Taking an adventure and also giving back

GOING to new places outside the usual itinerary, learning from the locals’ stories, and giving back to the community are the focus of Cignal TV’s new “infotainment” travel show Woman in Action, hosted by Gretchen Ho.

Gretchen Ong Ho, a former collegiate volleyball athlete for the Ateneo Lady Eagles from 2008 to 2013, debuted as an anchor and sports program broadcaster in various ABS-CBN programs before joining TV5 in 2021.

The show began as an online platform which Ms. Ho launched during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. She then extended the platform to a television show. As host and producer of Woman in Action, Ms. Ho will explore remote places in the country, highlighting adventures and the unique stories and the situation of these communities.

The show’s main goal is to “show the heart of the Filipino story through travel and adventure,” Ms. Ho said during an online press conference on Sept. 23.

In Woman in Action, Ms. Ho showcases the outgoing side of herself. “It’s fun for me to share that side of me,” she said. As host and producer, she said that “there is a conscious effort to annotate, to narrate and really immerse” herself in the places and communities she visits.

Ms. Ho added that the show will also focus on “courageous” travel and not just limit it to resorts and hotels.

“We wanted to show a different side [about the destination]. We traveled through…