MANING: Architect of a Pleasant Morning
By Lino C. Soriano
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of creative feature articles written by Mr. Soriano which was published at People’s INSIDER Magazine from 2001-2004. It was chosen for this Website to teach campus journalists and aspiring writers on a different approach to interview writing. Because DJ Maning studied architecture, it is just appropriate to use this in the title.
RAPE, robbery, murder!
Nobody wants to start his day hearing such sickening news stories on AM radio. No, not even for a single morning. Because these can set a bad mood which could last the whole day.
That’s why there is FM radio. And that’s why there is I-FM’s Maning who designs a pleasant early morning by playing your kind of music - lively, inspiring tunes that will move you to face the demanding challenges up ahead.
Wake-Up Caller
At 5-9 a.m. daily, except Sundays, Maning – or Emmanuel Songalia – hosts I Umaga Na, where he plays vivacious and bouncy music for all ages.
Of course, you won’t expect him to talk like DZMM’s K-u-y-a C-e-s-a-r, lest his listeners fall asleep again. Maning hosts his show with vigor and enthusiasm, a style that will keep you awake while getting ready for work or school.
These could be the reasons why, in just a few months, he has gained a growing legion of avid listeners, who are early birds like him.
Sports Buff
How does he sustain such energy for six consecutive days?
The tall jock is very active in sports. He has extensive experience in mountain biking and wind surfing competitions.
On Fridays and Saturdays, if there is much traffic, it will take you at least two and a half hours driving from Cubao to Tagaytay City. A few months ago, the energetic jock did it in just two hours and four minutes during a mountain bike cycling competition. Again, in June, Maning participated in the Siquijor Adventure Race, where his reflexes and stamina were tested afresh.
The call of the sea is irresistible to a guy who spent hours upon hours of his formative years swimming in the cerulean waters of Tacloban City. For a number of years, Maning has been into a sport exclusively for swimmers: wind surfing. He was one of the finishers of the recent Boracay Wind Surfing Challenge. With better preparation, he expects to improve his performance next year, and maybe win a prize.
Maning’s unwavering interest in sports has a contagious effect on his second daughter, Jo Anne. At 14, she is a sport climbing sensation. Lately, she represented the country in Malaysia and won third place. Will she bring home gold next time?
The Waray jock’s only son, five-year-old Christian, is into skateboarding and computers.
“Sports are an indispensable part of a healthy growing up, aside from building self-confidence and teamwork,” Maning stresses.
It Runs in the Blood
Interestingly, Raymund Ryan, I FM’s station manager, is a medical technology graduate – while Maning, a visual artist, studied design of homes, buildings and communities, or architecture for short.
In our first meeting at their studio in Pasig City, it puzzled this writer why Maning became a jock.
The ‘culprit’ is his mother, Hermie, a famous announcer at DYRR AM in Ormoc City in the 70s. At an early age, Maning’s constant exposure to Hermie’s work developed his interest in broadcasting.
In 1997, Maning got his initial assignment as a regular DJ at DYXY in Tacloban. During his college days, he worked as a student jock at DYDR in the same city. Due to his impressive performance, he was later tasked to pinch hit for regular DJs who were late or absent.
It was only last May 2 that Maning started at I-FM. He confides it was quite difficult at first – making some adjustments to suit the taste and lifestyle of Metro Manila listeners.
A Lover of Nature
The only way we can learn to understand and love nature is by being closer to her, says Maning.
Whenever he goes home to Leyte, he always finds time to camp out with his family, and enjoy the serenity and unmatched ambiance only Mother Nature can offer. In the process, the joy, cheer, laughter and other unforgettable experiences parents and children share – and imprint in each other’s minds – foster deeper family love, greater respect and lasting unity. Drugs can never destroy aspirations, much more a family like this bonded with deep love.
The next time you wake up at five in the morning, switch on at 93.9 FM, listen to the architect of a pleasant morning. And if you will emulate his good examples, you yourself can become an architect of a happy family, one with a very promising future!
