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Julius Babao | |
|---|---|
.png) Babao in 2023 | |
| Born | Julius Caesar Concepcion Babao (1968-07-15)July 15, 1968 (age 57) Dagupan,Pangasinan, Philippines |
| Education | University of the Philippines Diliman |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Employers |
|
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Genres | vlogs,game show,talk show |
| Subscribers | 1.49 Million |
| Views | 13.1 Million |
| Last updated: 6 April 2023[needs update] | |
Julius Caesar Concepcion Babao (Tagalog:[ˈdʒuljusˈbabaʊ], born July 15, 1968) is a Filipinobroadcast journalist,radio commentator[1] and formertalk show host for thePhilippinetelevision stationsABS-CBN andTV5. He is most notable for anchoringTV Patrol from 2003 to 2010,Bandila from 2010 to 2020, and currentlyFrontline Pilipinas since 2022.
Babao started out his career as a production assistant inGMA Network'sDZBB-AM in 1990.
Through hard work and perseverance, Babao was soon promoted as a radio reporter and a contributor for GMA News. In 1993, Babao left GMA forABS-CBN where he worked as a television reporter forTV Patrol. From 1993 to early 1996, he was tapped by the management ofABS-CBN News to be a standby anchor for eitherNoli de Castro orFrankie Evangelista inTV Patrol.
In 1996, Babao was given his own showAlas Singko Y Medya which he hosted with his future wifeChristine Bersola-Babao until 2001.
The couple then went on to host a daily morning talk-show calledTalk TV, which lasted from 2001 to 2002.
In April 2003, Babao transitioned into the weekday edition of the station's flagship news programTV Patrol and joinedKorina Sanchez as its anchors. Sanchez was later replaced byKaren Davila andTed Failon in November 2004, when the newscast was relaunched asTV Patrol World.
In 2004, he and his wife launched a morning radio program forDZMM[2] entitledMagandang Morning with Julius and Tintin. Their morning radio program would be combined withRadyo Patrol Balita: Alas Siyete, the newscast they are anchoring every weekend, similar toKabayan. In 2006, he was appointed as one of the hosts of public-affairs programXXX: Exklusibong, Explosibong, Exposé, where they investigate anomalies and irregularities of public and private practices in the Philippines, he normally joins the field and/or entrapment operations conducted by the law enforcement agencies.
Babao leftTV Patrol alongsideKaren Davila on November 5, 2010 to anchor the late evening newscast,Bandila on November 22 of that year, withCes Oreña-Drilon, replacingHenry Omaga-Diaz who returned to field report. He was replaced byNoli de Castro and the latter being replaced byKorina Sanchez as they joinedTed Failon on November 8, 2010. He silently left the former a few days before the said date due to a vacation leave.
On January 10, 2011, he anchoredAksyon Ngayon with Kaye Dacer andRadyo Patrol Balita: Alas-Dose, both airing every weekdays.
On January 2, 2017, Babao hosted the new daily radio show,Lingkod Kapamilya, replacingAksyon Ngayon, withBernadette Sembrano and continued to anchor the daily newscastRadyo Patrol Balita: Alas-Dose on DZMM before it got merged withHeadline Pilipinas in July 2019, where he joined Tony Velasquez as the main anchor. He is also the weekend anchor ofTeleRadyo's newscastTeleRadyo Balita (formerlyRadyo Patrol Balita: Alas-Siyete) alongside Zen Hernandez.
He also hostedMission Possible, an award-winning advocacy show which airs every Monday evenings and Saturday mornings.
On September 7, 2020, he returned toTV Patrol as an occasional replacement forTed Failon after the latter's departure and later as a relief anchor forNoli de Castro andHenry Omaga-Diaz on the weekday edition and on the weekend edition forAlvin Elchico.
Babao left ABS-CBN on December 31, 2021 after 28 years with television giant network, as part of its retrenchment program caused by theABS-CBN shutdown from thePhilippine Congress that junked the new ABS-CBN legislative franchise to operate. He made his final appearance onTV Patrol as a relief anchor and two days later onTeleRadyo Balita.[3]
In January 2022, Babao joinedTV5 to anchor the network's primetime newscastFrontline Pilipinas starting February 7, 2022, replacing then-senatorial candidateRaffy Tulfo. On March 21, 2022,Julius & Tintin: Para Sa Pamilyang Pilipino, which he hosts alongside his wife, debuted onRadyo5 92.3 News FM andOne PH. On September 22, 2024, his program,Julius Babao Unplugged debuted on television via TV5.
