Luchi Cruz-Valdez
Encyclopedia
Luisita “Luchi” Cruz-Valdez (born December 27, 1965) is a Filipino broadcast journalist formerly affiliated with the GMA News and Public Affairs
and the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. She is currently the head of the news and public affairs department of TV5
.
(UP), and became a radio and television reporter and producer. She is married to Lito Valdez, an IT marketing manager, and has three children.
Valdez joined the American Broadcasting Company
(ABC) as a field reporter when it set up a Manila
bureau for the 1986 Snap Presidential Election. After her ABC stint, Valdez was hired by Cheche Lazaro
when ABS-CBN reopened after president Corazon Aquino
was sworn into position.
For 10 years, she was a co-host of The Probe Team
with Lazaro, founder and producer of the program, and also Valdez's professor in UP. She proceeded to become part of the GMA News and Public Affairs for three years before accepting the offer of rival network ABS-CBN to become its vice president for news production and current affairs in 2001.
Soon after leaving her post in GMA 7, the network filed cases of breach of contract and injunction against Valdez, which prevented her from working in ABS-CBN from December 28, 2001 to August 20, 2002. In July 2008, the Quezon City
Regional Trial Court judge Tita Marilyn Villordon dismissed the cases and ordered GMA Network to pay its former employee in damages equivalent to the salary that Valdez should have earned during her eight-month “forced” vacation.
Also in 2008, Valdez was placed under preventive suspension pending the outcome of an internal matter, which ABS-CBN Corporate Communications head Bong Osorio described as “not merely a petty personal difference or simple administrative concern.”
In November of the same year, Valdez filed her resignation. In 2010, she joined TV5 as its News and Public Affairs head.
GMA News and Public Affairs
GMA News and Public Affairs is the news department of the Philippine broadcaster GMA Network and its sister network GMA News TV...
and the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. She is currently the head of the news and public affairs department of TV5
Associated Broadcasting Company
The Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal...
.
Life and career
Valdez earned her degree in Broadcast Communication at the University of the PhilippinesUniversity of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
(UP), and became a radio and television reporter and producer. She is married to Lito Valdez, an IT marketing manager, and has three children.
Valdez joined the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
(ABC) as a field reporter when it set up a Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
bureau for the 1986 Snap Presidential Election. After her ABC stint, Valdez was hired by Cheche Lazaro
Cheche Lazaro
Cheche Lazaro, , is an acclaimed Filipino broadcast journalist and the founding President of Probe Productions Inc.-Profile:...
when ABS-CBN reopened after president Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
was sworn into position.
For 10 years, she was a co-host of The Probe Team
Probe (Philippine TV series)
Probe Profiles was a Philippine public affairs program being aired on ABS-CBN and on its sister cable channel, the ANC...
with Lazaro, founder and producer of the program, and also Valdez's professor in UP. She proceeded to become part of the GMA News and Public Affairs for three years before accepting the offer of rival network ABS-CBN to become its vice president for news production and current affairs in 2001.
Soon after leaving her post in GMA 7, the network filed cases of breach of contract and injunction against Valdez, which prevented her from working in ABS-CBN from December 28, 2001 to August 20, 2002. In July 2008, the Quezon City
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
Regional Trial Court judge Tita Marilyn Villordon dismissed the cases and ordered GMA Network to pay its former employee in damages equivalent to the salary that Valdez should have earned during her eight-month “forced” vacation.
Also in 2008, Valdez was placed under preventive suspension pending the outcome of an internal matter, which ABS-CBN Corporate Communications head Bong Osorio described as “not merely a petty personal difference or simple administrative concern.”
In November of the same year, Valdez filed her resignation. In 2010, she joined TV5 as its News and Public Affairs head.
Television
| Year | Title | Character | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–present | Journo | Host | TV5 Associated Broadcasting Company The Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal... |
| 2010 | Dokumentado | Host | TV5 Associated Broadcasting Company The Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal... |
Recognitions
- Titus Brandsma Award for Excellence in Journalism, Catholic Mass Media Awards
- Broadcaster of the Year (2001), Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas
- Three silver and three bronze medals for Best Documentary, New York Film and Television Festival