MARIZ UMALI is the newest member of “Unang Hirit” as she just replaced Rhea Santos who migrated to Canada.
“Bale I joined them last July lang,” she says. “I want to thank Igan Arnold Clavio and everyone kasi they’re all very warm. Tinanggap nila ako agad. Talagang na-feel ko agad na mga kaibigan silang walang iwanan at masaya silang kasama.”
Because “Unang Hirit” is a morning show, she has to wake up at 4 AM. “I’m very thankful to my husband (broadcaster Raffy Tima) as he’s very supportive at hinahatid niya talaga ako sa studio every morning then he just goes back to sleep,” she says.
They’ll soon celebrate their 7th wedding anniversary and, as usual, they’re being pressured about having a baby. “Siguro I have to take a long break from work to achieve that,” says Mariz.
“Kasi, right now, after ‘Unang Hirit’, I go to work right away as a field reporter and I have to go where the action is. So tungkol sa pagbe-baby, we lift it up to the Lord. In God’s own time, siguro, bibigyan Niya rin kami ng baby namin.”
Right now, she’s enjoying her job as a news person very much. “17 years na ko sa GMA since I started here as researcher right after I graduated from masscomm in UP. I’m very happy with my work kasi kunsaan-saan na ako nakarating dahil dito. My most memorable is covering the canonization of Pope John Paul II kasi I saw him in person during World Youth Day.
"Now, my newest assignment is to go to South Korea from November 29 to December 4 upon the invitation of Korean Tourism to feature their culture, their food, their scenic spots. Excited ako kasi fan talaga ako ng Koreanovela at sana maka-meet ako roon ng Korean actors.”
