang hirap ng pag-aalaga ng mga hayop na naging bahagi ng kabataan ng ilang henerasyon na ng mga bata. Dito niya malalaman na sa likod pala ng mga rehas para sa publiko, napakaraming detalye at trabaho ang kailangang gawin.

Kasabay nito, iuulat ni Jay ang estado ng buhay ng mga hayop na matatagpuan sa ating bansa. Sa buong mundo, pinaka-sentro raw ng biodiversity o likas yaman ang Pilipinas. Pero nanghihina na ang marami sa dati'y malusog na populasyon ng ating mga hayop.

May pangil ba ang ating batas na dapat sana ay nangangalaga sa mga hayop mula sa pang-aabuso? Habang nadaragdagan ang mga bagong uri ng hayop na nadidiskubre sa ating bansa, tila dumarami rin ang bilang ng mga kawatan na umaabuso sa ating likas yaman.

Ang mga kuwento sa paglalakbay at kuwento sa pagtuklas ni Jay Taruc sa Motorcycle Diaries ngayong Biyernes , 8PM sa GMA NewsTV Channel 11.