In October 2005, news surfaced where Julius Babao was allegedly linked to a suspected terrorist[4] named Tyrone del Rosario Santos.[5] (alias: Dawud Santos).[6] ColumnistRamon Tulfo's column in thePhilippine Daily Inquirer brought the matter to public attention, quoting PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo as saying military intelligence pointed to Babao postingbail for Dawud. While Babao and his then-employer ABS-CBN denied the accusation, Tulfo later corrected his column to say Babao only acted as a guarantor for Dawud's bail bond, an act the author of the document believed was no different from posting bail. This created a conflict of credibility between Babao and Tulfo.[7]
Babao became controversial for his September 2024 interview with Curlee andSarah Discaya, who described their family's "rags-to-riches" stories onJulius Babao Unplugged. The couple were later implicated in theanomalous "ghost" flood control projects, raising questions on journalism ethics.Pasig MayorVico Sotto, Discaya's2025 election rival, claimed that Babao and another interviewer,Korina Sanchez, were paid₱10 million for the feature; both journalists denied his allegation. Babao also underscored that his interview with the Discaya couple are not a news report but a lifestyle feature and politics was not raised at the time during the feature's production.[8] He later went on leave fromFrontline Pilipinas beginning on August 25, 2025.[9]
Babao is a graduate ofMass Communications, majoring in film and audio visual communication, from theUniversity of the Philippines Diliman. He is married[10] to his former co-host Christine Bersola. They have a daughter named Antonia Julia Sofia (also known as Anya, b. 2005)[11] and a son named Antonio Francesco (b. 2010).[12]
The couple has also raisedSiberian Huskies[13] namely Snow, Krystal, Kirby and Kamatz, to name a few.
Julius and Christine are also avid art collectors[14] where their collection[15] was mostly bought from the Boston Gallery owned by Dr. Joven Cuanang. In July 2008 at the advent of Julius’ 40th birthday, the couple auctioned-off paintings from 125 participating artists[16] at the Pinto Art Gallery, the proceeds went to the development of the Art 40 Village located inBagong Silang,Caloocan.
He is also a Hypebeast item collector,Streetwear collector (particularly those made by the brandSupreme) as well as asneakerhead and he even has aYouTube channel dedicated to such lifestyle.[17][18]
Julius Babao was awarded[19][20] best male newscaster[21] in the 2008[22]PMPC Star Awards for TV,[23] he also won again in 2009 from the same award-giving body, he also won best morning show host in the years 1999 and 2000 respectively from the same award-giving body. In 2008, Babao was also presented the student's choice of male news and public affairs host at the USTv Student's Choice Awards[24] and he was also honoured as one of the most admired male TV Personalities[25] for the 2008 Anak TV Seal, an award given annually by the Southeast Asian Foundation for Children and Television to kid-friendly TV programs and personalities considered to be good influence on children.He was also a two time awardee of Most Outstanding Male News Presenter (2007 and 2009) of COMGUILD Center for Journalism.
| Year | Award giving body | Category | Nominated work | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | PMPC Star Awards for TV | Best Morning Show Host | N/a | Won | |
| 2000 | PMPC Star Awards for TV | Best Morning Show Host | Alas Singko Y Medya | Won | [26] |
| 2008 | Anak TV Seal Awards | Most Admired Male TV Personalities | N/a | Won | [25] |
| PMPC Star Awards for TV | Best Male Newscaster | N/a | Won | ||
| USTv Student's Choice Awards | Male News and Public Affairs Host | N/a | Won | ||
| 2007 | COMGUILD Center for Journalism | Most Outstanding Male News Presenter | N/a | Won | |
| 2009 | COMGUILD Center for Journalism | Most Outstanding Male News Presenter | N/a | Won | |
| PMPC Star Awards for TV | Best Male Newscaster | N/a | Won | ||
| 2014 | Golden Screen TV Awards | Outstanding Male News Presenter | N/a | Won | [27] |
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