Rodrigo Defeo "Jiggy" Manicad Jr. ( () ; born November 15, 1974) is a Filipino television news producer, reporter and broadcast journalist. During his stint in

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

, he was a presenter in '' Reporter's Notebook'', and anchored news programs ''

24 Oras Weekend (pronounced as bente kwatro oras / ) is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by GMA Network. Originally anchored by Mel Tiangco and Mike Enriquez, it premiered on March 15, 2004, on the network's Telebabad line up. Tian ...

'' and '' News TV Quick Response Team''. Manicad is currently serving as an anchor of TV5's 5:30 pm newscast '' Una Sa Lahat''.

Early life and career

Rodrigo Defeo Manicad Jr. is the son of Rodrigo Manicad Sr. and Lusviminda Defeo Manicad. He was born on November 15, 1974. He finished elementary and secondary in San Pablo Colleges. He took Communication Arts at the

University of the Philippines Los Baños The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; ), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay in the province of Laguna, some 65 kilo ...

. As a kid, he loved animals especially dogs. His dog Tikboy was chosen as one of the K-9 dogs of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). He worked as assistant editor of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Years later, he found himself back in Manila, becoming one of the writers of the popular show '' Magandang Gabi... Bayan'' in

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

. He later transferred to

as he wanted to become a newscaster and reporter, and soon became a presenter for the documentary show '' Reporter's Notebook'', alongside

Maki Pulido Maria Judea "Maki" Jimenez Pulido-Ilagan (; born May 20, 1972) is a Filipino journalist and one of the two hosts of '' Reporter's Notebook'', a current affairs programme on the Philippines terrestrial television channel GMA Network with Jigg ...

. While reporting on the May 1, 2001 riot along

Mendiola Mendiola Street (or simply "Mendiola") is a short thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. The street is named after Enrique Mendiola, the pedagogue, author of textbooks, educator and member of the first Board of Regents of the University of the ...

San Miguel, Manila San Miguel () is a primarily middle-class residential area of the City of Manila and is one of the city's sixteen traditional districts. Background Much of San Miguel is located on a riverine island, separated by the mainland by the Estero d ...

, he was injured by a rock that hit his head in the middle of the riot between the protesters and police authorities. His stories include insurgency and extremism in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

, disasters, and the illegal arms trade. In 2004, he was awarded the British Chevening Scholarship Award. He then took a postgraduate course in International Broadcast Journalism at

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

in Wales. He was chosen from 800 applicant journalists from all over the country. As part of the program, he had his practicum at the BBC in Norwich, England. He is also an awardee of Ten Outstanding Young Men for 2012 for journalism. On February 21, 2010, Manicad anchored the ''

'', alongside

Pia Arcangel Maria Pia Concepcion Nieva Arcangel-Halili (; born December 8, 1978) is a Filipino television news presenter and journalist. Career Arcangel started as a courtside reporter for the UAAP basketball games aired over Studio 23 (now ABS-CBN Sport ...

. On August 1, 2011, he served as the anchor of

GMA News TV GMA News TV (GNTV; visually rendered in uppercase in its logo) is a 24-hour Philippine-based international pay television channel owned by Citynet Network Marketing and Productions Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GMA Network Inc. It was ...

's first ever on-location newscast '' News TV Quick Response Team''. On April 20, 2018, Manicad announced his departure from GMA Network and his resignation from media service during the closing of ''Quick Response Team'', after the prospective senatorial candidate under the ruling

PDP–Laban The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP, ) is a populist political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was previously known as Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) from 1983 to 2024 as a result of a merger with L ...

political party for 2019 senatorial election. Following his exit, Manicad was eventually replaced by Emil Sumangil on ''News TV Quick Response Team'', Jun Veneracion on ''Reporter's Notebook'', and

Ivan Mayrina Ivan Ramesis Perez Mayrina (born December 23, 1976) is a Filipino broadcaster, journalist, reporter and news anchor. He is currently working in GMA Network. Early life Mayrina hails from Angeles City in the province of Pampanga and is current ...

on ''24 Oras Weekend''. After losing in the elections, he returned to GMA Network by airing his show ''AgriPreneur'', which is produced by his wife's company, Marnie Manicad Productions International (MMPI) until 2023. On December 7, 2023, Manicad marked his return to journalism when he signed a contract with TV5 to become an anchor of ''

Frontline Pilipinas ''Frontline'' () is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by TV5 (Philippine TV network), TV5. Originally anchored by Raffy Tulfo and Cheryl Cosim, it premiered on October 5, 2020, replacing ''Aksyon (TV program), Aksyon''. ...

'', joining fellow former

ABS-CBN News ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, known on-air as ABS-CBN News (formerly known as ''ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs''), is the news and current affairs division of the Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. The division is the coun ...

personalities

Cheryl Cosim Cheryl Kathleen Cosim-Alvarez (; born February 7, 1974) is a Filipino journalist, news anchor and TV host, who has appeared on ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs and News5. Career She began her career as a journalist at ABS-CBN News and Curren ...

and

Julius Babao Julius Caesar Concepcion Babao () is a Filipino broadcast journalist, radio commentator and former talk show host for the Philippine television stations ABS-CBN and TV5. He is most notable for anchoring ''TV Patrol'' from 2003 to 2010, ''Ban ...

on January 8, 2024. He then became the host of investigative show ''Budol Alert'' on September 22, 2024, replacing

Luchi Cruz-Valdes Luisita "Luchi" Cruz-Valdes (; born December 27, 1965) is a Filipino broadcast journalist formerly affiliated with GMA News and Public Affairs and now News5 and ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. She was formerly the chief of News5, the news ...

following her retirement. On May 16, 2025, Manicad left ''Frontline Pilipinas'' to anchor its new lead-in newscast program, ''Una sa Lahat'', beginning on May 19.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manicad, Jiggy 1974 births Living people Mass media people from Quezon City Bicolano people People from Camarines Norte University of the Philippines Los Baños alumni Filipino television news anchors Filipino reporters and correspondents Filipino Roman Catholics ABS-CBN people ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs people GMA Network (company) people GMA Integrated News and Public Affairs people TV5 Network people News5 people