Page 52 - The Flame

Faces

Photo by ARDIGAIL C. SARANGELO
Jeffrey Espiritu a.k.a. ‘Mr. Fu’

The man behind the funny antics

By AZER N. PARROCHA
“The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of
vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future
for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

FTER hosting a radio show from morning perfectly. time, a researcher. I did that for a year until there
until noon, a man with the sunniest of dis- was an opening in RPN-9 as a police reporter.”
Apositions has not at all showed the slight- Playing the part As much as he wanted to speak to an audi-
est trace of exhaustion. When he was young, Mr. Fu saw himself ence, he wanted to be seen on camera instead of
Being a naturally cheerful person, he ends heading toward the advertising industry. Accord- being hidden behind a microphone.
the show with so much optimism that it just rubs ing to him, he thought he was going to be a ju- “I did not want to become a disc jockey (DJ)
on everyone else, especially the listeners. nior account executive of a leading soap brand, because I wanted to be on camera,” he said. “I
With the popular expression “megan’on?” but his real dream was to become a newscaster. wanted to become a newscaster.”
copyrighted to his name, radio jockey, television Even as a student, he knew he wanted nothing He then decided to leave ABS-CBN to pursue
host, and comedian Mr. Fu (Jeffrey Espiritu in real more than to speak to an audience. his dream to become a newscaster. He had that
life) is almost impossible to misidentify. A gradu- Prior to his graduation, he wrote a letter to job for seven years until he had thoughts about
ate of AB Communication Arts (CA) in 1999, he television anchorwoman Pia Hontiveros after his career and where it was leading to.
makes it a point to make everyday fun-filled the finding inspiration to work for her after she gave “While I was a reporter, I realized I was not
first time he realized he had the drive to do so. a talk in UST. earning much money,” he said. “I asked myself,
Heard in radio station Wow FM and seen in “I thought of writing her and applying as a what is happening? What now?”
TV shows like Celebrity Samurai, Wow Mali, Tal- production assistant (PA),” he said. “ABS-CBN Mr. Fu was later discovered by radio man
entadong Pinoy, and Paparazzi at TV-5, Mr. Fu called up and told me that Pia recommended me. Manny Luzon while he was working sideline as
manages to fit all his hosting jobs in his schedule I landed a job as PA of World Tonight, at the same an event host. He was immediately accepted at
52 | FLAME