Drew doing what comes naturally

Try watching Drew Arellano early mornings on GMA 7’s Unang Hirit (UH) or Sunday mornings in AHA! and on GMA News TV 11’s Weekend Getaway, Friday nights at 10, and, no doubt, you will agree with me in saying that there’s never a dull moment when he starts to speak. Drew is so spontaneous; he could probably talk for hours on end without getting his listeners bored. Add to that his funny antics that could give stand-up comedians a run for their money.

“The reason I chose to be a host than an actor is because talking comes naturally for me,” begins Drew. “I don’t have anything against acting. That’s a craft, an amazing craft. Actors can just, like, in one click, cry so easily. Me, I can’t do that.”

He admits, however, that there’s still a bit of acting in what he does. “Comedy is still part of the show. I really love that but I guess when it comes to drama and being serious, I can’t.”

Truth is, Drew shares, his bosses in the GMA News and Public Affairs wanted him to change image — as a serious anchor — having been with Unang Hirit for eight years now.

“I think it was three years ago when they wanted me to turn serious. I told them, ‘I can’t be an anchor. I can’t be an Arnold Clavio, it’s not my thing.’ Ma’am Marissa (Flores) even said, ‘Honestly, we tried. But when you tried to be serious, I laughed, so never mind.’ And I said, ‘Thank you! Thank you!’”

Thus, he continues to deliver his spiels in AHA! in a manner that is light and funny without losing the program’s objective of providing viewers an informative 45-minute TV fare. He, too, moves naturally funny along with the “weekend warriors” in Weekend Getaway while presenting the country’s various “eye-candy” tourist spots and giving participants the most memorable and challenging trip.

Weekend Getaway is an offshoot of the then QTV 11 travel show Balik-bayan but the format is no longer celebrity-based. This time, it is for people who watch the show and wish to go to some place.

“We invite them to send their videos then we choose a pair every week — whether they are a couple, bestfriends or siblings. Our No. 1 requirement is that they should be talkers, ‘yung medyo ma-boka.”

Each pair has no idea as regards to the destination. “The element of surprise is part of it so they have to be ready with their beach wear, jacket, slippers, running shoes or whatever.

“We will fly or ride them off somewhere but definitely within the Philippines because we have a ‘super high budget,’ ha,ha,ha!”

Kidding aside, Drew continues, “Besides featuring tourist destinations, we give them activities so they can immerse themselves and at the same time, we try to make it challenging so we give them travel missions.”

As host, Drew also gets to enjoy the places they visit and learn a thing or two from the information he shares with the viewers.

“A lot of people envy me (laughs). It’s not even a job. Every single episode is different, that’s why it doesn’t become a job to us. I get to learn new things. I bring home a piece of culture, besides pasalubong. Even in UH where I feature anything — from making home-made longganisa to fixing this and that — is non-stop discovering and learning. In AHA! naman, it’s more on science.”

Asked about the best place he had visited, Drew replies, “There’s a lot of beautiful places in the country. What’s the best place to go? It depends kung sino ang kasama mo. There are places fit for the family or pang-barkada, inuman lang. For me, it’s Batanes because wow, it’s like you’re abroad plus I was with Iya (Villania, his girlfriend of eight years and still counting) that time. We enjoyed every single moment. Ayun, Iya’s mom and my mom flew in there recently to check out the place. It’s really beautiful.”

Aside from work, Drew squeezes in some time for sports like triathlon. It was four years ago when he started doing the sport that taught him how to persevere, to have discipline and to be determined.

“Before, I wasn’t really meticulous about time but because of triathlon, I became so efficient with time. I’ve already mastered the art of being on time. If you’re early, you’re wasting your time. If you’re late, you’re wasting other people’s time.”

Below, discover how Drew gets through the day from the time he rolls out of bed until he shuts his eyes at night. His wake-up time depends on his schedule.

5 a.m. — If my segment in Unang Hirit will air at 5:45 to 5:50, I wake up by this time. I take a bath, make coffee and prepare my baon of brown rice and anything that I cooked the night before. I ask the staff to e-mail the script for me to read it on my way to the studio or in our location, so when I arrive on the set alam ko na.

4:30 a.m. — I’m up early if I’m assigned on location. Same routine. I make coffee, heat up the food that I’m going to bring, take a bath and dress up.

4:45 or 4:50 a.m. — I’m out of the house and then I arrive in my location 5:15 or 5:30. But if I’m gonna be the host in the studio, I should be there by 4:55.

5 to 8:15 a.m. — I’m on the air in Unang Hirit.

8:15 a.m. — I call Monday as Iya Day so I usually spend the day with her. On Tuesdays, after 8:15 I go straight to GMA to shoot segments for AHA!

I take my lunch within AHA! I eat my baon. They know that I eat every three hours so I always bring apples, mangoes and nuts.

Before 6 p.m. — Taping is over and I head straight home. Usually, Tuesdays are my interval training day after the taping. I do practice in Ultra and I’m done by 7 or 7:30 p.m. Then, I’ll have my dinner.

8:30 or 9 p.m. — I’m flat on bed.

I have the same routine on Wednesdays except that I do other stuff in the afternoon after taping. Right now, I’m setting up my own gym in my place (a condo in Pasig area) so I can do some workout also.

Thursdays — I fly for Weekend Getaway after Unang Hirit. So by 8:15, I get home then leave the house again at 10 a.m.

11 or 12 noon — We fly to our destination. When we fly out on Thursday afternoon, I already bring my running gear so when I take a bath at night, ‘yung pantakbo ko na yung pantulog ko so when I wake up the following day, I’ll just put on my shoes and I’m ready to run. I wake up an hour before the crew wakes up.

Fridays — I fly back in Friday afternoon or night.

Saturdays and Sundays — I spend time with my family.