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of creative feature articles written by Mr. Soriano which was published at People’s INSIDER Magazine from 2001-2004. It was chosen for this Website to teach campus journalists and aspiring writers on a different approach to interview writing. Because DJ Maning studied architecture, it is just appropriate to use this in the title.
RAPE, robbery, murder!
Nobody wants to start his day hearing such sickening news stories on AM radio. No, not even for a single morning. Because these can set a bad mood which could last the whole day.
That’s why there is FM radio. And that’s why there is I-FM’s Maning who designs a pleasant early morning by playing your kind of music - lively, inspiring tunes that will move you to face the demanding challenges up ahead.
Wake-Up Caller
At 5-9 a.m. daily, except Sundays, Maning – or Emmanuel Songalia – hosts I Umaga Na, where he plays vivacious and bouncy music for all ages.
Of course, you won’t expect him to talk like DZMM’s K-u-y-a C-e-s-a-r, lest his listeners fall asleep again. Maning hosts his show with vigor and enthusiasm, a style that will keep you awake while getting ready for work or school.
These could be the reasons why, in just a few months, he has gained a growing legion of avid listeners, who are early birds like him.
Sports Buff
How does he sustain such energy for six consecutive days?
The tall jock is very active in sports. He has extensive experience in mountain biking and wind surfing competitions.
On Fridays and Saturdays, if there is much traffic, it will take you at least two and a half hours driving from Cubao to Tagaytay City. A few months ago, the energetic jock did it in just two hours and four minutes during a mountain bike cycling competition. Again, in June, Maning participated in the Siquijor Adventure Race, where his reflexes and stamina were tested afresh.
The call of the sea is irresistible to a guy who spent hours upon hours of his formative years swimming in the cerulean waters of Tacloban City. For a number of years, Maning has been into a sport exclusively for swimmers: wind surfing. He was one of the finishers of the recent Boracay Wind Surfing Challenge. With better preparation, he expects to improve his performance next year, and maybe win a prize.
Maning’s unwavering interest in sports has a contagious effect on his second daughter, Jo Anne. At 14, she is a sport climbing sensation. Lately, she represented the country in Malaysia and won third place. Will she bring home gold next time?
The Waray jock’s only son, five-year-old Christian, is into skateboarding and computers.
“Sports are an indispensable part of a healthy growing up, aside from building self-confidence and teamwork,” Maning stresses.
It Runs in the Blood
Interestingly, Raymund Ryan, I FM’s station manager, is a medical technology graduate – while Maning, a visual artist, studied design of homes, buildings and communities, or architecture for short.
In our first meeting at their studio in Pasig City, it puzzled this writer why Maning became a jock.
The ‘culprit’ is his mother, Hermie, a famous announcer at DYRR AM in Ormoc City in the 70s. At an early age, Maning’s constant exposure to Hermie’s work developed his interest in broadcasting.
In 1997, Maning got his initial assignment as a regular DJ at DYXY in Tacloban. During his college days, he worked as a student jock at DYDR in the same city. Due to his impressive performance, he was later tasked to pinch hit for regular DJs who were late or absent.
It was only last May 2 that Maning started at I-FM. He confides it was quite difficult at first – making some adjustments to suit the taste and lifestyle of Metro Manila listeners.
A Lover of Nature
The only way we can learn to understand and love nature is by being closer to her, says Maning.
Whenever he goes home to Leyte, he always finds time to camp out with his family, and enjoy the serenity and unmatched ambiance only Mother Nature can offer. In the process, the joy, cheer, laughter and other unforgettable experiences parents and children share – and imprint in each other’s minds – foster deeper family love, greater respect and lasting unity. Drugs can never destroy aspirations, much more a family like this bonded with deep love.
The next time you wake up at five in the morning, switch on at 93.9 FM, listen to the architect of a pleasant morning. And if you will emulate his good examples, you yourself can become an architect of a happy family, one with a very promising future!