WHEN you meet Pat-P Daza, she exudes the same light and friendly aura that her mother, talk show host Jullie Yap-Daza, projects on television. There's the same genuine sincerity, lopsided grin and now famous girlish laughter--only Pat-P's is louder. It's obvious to viewers, of course, that she's as smart and articulate.

At the ABS-CBN compound, Pat-P holds court as director for corporate communications and public relations of the network and host of her self-titled talk show "Pat-P" over at SNN (soon to be relaunched as ABS-CBN Cable News Channel) and as one of the "buzzers" in Boy Abunda's afternoon entertainment show "The Buzz."

So how did she juggle her twin jobs as talk show host and network spokesperson?

"It's not very difficult," came her easy reply. "My regular job is from Monday to Friday and it's seldom that I have to work on weekends, so that leaves room for my hosting job."

To make sure her hosting chores don't conflict with her regular office schedule, her interviews are done after office hours. Sundays find her going earlier to the studio to tape her segment for "The Buzz" and to do the live broadcast of the show.

"We've done more than one season of 'The Buzz' and I find it entertaining. We get first-hand information on the tsismis before it comes out on television," she shares.

She doesn't find show biz and its attendant gossip cheap. "I like show biz gossip. Siguro I'm baduy talaga by nature, that's why I don't mind doing this. I don't care if people say it's bakya, because a lot of my friends who are supposedly sosyal call me up to verify a blind item that came out.

"Gossip is a national pastime for Filipinos. Whether we admit or not, we find it entertaining and it makes life easier and more fun for us. It's an interest that preoccupies and does not depress us. It's a nice deviation from our everyday hardships," she grins.

Pat-P is similarly candid on camera. About her only discomfort is speaking in Tagalog, which her floor director often reminds her to practice. "I was very uncomfortable during my first few weeks on 'The Buzz' when I did my spiels. Everytime I heard myself, I could feel na ang tigas ng delivery ko," she winces.

To solve the problem, a programming official instructed that spiels be delivered in Taglish to make her transition gradual and not abrupt. Pat-P has been doing her homework by speaking in Tagalog more often.

"And I try to read more Tagalog tabloids now," she reveals.

Since her segment for "The Buzz" deals with show biz and politics, Pat-P continues to keep the discussions light and fun, with occasional exceptions--like when they had presidential son Jude Estrada as guest.

Relates Pat-P: "The interview with Jude was kinda serious. It was a sensitive topic because it was at the height of the controversy regarding his alleged unpaid bills in Cagayan de Oro. I stayed focused on the issue and didn't deviate."

She managed to end the interview on a light note, though.

"I asked Jude, 'Paano kung nakalimutan mo lang bayaran dahil nagmamadali ka o may emergency, ano kaya ang gagawin sa yo ng Daddy mo?'''

And in jest, he blurted out, "Ay, gugulpihin ako ng Daddy ko!"

Pat-P says a little charm, persistence and inquisitiveness are what she employs to get guarded interviewees to open up, like Rep. Miguel Zubiri, who evaded answering questions about his break-up with actress Vina Morales.

"In the beginning," recalls Pat-P, "he just kept saying 'no comment, no comment,' but in the end, sumagot din siya."

She says she hasn't had any unpleasant experience with the personalities she's interviewed but comments, "Hindi naman maganda yung ayaw sumagot pag nagpapa-interview. If you agree to be interviewed, you must answer the questions that will be asked."

Does she like the "crying bit" common in show biz talk shows?

"No," was her honest reply.

"In 'The Buzz,' it's not our objective to make these stars cry. We don't even know if they're going to cry. Besides, the viewers will know if the crying is sincere or not. It's how the host handles the interview. Boy is very paternal, so the guests forget they're in front of the camera, and they open up and bare their heart and soul to him. But I, for one, am very uncomfortable with guests who cry," she says.

However, since show biz talk shows seem "incomplete" without those "soggy" episodes, she just takes them in stride.

Twice on her show "Pat-P," two actresses estranged from their singer-husbands broke down after being asked routine questions that apparently hit a soft spot.

"My guests and I were caught off-guard, and one of them was even surprised at herself for breaking down," she says. "I had no deliberate intention of making them cry."

Pat-P says her TV shows are part of a calculated move by the network to give her wider, mass-based exposure--especially on "The Buzz"--to support her work as ABS-CBN spokesperson.

She describes her public relations work as her "serious, serious" job. So serious, in fact, that she was at the frontline when the network got into a snag with the MTRCB over the unpopular antics of "MTB's" male hosts, and the shortlived brouhaha over the exclusive coverage of the Beaver-Jackie Lopez wedding.

"I always have to be on my toes to protect and uplift the image of ABS-CBN," she says. And she's definitely won her battle stripes the last few months.

What could have been the latest teapot tempest in the network wars was nipped in the bud when ABS-CBN and GMA decided to bury the hatchet in the highly-coveted coverage of the wedding of President Estrada's daughter.

"After the meeting with the KBP, all parties concerned decided that when there's a big event coming, the KBP would call a meeting for all broadcasters to set the parameters and guidelines for the coverage," she confirms.

This doesn't mean that the networks will now waive their rights to an exclusive coverage.

"Networks will still have exclusive rights to certain coverages because the broadcasting company pays good money for such events. The KBP decision will encompass 'events of interest' so the rules and guidelines will now be in a case-to-case basis," she says.

Pat-P notes that the broadcast industry has become more competitive lately, especially with the advent of cable TV. "It's the reason why we always have to be aggressive and vigilant," she observes.

The aggression and the vigilance have at time been misinterpreted by the public and as she herself admits, "There's a mixed perception about ABS-CBN."

Pat-P says ABS-CBN has a loyal following among lower-income viewers "because they know we reach out and help them through programs like 'Hoy, Gising!' and 'Alas Singko y Medya.'''

She reveals that it's with the upper-income viewers where the network has difficulty because they pass judgment on the station so quickly.

"They say ang baduy-baduy namin, ayaw nila ang 'Pulso' dahil masyadong malakas ang dating ni Korina o ni Ted, pero hindi naman sila nanonood ng programa namin," she says.

But she assures that feedback on their programs is not taken lightly by the station.

"We're a growing company and we don't want to be stagnant. We also have the ABS-CBN Foundation which helps a lot of people, and that's our redeeming quality. We'd like to grow with the times and I think that's the secret of our success," she points out.

As for her own success, she has this to say: "It's all work, but I'm enjoying everything I'm doing. I feel so blessed to have been entrusted with a sensitive position, and at the same time being given shows to host. I just do my best."