Nathaniel Augustin Cruz (; born February 22, 1960), more popularly known as Mang Tani, is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

meteorologist who formerly served as a meteorologist for

PAGASA Pagasa may refer to: * ''Pagasa'' (genus), an insect genus in the family Nabidae * PAGASA, an acronym for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration *"May Pagasa", a pen-name of José Rizal José Prot ...

from 1982 to 2010 and has been serving as a radio and television weather presenter for

GMA News GMA Integrated News and Public Affairs (formerly known as ''RBS News Department'', ''GMA Radio-Television News'' and ''GMA Rainbow Satellite News''; and commonly GMA (Integrated) News) is the news division of the GMA Network Inc. The division ...

since 2012.

Early life and education

Nathaniel Agustin Cruz was born in Manila on February 22, 1960, to Ernesto de la Merced Cruz and Cecilia Sanchez Agustin. He studied agricultural engineering at the Gregorio Araneta University and later graduated in 1981. After his graduation from the Gregorio Araneta University in 1981, Cruz earned a Master of Science degree in

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

at the

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

in 1999.

Filmography

Television

Career

After his graduation from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1982, Cruz joined the

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration Pagasa may refer to: * ''Pagasa'' (genus), an insect genus in the family Nabidae * PAGASA, an acronym for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration *"May Pagasa", a pen-name of José Rizal José Prot ...

(PAGASA) as meteorologist and spokesperson and also worked for the agency's hydrology division and he later promoted in 2004 as officer-in-charge of the Office of the Deputy Administratator until his retirement in July 2010. In 1989, Cruz went on a temporary leave from PAGASA for the first time and worked for Arab-American Oil Company in Saudi Arabia. In 2008, Cruz was temporarily worked for the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

as a climatologist. In July 2010, Cruz went to Darwin, Northern Territory in Australia to join the

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...

(BOM) as meteorologist, but he left the country in 2012 after the illness of his wife Gloria Cruz. On June 4, 2012, Cruz returned to the Philippines and joined

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

's news department as the weather presenter on the network's news television programs ''

Unang Hirit ''Unang Hirit'' () is a Philippine television news broadcasting and talk show broadcast by GMA Network. It is the longest running morning show in the Philippines. Originally hosted by Ryan Agoncillo, Lyn Ching-Pascual, Arnold Clavio, Suzi Entr ...

'' and ''

24 Oras ''24 Oras'' (pronounced as bente kwatro oras / ) is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by GMA Network. Originally anchored by Mel Tiangco and Mike Enriquez, it premiered on March 15, 2004, on the network's Telebabad line ...

'', while he occasionally appeared on other GMA News programs when

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

s within the

Philippine Area of Responsibility The Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) is an area in the Northwestern Pacific where PAGASA, the Philippines' national meteorological agency, monitors weather occurrences. Significant weather disturbances, specifically tropical cyclones tha ...

(PAR) is expected to make

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

and he presented the science

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

program '' Hamon ng Kalikasan'' on

GMA News TV GMA News TV (GNTV; visually rendered in its logo in all capital letters as GMA NEWS TV) is a 24-hour Philippine-based international pay television channel owned by Citynet Network Marketing and Productions Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GM ...

from September until December 2012 and radio program ''I.M. Ready sa Dobol B'' on DZBB since 2017. On July 21, 2018, during a weather segment in ''

Balitanghali ''Balitanghali'' is a Philippine television news broadcasting show produced by GMA Integrated News and Public Affairs. Originally anchored by Pia Arcangel and Raffy Tima, it premiered on November 11, 2005, on Q. The show was carried over on GM ...

'' on GMA News TV, when he asked GMA News anchor Jun Veneracion about the updates of

Tropical Depression Josie Tropical Depression Josie was a weak tropical system that impacted the Philippine archipelago of Luzon in July 2018, bringing widespread flooding. The tropical depression was classified in the South China Sea on July 20, and steadily moved eastw ...

, he mistakenly calling Veneracion as "Josie", named after the tropical depression that hit the country. In 2021, Cruz went on a temporary leave from ''24 Oras'' and ''Unang Hirit'', as he went on vacation in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, but he still does the remote work as the weather forecaster of GMA News. In 2022, Cruz went again on a temporary leave.

Personal life

He married Gloria Cruz. As of 2021, Cruz and his family resides in

, Australia.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Nathaniel Living people 1960 births Filipino meteorologists Filipino television meteorologists GMA Network personalities GMA News and Public Affairs people People from Metro Manila University of the Philippines Diliman alumni PAGASA people Weather presenters