Pinoy Scout Rangers hunt down ex-Navy SEAL in new Discovery Channel series

MANILA, Philippines - Gather your buddies and grab a six-pack and watch an ex-Navy SEAL take on the world's elite military and law enforcement trackers on a dangerous game of hide-and-seek.

Joel Lambert, a former member of the US Navy and an expert in escape and evasion, takes on six elite military units from six different countries in Discovery Channel's new non-fiction program, Manhunt, which will air every Monday at 8 p.m. starting April 7.

Lambert said that he was lured out of retirement from the military to do the series because "it was so excessively challenging."

"...because of the extreme disadvantage I have in this scenario, it was something that was not going to be easy," he said.

The new series' last episode was shot in the Philippines, where Lambert was hunted down by members of the Philippine Army's elite trackers, the Scout Rangers, headed by Lt. Jerson Jurilla.

The episode started with Lambert attempting to create a diversion by popping a smoke grenade and zip-lining from a tower on Mt. Sta. Rita in Subic, Zambales.

The hunt officially starts when the team of Lt. Jurilla finds an 11-inch boot track left by Lambert as he starts his exhaustive journey into the thick forest of Mt. Sta. Rita.

The game plan is for Lambert to cut through the dense forest, evade the Scout Rangers and reach the extraction point in 48 hours.

During the manhunt, Lambert is also given an extra baggage of carrying a team of Discovery Channel producers who are tasked to document the hunt.

'Scout Rangers the best'

After several hours of pushing himself to the limit, and Lambert just a few kilometers away from the extraction point, the Philippine Scout Rangers caught the ex-Navy SEAL.

Speaking to the media after the episode's screening, Lambert declared that among the other tracking units he faced during the first season, "the Scout Rangers were the best."

He said that the episode in the Philippines proved to be the most difficult.

"As far as doing the series, the most difficult episode by far was here in the Philippines. The Scout Rangers were one of the most competent and difficult opponents I faced, and the jungle around Subic was the worst I have ever been. It completely was not I anticipated. My plan didn't work... It was really, really miserable," Lambert said.

He said that in other episodes -- shot in South Africa, Poland, Panama, Arizona and South Korea -- he was able to escape the tracking units. He, however, would not divulge which units he was able to evade.

As a proof of Lambert's frustration during the Philippine manhunt, he would throw out, for several times, cuss words. There was a time when Lambert was only planning to sleep for only two hours, but he overslept for four hours because of extreme exhaustion.

He admitted during the talk with media that he cussed more in the Philippines compared to the episodes in other countries.

Lt. Jurilla, also speaking to the media, said that they were able to catch Lambert despite his expertise in escape and evasion and their limited resources, because his team knew the Subic jungle like "our own backyard."

Lambert, meanwhile, said that he would be willing to take on Lt. Jurilla's team again if given chance and he was confident that he would be able to escape the next time.