A graduate of the University of the Philippines Film Institute where his short film Hollow was awarded Best Thesis Film. His third short, Junilyn Has, was selected in competition at the 68th Locarno Film Festival. One of the most prolific editors in the Philippines today, he has collaborated with numerous filmmakers on independent and mainstream film projects and amassed awards in local and international festivals. Manatad is also an alumnus of the Asian Film Academy, the Berlinale Talent Campus, and the Docnet Campus Project. He is currently working on his first feature film, A Wrong Season about the devastation of his hometown by a supertyphoon.