Ehem… Excuse me po! Mike on winning streak

No, it’s not a put-on, not a gimmick.

Halfway through his DZBB radio program Saksi sa Dobol B and the GMA early-evening newscast 24 Oras, Mike Enriquez would interrupt himself by clearing his throat, begging the indulgence of the audience.

“Ehem, excuse me po!” That line has become fondly associated with Mike, probably the most well-loved news anchor/TV host hereabouts, not at all offensive even he’s putting to task erring government officials and criminals in general (on his long-running show Imbestigador, also on GMA). Even during this interview, Mike would do the same and…”Ehem, excuse me po!”

It’s a habit that his followers come to like and take with a grain of salt.

“That’s why I always carry lozenges with me and cough drops sugar-free,” said Mike, a diabetic who didn’t excuse himself when Funfare congratulated him on his being granted two awards — 2016 Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Award and as one of Outstanding Manilans given during the recent Araw ng Maynila.

“I am overwhelmed,” admitted Mike, “two awards in a span of two weeks. Reader’s Digest used to give awards for television (won year in and year out by Jessica Soho) and it’s the first time this year for the magazine to give an award in radio broadcasting. I am honored. I owe it to my listeners for trusting me. It’s a great honor that they chose me for the award.”

Not to brag but Mike has won so many awards in the more than four decades he has been on air that, excuse me po, he has lost count (maybe he has run out of shelves to display them in).

“Awards are nice,” continued Mike, “they are inspiring, they encourage you to do better. Being recognized gives you a nice feeling. Awards are not what you live for. You don’t do your work aiming for an award. You just do your work to the best of your ability and if you get awarded, thank you very much.”

Aside from those two, other awards that Mike considers “unforgettable” include the Teodoro Valencia Journalism Award, the Asian Television Award and the Best News Presenter from the New York Festivals for Film and Television Awards, the only Filipino journalist to have bagged that award so far.

“Awards are a reminder that, ‘Hey, guys! People are watching, people are listening!’ We owe it to the audience to give them the best we can; everything we do is for the audience, and they inspire me to wake up early pa more.”

Mike wakes up at 4 o’clock in the morning Monday thru Friday, before the sun rises (before the cocks start crowing) so that he can be at DZBB in time for his morning program, after which he joins Arnold Clavio and Ali Sotto briefly on the duo’s program Dobol A sa Dobol B.

“I’ve been doing it for years,” reminded Mike. “Accident lang ito. You see, Mel (Tiangco’s) program had ended so I was taken in on a temporary basis while they were looking for Mel’s replacement. ‘Yung temporary has lasted up to now.” Not that Mike is complaining because, even if he has to monitor his blood sugar daily 24/7, he really loves what he’s doing. He has retired and now serves as the GMA Network’s Consultant for Radio Operations.

Doing it for 46 years (since 1969), that is, in both radio and TV.

“When I started on radio, there was no FM stations yet, only AM. Kasabay ko sina Danee (Samonte, a STAR contributor and concert producer) and Joey (de Leon, who writes the Sunday column Me, Starzan for The STAR). They were in other stations. I was a deejay playing music all the time.”

Danee and Joey are Mike’s favorite traveling companions, along with their wives.

“Every time we travel,” said Mike, “we always talk about the good old days. We talk about the music, the listeners, the songs that we played. Those travels are a great source of fun for us.”

Yes, those were the days, my friends! And them were the days.

“I love radio, I’m in love with radio,” Mike narrated. “When I was small, I would sleep with a small transistor radio beside me. I would listen to Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang, Katotohanan O Guniguni, Gabi ng Lagim and other radio programs. I would listen to the commentaries of Johnny de Leon. I am a radio person. But I never had any inkling that I would be working in radio.”

What he wanted to be was a priest, but he was in the seminary for less than a year. He was in high school at that time, in La Salle where he studied until college (LiaCom, a two-degree five-year course).

“I had to leave the seminary because when the time came for my parents to sign the consent sheet, they refused. Sabi nila, I was too young daw to decide on what vocation to take. ‘Finish high school first,’ they told me.”

He would have been a cardinal at Vatican today and not the “cardinal” of radio/TV broadcasters.

“Most of the priests at that time were Franciscans, mostly Spaniards, including the Augustinians and the Benedictines. Like in college where you are asked what to major in, I was asked at the seminary what I wanted. I told them, ‘Missionary work.’ That is, to work with the poor and to spread the Word of the Lord. They are still my advocacies up to now.”

Meanwhile, let’s excuse Mike while he multi-tasks. Aside from his radio-TV work and duties as GMA radio consultant, he mans the 20-plus stations nationwide. At the time of this interview, he was in Cebu for a radio event and from there, he was flying to a nearby province for the same event.

Workaholic, huh?

“You know,” assured Mike, “when you love what you’re doing, it doesn’t feel like work at all.”

Okay, excuse me po!

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