Reena Elena Malinao-Tan
Growing up, Reena Elena Malinao-Tan was the kind of girl who didn’t shy away when given the microphone, a portrayal of her dream roles to be a newscaster or a TV host.
Actually, many times she has been asked why she took up Nursing over Mass Communication in college, and Reena would say the same thing—she
was simply following her parents’ wish since there was a surge in demand for medical courses then.
But like they say, what’s meant to be will always find its way.
Two months after becoming a registered nurse, Reena found herself following a different path to chase a dream after another. This as she joined her fourth and last beauty tilt, and won the crown as Miss Cebu 2010.
Breaking into a smile, Reena said Miss Cebu was her only crown after getting a runner-up finish in all three beauty pageants she joined prior to Miss Cebu.
“It’s really true that when you have a dream, the universe will conspire with you,” she told us in an interview at Vanille Bistro and Cafe, a short break during her photoshoot.
After joining Miss Cebu, everything fell in place for Reena who was led right to where her passion is—a hosting job at the Kapamilya regional show “Maayong Buntag Kapamilya” (MBK) for five years.
And now, as she becomes the newest addition to the dynamic hosts of Anak TV Seal Awardee and Gandingan Awards finalist for Best Magazine Show “Mag TV Na!” which is celebrating its ninth year, Reena discovers more about her special calling.
For one, being five years in the hosting industry and dealing with people coming from all walks of life doesn’t guarantee that you won’t stutter anymore, or worse, become speechless in front of your crush, especially when he’s one of the country’s top leading men.
You are a graduate of nursing. How did you end up in a hosting job?
I would always tell people how I didn’t really plan to take up nursing. In 2005, it was the surge of the nursing career
so when I told my mother I wanted to take up mass communication, she said, “Where will you end up after graduation?”
Bright future biya to ang perception sa nursing.
At a young age, I couldn’t fight for what I really wanted because I also didn’t know where I would be going after graduation.
So I ended up taking nursing.
And happily, I made it through and eventually became a registered nurse.
But it’s really true that when you have a dream, the universe will conspire with you. After graduation, I took up the licensure examination and then I was supposed to be part of one of the hospitals here.
But my fairy godmother in the pageant world persuaded me to join Miss Cebu. I really did not have plans because I was
focused on being a nurse.
Then again, I qualified and won—you know, fate.
The host then of “Maayong Buntag Kapamilya” left and they needed another host.
I don’t know, everything just fell into place and I got into ABS-CBN.
And after five years of doing a morning show, Adrian (Diongzon) got me. It’s really a dream come true for me to be working in the media industry.
Did you really want to be a TV host?
Yes, ganahan jud ko.
When we have school portrayals back then,
I was always the newscaster or the host. I felt like I was Kris Aquino or somebody reporting on field. What is happening to me right now is the
realization of a dream when I was young.
Name one person you look up to?
Because I’m an avid Kapamilya, in the local scene Angela (Calina) was a popular TV host.
And of course there’s Kris Aquino—her spontainety when she gives interviews.
When doing interviews, I remember her talking about research.
Now I realize what she meant.
As a host, you have to know your subject.
You have to read up.
But really, they would just give me the microphone even when I was young during familygatherings. My nickname is Taray. “Si Taray ang
pa-kuana.”
How about your nursing background?
I worked as a nurse. I felt like I needed to give justice to the four years I spent studying and graduating from Cebu Normal University. Hilak-hilak
jud ko adto.
It’s like asking yourself: Why do you have to through that agony? So for three years, I was an occupational health nurse, a hotel nurse at Radisson Blu.
I didn’t go abroad because I got married.
And then they got me in HR.
And then when I had my baby, it became difficult to have a regular job, to be away from my baby for hours.
That was when a job at “Mag TV” was
offered.
How was your transition from “Maayong Buntag Kapamilya” to “Mag TV Na”?
The shift was not so difficult. While I was doing “Maayong Buntag Kapamilya,” “Mag TV” also got me for some segments. It’s different because MBK is a news and current affairs program, a live show.
It’s like a training. But maybe there was this little fear because it’s formal and your personality there is different.
But I thank the people I worked with since I had been with them for years and it has been really nice. For “Mag TV,” things felt natural.
