Jean Garcia loves her job as host of Personalan

During a press visit to the set of GMA News TV’s public affairs program Personalan, host Jean Garcia told the members of the press that hosting the said advocacy program is one of her favorites.

Jean Garcia

“I look forward to it every week. Bagama’t once a week ko lang siya ginagawa, excited ako palagi,” the actress said.

Since the resignation of Ali Sotto as the program’s host last March, Jean has been hosting Personalan alternatively with singer-actress Jolina Magdangal-Escueta.

Sotto resigned from the show so she could spend more time with her diplomat husband and son who are based abroad.

Jean did not hesitate to accept the post vacated by Sotto when it was offered to her.

“Hindi ko tinanggap ang show na ito because of the ‘money;’ tinanggap ko ‘to because I wanted to do something really different, and gusto ko ‘yung konsepto ng show na nakakatulong sa ibang tao at naayos yung mga problema nila,” said Jean.

Every episode of Personalan is a tense – although, not necessarily violent -- meeting of two erring parties. With the help of experts in family/life development and celebrity advisors called “celebrity uzi,” the show tries to bridge the gap between the two parties and reconcile their differences.

Considering the show’s format, Jean is inevitably “exposed” to the emotional burdens of her guests. Does this put a lot of stress on her?

“No. Actually, masarap sa pakiramdam after every episode. At natututo ka talaga e, especially dun sa mga ‘gabay sa buhay,’ shared Jean.

‘Gabay na Buhay’ is a segment of the show wherein an expert helps the erring party reach a compromise by using workshop-style activities like breaking a ceramic plate and gluing the pieces back together to show, for example, how hard a task it is to regain the trust of a partner, among others.

Personalan airs Monday to Friday, 7:00pm, on GMA News TV Channel 11