TV host Bernadette Sembrano

Posted: 11:16 PM (Manila Time) | Feb. 24, 2004

By Marinel R. Cruz Inquirer News Service

But ABS-CBN offer fell on her lap when she was jobless.

BROADCASTER Bernadette Sembrano was seriously considering quitting her television career after the incident with GMA 7 and "The Probe Team" last year.

 She was referring to an episode in the the multi-awarded tele-magazine "The Probe Team," where the segment she had researched and would have presented on the lifestyle check of Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) chairman Ephraim Genuino was not aired as scheduled.

 Sembrano, who also hosted the public service program "Wish Ko Lang," told Inquirer Entertainment reporters during a press conference last week that she had been so depressed after the incident and had considered working for a non-government organization.

 "All I could think about was that I'm jobless," Sembrano said.

 GMA 7 terminated its contract with Sembrano on Dec. 20, 2003 after she walked out of the late-evening newscast "Saksi" while the credits were still running.

 Her walkout was triggered by a statement read by co-anchor Arnold Clavio, which said it would present her Probe Team report on Genuino one week after its scheduled airing but affirmed the network stand that the report had insufficient data and supporting documents that would back the allegations against the PAGCOR chairman.

 "The Probe Team" insisted Sembrano's report had adequate basis on charges Genuino failed to declare shares in certain corporations in his statement of assets and liabilities for February 2001, December 2001, and December 2002.

 The report was supposed to air on Sept. 16 but was blocked by GMA Network because it claimed the story had "incomplete documents". Probe Team had called the GMA Network management decision "censorship." A few days after the story was not allowed to air, Probe presented the 15-minute report before a jampacked crowd at the UP College of Mass Communications. The network aired the Probe Team report on Sept. 23, 2003 but not without the prepared statement read on "Saksi" by Arnold Clavio that triggered Sembrano's walkout.

 A regular pinch-hitter for Vicky Morales on "Saksi" and presenter of the GMA-7's weekend newscast "Flash Report Special Edition," Sembrano had since been not allowed to anchor any GMA News program after the incident. She was only allowed to host "Wish Ko Lang." After GMA 7 announced that it would air the last episode of "The Probe Team" in November last year, Sembrano told Inquirer Entertainment that she was torn between staying with GMA 7 and leaving with Cheche Lazaro, producer of "The Probe Team." She stayed with GMA 7 until Feb. 14.

 "The only reason people still saw me on GMA 7 was because the management had asked me to extend my work for 'Wish Ko Lang' up to Feb. 14," Sembrano explained. "They said (new host) Vicky Morales wasn't ready to take over yet."

She refused to talk about her relationship with her former network, saying "I'm trying to move on."

The offer from ABS-CBN just fell on her lap, according to Sembrano. She admitted that she was still in a daze when she met with Charo Santos-Concio, ABS-CBN senior vice president for entertainment. Last Monday, Sembrano joined the daily news program "Magandang Umaga Bayan" on Channel 2. She will also host her weekly documentary show and pinch hit for "TV Patrol" reporter Katherine de Castro, who is now on leave.

Sembrano's switch to Channel 2 from GMA 7 comes three months after Inquirer Entertainment ran a story about how the Lopez-owned broadcast network had aggressively wooed the television host to move to its camp.