AWARD-WINNING broadcast journalist Jiggy Manicad was hot on the trail of controversial boxing champ Manny Pacquiao, then rumored to be having an affair with actress Krista Ranillo, when he stumbled upon the story of what is now known as the Maguindanao massacre.

This was what Manicad told History in an interview set to air on September 26 at 10 p.m. in the one-hour special ?The Maguindanao Massacre.?

History is an international satellite and cable TV channel that airs programs about historical events and persons, as well as occults and paranormal phenomena. In Asia, it is seen in India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, and China.

?I was focused on getting Manny to talk about the controversy involving his wife Jinkee and Krista when I got an invitation to join a group of journalists who are off to Maguindanao,? Manicad told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Wednesday. ?This was what I told the History team. I also shared with them the intelligence report I got prior to the massacre and gave a background on what happened during the 2004 and 2007 presidential elections in that province.?

The interview, Manicad said, lasted for only 30 minutes in a non-descript house in Quezon City. ?The question I found most striking was, ?How do you feel that your colleagues are all dead and you?ve survived?? I was also made to share my views on the working conditions of journalists in the country.?

Throughout the interview, Manicad said he was extremely careful about putting the Philippines in a bad light. ?I simply presented the facts. I refused to answer questions I knew were ?loaded.? I know History was able to talk with some of the victims? families, private armed groups and the Mangudadatus.?

Some 50 people, mostly journalists who were there to report about Esmael Mangudadatu?s filing of certificate of candidacy for governor, were kidnapped and brutally killed on Nov. 23, 2009, in the town of Ampatuan.

The History interview is arguably Manicad?s biggest international exposure, although the host of the news program ?Reporter?s Notebook? thinks otherwise. ?I don?t look at it as another feather in my cap, but an added responsibility. Nakaka-pressure. I kept thinking, ?What if I said the wrong things? How will that affect my work and my country?? I?ve not seen the documentary yet. Honestly, thinking about it makes me feel nervous.?

In his 15 years as a broadcast journalist, Manicad has had quite a number of close encounters with death. ?My colleagues kept teasing me. They said if I were a cat and had nine lives, I would be living my sixth life now,? he said. ?While others say lapitin ako ng disgrasya, some say they want to be part of my team because I always stumble upon big stories.?

Manicad cheated death in a chopper crash in 2003. He suffered a head injury when hit by a stone while covering the ousting of President Joseph Estrada in 2006. In 2008, Manicad was trapped in heavy fighting between government troops and the rebels in Basilan and became a witness to the death of a Marine.

Despite these experiences, Manicad said he enjoys his work and has no intention of leaving broadcasting for a ?less stressful? job in an office. ?I can?t picture myself doing something else. I grew up in this kind of work and will probably be a journalist till I die.?

Manicad, however, wishes his children would pursue careers far less dangerous. ?I?m OK with my 1-year-old girl becoming a chef. As for the baby, who is three months on the way, sana ?wag naman akong ma-stress.?

Manicad said ?Reporter?s Notebook,? which he cohosts with Rhea Santos and Maki Pulido, promises to be more exciting and in-depth now that it?s on its sixth year.

?Maki reports about human interest stories, such as child labor cases and poverty. Rhea interviews controversial personalities. I handle hard-core news. This way, viewers get to watch different stories with different treatments in each episode,? he said of ?Reporter?s Notebook,? which airs on GMA 7 every Tuesday after ?Saksi.?

E-mail mcruz@inquirer.com.ph