Your weatherman for all seasons

“Will it rain, Mang Tani?”

By now, Nathaniel Cruz is used to people asking this question instead of asking how he is when they see him. He does not mind it though. Since he joined GMA as its resident meteorologist in 2012 for GMA Weather, Mang Tani has become a household name on TV, radio and even online.

“When I’m able to answer their question, that’s when I know I am able to help people. They’re not doing it to mock me but because they really want to know,” he said.

Having been with Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), prior to becoming a Kapuso, Mang Tani’s experience in weather forecasting is unquestionable. Yet like how the weather can be unpredictable, Mang Tani also doubted himself before accepting the offer to work with the Kapuso Network.

“When I was in PAGASA, I’d face the camera but it’s very different. Here in GMA, the orientation is very different. It’s not like a mirror image. For almost one week, I can’t seem to figure it out,” he recalled.

Before he came back to the country, he spent two weeks practising against the green screen (chroma) and monitors, just to get the hang of it.

He was residing in Darwin, Australia during that time and at one point he said to himself: “I don’t think I’d go back.” He came back nonetheless. “I said, I’ve become a meteorologist — that was harder.”

If there was one thing he is grateful about GMA, it would be the network not asking him to leave PAGASA while he was still part of it. “They didn’t get me because they knew I was helping the government. They only got me when I resigned from PAGASA. That’s one of the things I appreciate,” he shared.

Becoming a Kapuso opened Mang Tani’s eyes. He said that back then, it used to make him happy when he was able to give weather information, believing that he was already a good communicator as the spokesperson for PAGASA.

“I thought telling the public that there was a typhoon or giving them the strength of the wind of the rainfall information was enough. The public did not fully understand what those meant. They are just interested in knowing, ‘Uulan ba (will it rain)?’ You also tell them ‘Malakas po yung ulan, puwede pong magpabaha (the rain is strong enough to cause floods). That’s what you should emphasize,” he explained.

In GMA Weather, what Mang Tani and his team do is to make sure that the public can understand the weather report even if they do not see anything. “That’s the difficult part. As a technical guy, that was not my orientation. I had to learn and study how to better disseminate information,” he shared.

Determining your audience was also crucial. “What the head of I M Ready (Tonio Magsumbol) did was to determine who will be the regular consumers of GMA’s weather reports. What he saw was 24 Oras and Unang Hirit (UH).”

With Unang Hirit (UH), he has to wake up at 3:30 a.m. from Mondays to Fridays — something he never imagined doing every day. “Yet, I’ve been doing it for almost five years now. People look forward to UH every day, so that’s okay,” he said.

UH has been an extension of Mang Tani’s family. When UH has get-togethers, he always brings his wife Glo. Glo is now back to work after recovering from a stroke that almost claimed her life some time ago. 

The couple has been blessed with two boys and one girl. As a father, Mang Tani says he is strict. “Signal No. 4,” he answered when asked to relate it to a storm.

After Glo was hospitalized, Mang Tani’s children were more attached to their mom. “My kids realized how much they love their mom,” he said. When they were in Darwin where Glo got sick, the family was prohibited to stay inside her room beyond 8 p.m. But the children stayed and slept on the floor.

“Until now, I tell them, ‘Love your mommy more than me.’ Pilyo kasi ako nung araw. When that happened, I realized how much I really love my wife,” he said.

Growing up, Mang Tani said they were made to study hard. “When it came to my children, I was also strict because I realized that if the parent is strict, the children would not do bad things,” he shared.

His efforts seemed to have paid off. “When I introduce my kids to other people, they would say they are good kids.”

Career-wise, it seems Mang Tani has it all figured out. He said the only thing he wants to do is to continue helping people through GMA’s I M Ready.

He added that they are further developing their presence on social media. Every Tuesday, Mang Tani answers questions on Twitter via Magtanong Kay Mang Tani.

“We do that from 8 to 9 a.m. Then we select a relevant question to be featured in 24 Oras in the evening together with the answer,” he added.

Last month, they also started with Facebook Live.

“Until now we still discuss with the producers — more of visuals not in terms of numbers. People hate numbers. I’m happy that a lot of people are asking questions,” he shared. 

Similar to the weather reports and tips that he shares with his followers, Mang Tani has gone through and survived many storms in his life. Like the saying goes, “There’s always sunshine after the rain.”

Mang Tani with wife Glo