GRETCHEN HO was officially welcomed by TV5-Cignal Pres. & CEO Robert Galang to be part of the Kapatid Network in a solo zoom presscon for her hosted by MJ Marfori.
A great athlete and a gracious host, she will be the new face of sports and entertainment reporting.
“I’m so happy and excited to be part of the TV5 and Cignal family,” says Gretchen who just had lasik eye procedure and came from the birthday celebration of her mom in Bataan. So what will she do with TV5?
“Starting February 1, I’ll do hard news as co-anchor of ‘The Big Story’ with Roby Alampay, Monday to Friday at 8 PM on Cignal's One News. Then I will also cover entertainment and sports stories for ‘Frontline Pilipinas’ on TV5.
"I’m excited as we now have UAAP and NBA, also volleyball and, hopefully, matuloy sana ang Olympics this year and I can cover it also.”
Later on, she will produce her own show, “Woman in Action”, on Cignal TV’s One News and One PH.
“‘Woman in Action’, is my personal advocacy and online platform which I launched on my birthday last year. I do public service work like the Donate a Bike drive which I put up for our kababayans who lost their jobs during the pandemic. We have given away 1,100 bikes so far.
"Public service is my personal calling, my heart is in helping other people. As a host, I’ll also do ‘Puso Pilipinas’ for Smart Digital, so I’ll appear on various platforms, like free TV cable and digital formats, which is good for my growth as a broadcaster.
"I want to keep growing as a person to keep myself sharp.”
Born on April 19, 1990, Gretchen was a volleyball player for the Ateneo team for 5 years before going professional with Petron for 2 years. She graduated from the Ateneo with two degrees, AB Communications and BS Management Engineering.
ABS-CBN then got her to host a sports magazine show in 2013 and she later joined mainstream shows like “Umagang Kay Ganda” and “TV Patrol”.
During the zoom presscon, Kapatid colleagues Raffy Tulfo, Cheryl Cosim, Lourd de Veyra, Jay Taruc and Roby Alampay warmly welcomed her.
So what can we expect from Gretchen in her new home network?
“You’ll be seeing a more mature Gretchen Ho here. More confident na, kasi marami na akong experiences in my line of work. I will be writing my own stories.
"When I started, I was so shy, ni hindi marunong mag-make up. Atletang-atleta pa. Then this new door opened for me.
"Malaki ang naitulong ng pagiging volleyball player ko kasi galing mismo ako sa battlefield, so when I interview athletes, alam ko kung ano ang itatanong sa kanila and I know how to help them para umangat sila with the help of media.
"I’m so grateful to ABS that they believed in me as an athlete who can transition to being a host. I learned so much from them.”
What can she say that her past BF when she was with ABS-CBN is named Robi (Domingo) and now, on TV5, she’s paired with another Roby (Alampay). She kept on laughing so hard.
“Natawa raw ako!” she said when she regained her composure. “Okay naman kami ni Robi so, walang problema. Basta natatawa lang ako. Hahahaha!”
