25 things to know about Arnold Clavio

He is regarded as one of the top news personalities in the country today, but GMA News and Public Affairs pillar Arnold Clavio is quick to reveal that his career as a broadcast journalist was not without difficulty. And as he celebrates his 25th year as a Kapuso, Arnold shares with Kapuso Day 25 little-known things about him. 

Philosophy in life. “Give without expecting anything in return” and he learned this from his father, Mang Fred. “Ang sabi niya sa akin, ang pagtulong hindi namimili, walang kondisyon, walang compromise at ang pagtulong dapat bukal sa loob.”

Dreaming of Space. Arnold initially wanted to become an astronaut, which was why he took up Electronics and Communications Engineering at UST. However, he had to shift to Journalism due to financial problems. “Nakikinood ako noon sa kapitbahay ng telebisyon at napanood ko ‘yung Apollo 11 kaya gusto kong maging astronaut. Dapat meron kang engineering major kaya ako nag-ECE, tapos pupunta ako ng NASA.”

(Almost) entering priesthood. An active member of a religious youth organization in high school and a choir member in their parish, Arnold also thought of entering the seminary. “I was exposed to spiritual activities. Our training was like being in the seminary already. Even in the way we dressed, we were like seminarians. Pero kailangan ipasa mo ’yung exam para makapasok sa seminary, hindi ako pumasa dun.”

Best actor. Yes, he also used to act. Back in college, Arnold was a member of the university-wide theater organization Teatro Tomasino and was even named as Best Actor for portraying Bien Aligtad, the lead character in the theater adaptation of Ben Tumbling.

Composer and poet. Arnold loves to compose and translate songs and write poems. His translation of How Did You Know was sung by Liza Diño when she and Aiza Seguerra appeared on GMA News TV’s Tonight with Arnold Clavio recently.

Arnold Dishwasher-negger. He earned this moniker while working part-time in a fast-food restaurant when he was still in college. His contract, however, was severed when he participated in the EDSA Revolution and missed his shift at work.

Music lover. Arnold plays quite a number of instruments — bandurria, drums, bass guitar and saxophone — and was even a band member during his youth.

Eat, Bulaga! contestant. In 1982, Arnold’s band joined the Flashback segment of Eat, Bulaga! where they played as The Beatles. Unfortunately, they lost. But unknown to his bandmates, Arnold later went solo and auditioned for Eat, Bulaga’s Footloose contest.

“Free” TV. Thanks to a neighbor who owns a TV set, Arnold was able to watch movies and other programs. But often, he didn’t get to see the endings of late-night shows because “sinasara na ng kapitbahay namin yung bintana.”

John en Marsha fan. He reveals that he was a John en Marsha fan primarily because “kamukhang-kamukha ng daddy ko noon si Dolphy tapos yung nanay ko parang si Nida Blanca. So feeling ko, ako si Rollie Quizon.”

Rising from the ranks. He joined GMA Network in 1989 via DZBB as a radio reporter. He later worked as a voice talent and a writer for television news programs before finally becoming an on-cam news reporter.

From features to hard news. Arnold’s first TV program was Brigada Siete, led by the late (Philippine STAR columnist) Louie Beltran, where he used to feature light features and human interest stories. He shifted to hard news after doing an exclusive story on the Abu Sayyaf group.

Noontime. This is Arnold’s favorite time of the day since he gets to relax in between his programs.

It comes in threes. Arnold is the eldest among three siblings. He has three children and also three grandchildren.

Common interest. Arnold and his kids are all into photography. He is currently fascinated with high-definition cameras used in extreme action video photography.

Biyahero. Arnold loves to travel as he gets invigorated from his vacations. He also gets to appreciate the Philippines more when he goes abroad.

Christmas season and Holy Week. Long vacation means more quality time for his family. They usually go out of town or out of the country during long breaks.

Carrying the cross. Arnold and his family joined a Holy Land pilgrimage two years ago wherein he had the rare chance of carrying the cross during a reenactment of the Stations of the Cross.

Nanay’s specialty. Lumpiang hubad. Kare-kare. Adobo. Nilagang bulalo. All of which are Nanay Julie’s specialties and are also Arnold’s favorites.

Golf as stress buster. Arnold’s love for the game of golf started when he was a Senate reporter. He also likes playing basketball.

Favorite book and author. Two automatically comes to mind: The Bible and Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook.

Favorite movie/s. Not a surprise that Arnold likes all James Bond movies. Unexpected was when he revealed that he also likes romantic movies.

Colleagues. Former GMA executive Antonio Seva and veteran journalist Jun Bautista are two key figures in the industry that he looks up to. He admires Seva’s craft and humility while Bautista’s words of wisdom about their chosen profession remain with him until this day.

Children in need. Less-privileged sick children have a direct line to Arnold’s heart. A diabetic himself, Arnold established the iGan ng Pilipinas Foundation to help sick children, especially those with diabetes. Currently, his foundation supports at least 10 juvenile diabetic patients.

Favorite almusal. Nothing beats pandesal dipped in hot coffee for Arnold. 

On GMA7, Arnold is seen in Unang Hirit, weekdays at 5am; Saksi, weeknights at 11PM; and Alisto, every Monday, 4:35PM.

On GMA News TV, Arnold hosts Tonight with Arnold Clavio (TWAC) every Wednesday at 10PM.

On DZBB, Arnold co-anchors radio program Dobol A sa Dobol B, weekdays at 10AM.