the Philippines in Diliman, majoring in Broadcast Communication, graduating cum laude.At Letran, i was editor of both my elementary and high school papers. In college, interned at 558 RMN News Manila DZXL and GMA Network Incorporated before being hired by government TV station IBC 13 as writer, and eventually producer and part time reporter.In 2003, I was taken in a newsroom anchor and producer for the ABS-CBN News Channel, delivering the latest developments received at the abs-cbn newsroom for cable news. I was also the channel’s live field reporter for some of its rolling coverage’s, such as the 2004 presidential canvass, and the congressional hearings on the Hello Garci Scandal and the first 2 impeachments attempts against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. I also was one of the network’s field reporters on the ground during the Ultra Stampede and the February 26 Fort Bonifacio Standoff. In the 2007 elections in Marawi, Lanao del Sur, I reported about an alleged operator of electoral fraud in that region. Since then I have talked to presidents, political leaders and national celebrities. Catch me on ABS-CBN’S various platforms on channel 2, ANC and www.abs-cbnnews.com and my twitter account at http://www.twitter.com/1rgcruz.
A PERSONAL NOTE:
DEFYING GRAVITY
Back in school, I wasn’t exactly at the top of my class. At least not in elementary and early high school. Sometime in elementary, my mom noticed my command of the English language, prompting her to quip, “oh, you’re good in English. That means you won’t be good in math.” Call it case of self fulfilling prophecy or mind conditioning turned-reality, I wound up struggling to pass mathematics till freshman year high school, living in sheer terror with every math teacher who comes my way. On hindsight, this became an early personal gravity, since my math grades pulled down my academic average to missing the required honors average grade by just a few points.
It wasn’t till first year high school with my math teacher, that my relationship with math turned around. Unlike previous math teachers, my math teacher then made sure everyone in her class understood her lesson, and would repeat every single lesson patiently till no one is left behind. She’d find ways to motivate and inspire her math-deficient students to get her lesson, whether its through anecdotes or simple words of acknowledgement. Her patience showed me and propelled me to dare to believe that I can be more, and be better, than what I already think I am.
If not for her, I probably would have stayed in the early rut I was in. I would have certainly been buried in the ruts that are parts of being alive. Life is full of ruts that pull you down. Some of them externally caused, some of them, like my rut in math—internally generated. It’s the internally generated ruts that tend to be the most destructive and prohibitive.
After all, If one doesn’t believe in oneself, who will. If I didn’t start to believe I can actually ace math, I probably would have missed out on the things I managed to achieve in the schools I attended. I probably wouldn’t have pursued my passion for the news, a passion that 1st sparked watching images of the 1990 Gulf War as a 9 year old. I wouldn’t have tried out for the school paper. If I didn’t start believing I can do more, I probably wouldn’t have even dared applying to the companies I did after college (IBC 13 to ANC and later on ABS-CBN). I wouldn’t have probably dared cover the stories I did, talked to the people I interviewed. I probably wouldn’t have stood up for the beliefs I did.
What many people fail to realize till much later on, is that as with physics, gravity, is a force that can be overcome with another force. Sometimes, that internal force may need to be stirred by people like that math teacher from high school, or my immediate former boss Maria Ressa, whose integrity and inspiration and faith fired up many dreams into the realm of reality by unleashing the power within.
However at our very core, we can channel our own internal gravity, to manage if not overcome the external challenges. In the end, that’s how you defy gravity—and that’s when you can go from merely believing—to actually being more than you actually think you can be.
contact: rg_cruz@abs-cbn.com, rgcruz.abscbn@gmail.com
