Jake Maderazo back at DZXL

The call of the airwaves proves to be hard to ignore for veteran broadcaster Jake Maderazo. Away from radio for nearly two years, he recently returned to his roots and made a homecoming to DZXL of Radio Mindanao Network (RMN), where he started his career in the mid-’80s.

While he spent a good number of years working for ABS-CBN after the EDSA Revolution, Jake traces his humble beginnings to DZXL, where he first worked as an editorial writer for Bobby Guanzon. Also working for DZXL at that time were Mel Tiangco, Jay Sonza and Mike Enriquez, who was the station manager of the FM station, DWKC.

Jake returns to being a radio commentator on DZXL with the daily morning show, Taumbayan Naman, Mondays to Fridays, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. “My dream is to have a radio show on primetime,” Jake allows. “Other radio programs promote personalities and overlook citizens’ concerns. My show deals with the common problems that citizens encounter and they have a chance to voice out their concerns on radio.”

Other radio heavyweights comprise DZXL’s present lineup. Coming right after Jake’s Taumbayan Naman is the program of Erwin Tulfo and Doris Bigornia, Birada, followed by Ira Panganiban in 30 Minutos, 30 Segundos and Ogie Diaz in Wow, Ang Showbiz. Melo del Prado takes a much earlier morning timeslot with Kasado 558.

Before his self-imposed sabbatical from broadcasting, Jake was one of the pillars of ABS-CBN news and current affairs department. After the EDSA Revolution, the erstwhile sequestered network was resurrected and was in need of news writers and producers for a primetime newscast to replace Balita Ngayon, with Robert Arevalo and Mel Tiangco.

When Freddie Garcia was hired to take charge of ABS-CBN’s program content, he relaunched the network with new shows in Ang Pagbabalik ng Bituin, thus giving “birth” then to the Star Network. Part of the programming offensive was the early evening Tagalog newscast, TV Patrol.

Jake became part of the network’s think-tank for  TV Patrol, with Angelo Castro, Butch Raquel, Becky Cabral, Jay Sonza, Mel Tiangco and Larry Ng. He was also the one who pushed for a one-hour newscast on an earlier timeslot.

In March 1987, ABS-CBN launched the first Tagalog, one-hour newscast, TV Patrol, with now-popular segments like Pulso ng Bayan, Mission Exposé and Star News. Pulso ng Bayan even spawned into Jake’s own radio show on DZMM, which he hosted from 1989 to 2005.

His daughter (and only child), Gail Stefanie, was only seven when Jake started Pulso ng Bayan on DZMM. “Now, she’s about to take the bar exams,” Jake offers. “She finished Inter-Disciplinary Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University then went on to take up Law also at Ateneo.”

In 2005, Jake opted for an early retirement from ABS-CBN, where he was the vice president for news and current affairs. What was once the work of only one man in the news and current affairs department of the network was passed on to two ladies — Charie Villa and Luchie Cruz-Valdez — who became Jake’s successors for the position.

It was also in 2005 when Jake was awarded Most outstanding Manilan in the field of journalism. “After my early retirement, I got to enjoy time with my family,” Jake shares. “We got to travel together and take long vacations. We weren’t able to do that for a long time when I was still working for ABS-CBN. I was initially offered consultancy for some ABS-CBN programs, but I chose optional retirement, which turned out to be very comfortable for me. Most important to me is to be with my family.”

Yet, Jake never became idle after his early retirement from TV work. He busied himself with one of his passions, breeding race horses and raising thoroughbreds. Years of dealing with horses made him the thoroughbred breeding expert in the country. He was also the editor-in-chief of Horseman’s Digest, the journal of Philippine thoroughbred, published by a group of horse owners led by Aristeo Puyat and Norberto Quisumbing.

Jake is also the vice president of marketing and business development of Metropolitan Association of Race Horse Owners (MARHO), the biggest association of horse owners in the country. He owns 26 race horses in Lipa, Batangas.

Last year, his ultimate horse-racing dream was realized when his race horse, Mr. Victory, won the third left of the 2006 Philippine Triple Crown at Sta. Ana Park. “What made it sweeter was that I am also the breeder of the champion,” Jake beams. “My horse won P1.5-M. All of his winnings last year went close to P3-M. It was a victory for me outside broadcasting.”

After coming out of his two-year hiatus, Jake put up Makisig TV on SkyCable Channel 78. “We acquired the horse-racing channel and reprogrammed it into a men’s channel,” Jake explains. “When the channel starts its broadcast next month, we will feature programs on men’s fashion, men’s clinic, macho cooking, men’s sports and even male relationships.”

Makisig TV expands the local capture market of horse racing without the gambling component, according to Jake. “It will be purely coverage of the sports event. We can have shows about cars,  timepieces or the latest gadgets. We have nothing risque in the channel. It’s 24/7 and exclusively for men. But it’s not just for local viewers. We are also targeting audiences abroad with The Filipino Channel (TFC) since we have original content.”

Makisig TV was realized with a whopping P60 million investment, complete with a microwave van from Florida, a digital technical operations center with state-of-the-art equipment and a studio in Quezon City with six editing machines. For Jake, it was a call of duty to improve the Karera Channel.

“There is a call for the proper handling of the Karera Channel, which simply evolved into a new business to operate a cable channel exclusively for men,” Jake grants. “We also want to improve the coverage of horse racing and other local sports like golf, karting and even cockfighting. The microwave facility allows us to air any sports event live on the channel.”

Jake’s partners in his new business venture are the biggest horse owners in the country, led by Hermie Escueta. “Our primary goal is to make horse racing an entertainment sport, like what it is in the US and Europe, minus the gambling,” Jake informs.

Some of the programs lined up on Makisig TV include Late Night with Rico Puno and Cooking Up with Reggie Aspiras. “We also want to educate the women to know how men think,” Jake says. “We want the channel to be as informative as it is also entertaining.”