The happy vibes of being in a magazine show is there.
Plus the character of the hosts just jelled.
What are your most memorable interviews so far?
They usually give me subjects that inspire. While the show says, “Sa programa nga naghatag natog impormasyon” the people I met do inspire us as well.
Like this old woman, even if she was already 50, she still pursued her degree.
And then there’s Dodoy is also so famous but I will always remember
the time that I met Dodoy kay he went through a lot of his life, but I did not feel like the usual ones nga makahilak ka because luoy.
Dodoy really showed me that it’s just in the positive thinking of the person, his or her disposition to make it through everything.
And maybe the bigger personalities on a lighter note, like na starstruck jud ko ni Piolo Pascual (laughs).
Because normally when I do interviews, the segment producer would tell me what the questions to ask. But at that time, it was really different. When it was time to ask the questions, I got starstruck!
Among the personalities who really struck me was Jaya. She was very nice and she has been in the industry for a long time and you wouldn’t expect na ingon ana sila ka maayo and professional.
Somehow pageantry exposed you to your dream of hosting. What brought you to the world of beauty pageants?
Miss Cebu was my last.
It all started with school events.
When I was in college, I started with Miss CNU but I was always the pageant runner-up.
Miss Cebu was my only crown, it was for me lage.
Naay ingon ana ba nga if para imo, imo jud na.
I was Miss CNU runner-up and since I’m from Liloan and you know how it feels like in the family to have a beauty queen, so I joined Miss Liloan and then later Miss Danao.
After three years, it was Miss Cebu.
Being a TV personality, there is this pressure to always be pretty and presentable. How do you keep up?
It’s a process I know I have to learn, it’s a continuous process.
In comes to doing my own makeup, I did not know much about it until I came to Mag TV.
I read and learn from people and of course, there is this consciousness to really look good wherever you go.
Can you take us back to that moment when you decided to get married four years ago at the height of your hosting career?
If you only think I was 25, you cannot explain it. My husband has a good job, I was also working.
There was no fear of getting married because prior to that, I’ve always thought that if I get married, di ko maglisod.
You know that I wouldn’t have to worry about having kids. And it was there.
And when I already achieved my dream of hosting, to be a beauty queen and we traveled. The fear of anything wasn’t there anymore, of not getting able to get this and that. I can still go wherever we need to go.
The big factor that it was not hard for me to decide in getting married was that my husband is really very supportive.
There was this scene that my son, baby Joaquin was running around and kailangan nako mag-interview.
Kinsa may mobantay? My husband is doing the video and me the interview, so kinsa man?
So I had to carry my baby while doing the interview with one of the personalities we met in our trip to the US.
What’s a typical day for you?
Our usual shoot days for Mag TV are Tuesdays and Wednesdays. So my husband and my family know that I can go out anytime of the day.
But when I am not working, wala man gud ko’y yaya.
I just had one for a month because I’m a very hands-on mother. Mabilin lang sa akong baby is my nanay-nanay, who was also the one who took care of me when I was still young. But she’s old na so I have to go home right away.
My husband and I really coordinate our schedules. I tell them that in certain dates, I cannot travel because my husband is going out.
I have heard that you were never late in an appointment?
Oh. I live in Banawa, so I would calculate. I really feel so uncomfortable when people wait for me.
The stress is different when you know you are running late.
How did you learn such discipline?
I give credits to my parents.
They really taught us that, especially my mother who is a teacher so she’s very strict and values-oriented.
I am originally from Liloan and went to Mandaue for school.
I have trained myself to be early and getting into college much more, because I studied in CNU.
I tried living away from home but I did not endure the one month. Lahi jud.
How did motherhood change you?
When I became a mother, I had to develop this affinity for children but dealing with other people, wala ra man jud.
I always think of my baby na so if there is things that we do, moana jud ko nila nga naa koy anak ha, ayaw kog paambaka or unsa ba (laughs).
But ingon ana ba naa nay fear na mu set in.
How would you differentiate Reena on-screen and off-screen?
Wala ra man. It’s just the same.
What is that quote that you live by?
I cannot memorize the line but it’s the quote that says “if you can imagine it, you can achieve it. You dream of it, you will become it.”
It’s always something on my mind. If you want something to happen, and work hard for it, it will really happen.
