Friday 29 March 2024 03:43:33 PHT

Bared... Beauty Queens Turned Mothers

Tagbilaran, Saturday, 19 May 2012

Wake-uppers:

Scene: The 12 candidates for Miss TBTK 2012 talent competition last Friday, May 11, at ICM Activity Center. Miss TBTK 2009 Carleen Angelica Yap will relinquish her crown to the next winner on May 15 at the Bohol Cultural Center. The official candidates for Miss TBTK 2012 are Mary Leonore Maghuyop, Mary Rose Booc, Sharlene Mcintyre, Sarah Palaca, Michelle Kapirig, Mary Ebone Cimafranca, Marimay Fernandez, Maridel Bonior, Maria Nina Therese Cemine, Johana Feliz Pilayre, Irish Kay Obregon and Crizelle Jade Requierme. Ticket is Php 50 (general admission).

Scene: After taking a brief hiatus from the local mobile phone scene, Alcatel re-enters the mobile core market in the Philippines. And to prove how serious they are of their second come back, they've launched the One Touch Nation tour and the marketing team has chosen Bohol as the pilot area which coincides with the TBTK celebration. The "Alcatel Day" which was held last Friday has created awareness and brought experience to mobile consumers about their latest products such as Glam 810D, Glory X, Blaze and Sapphire HD.

Scene: There will be an apparent controversy as the concept and script of a "popular beauty pageant" (PBP) allegedly found its way to "another beauty pageant in town (ABPT)." The PBP committee members are now scrambling to death to change their script and concept lest they be accused of being the copycat. They suspect of someone within the committee as double-dealing meaning worked for the ABPT secretly as it is trying to reclaim its title as entertainment capital of Bohol. "Exciting isn't it?" adds VRS.


Here is a poem entitled "Mother" written by Howard Johnson contributed to Bared by UB Registrar Leah Tirol-Magno, a mother of three and a grandma, in time for Mother's Day. Leah added some words (in parentheses) to make it more meaningful as we express our love and undying devotion to our mothers. I'm using it as Bared's tribute to all mothers as we celebrate Mother's Day, today, May 13.

"M" is for the million (priceless) things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old
(she never grows old in my heart),
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
(tears of happiness she shed for anything that touches her heart)
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.


As we celebrate Mother's Day to express our love for all her unconditional loving over the years, Bared found out that we have more than 30 Miss Bohol Sandugo and Miss Tagbilaran winners who have become mothers. Three of the Boholana beauty queens turned moms share their favorite mommy moments and how motherhood has changed their lives for the better.


Jennifer Ejoc-Sarmiento: "Being a mother is both
blissful and challenging."

Miss Bohol Sandugo-Mutya ng Pilipinas 1999 Jennifer Ejoc-Sarmiento, is proud mama to Dana Mariaye and Diana Mave. Married to Dustin Sarmiento, she is a faculty member of the Social Sciences Department of Holy Name University. Jennifer said that motherhood has changed her and helped define who she is.

"Being a mother is both blissful and challenging. All the stress in the world disappears everytime I see my kids. There are no fast nor hard rules when it comes to motherhood. One simply has to know the meaning of sacrifice, flexibility and understanding in order to meet the demands of each child. Unique as they are, unconditional love, patience and compassion are my guides in nurturing them."


Marcel Gatal-Diego: "Motherhood is life itself."

The 1982 Hiyas ng Silangan-Bohol, Miss Talent and Top Ten Finalist of 1982 Hiyas ng Silangan-Philippines Pageant, 1983 Miss Young Bohol Marcel Gatal-Diego is one of the busy moms in town! Married to Antonio Diego, the mom-of-two – son Kenneth Adrienne, an English Literature graduate, and daughter Katrina Angelica, a registered nurse, talked to us about the many ways in which motherhood has changed her.

"Motherhood is life itself. It has so many twists and turns, highs and lows, ups and downs. Becoming a mother is a life- defining moment because you really learn to understand what unconditional love is and you have to adjust to a new phase in life. I have become more giving, more understanding and most of all, I have become a better person"


Fiel Angeli Araoarao-Gabin: "The greatest challenge of being a
mother or father is to be able inculcate values in your children."

Fiel Angeli Arao-arao-Gabin welcomed her first child, daughter AJ Wincielou Johanna "Cielo", 14 years ago, and a son JF Regelbert Johnson "Renji" last year. The Miss Talent and Miss Tagbilaran 1987 who is married to Engr. John Jerome Gabin told us all about the joys of motherhood.

Cielo asked me last night "Ma, what is the essence of motherhood?" After seconds of thinking, I replied, "Sacrifice." And she was satisfied…

As a mother, I don't brag about possessing extraordinary parenting abilities like other parents have. As a first-time mother back in the late 1990s, I was the "structured" type of mom to Cielo. I guess that's what most first-time moms feel: they are so eager to do things for the good of their children and then, later on, become so self-conscious that they will fail at parenting that sometimes they tend to overdo it. Other expectant mothers equip themselves with techniques on how to become "perfect" moms by reading parenting magazines and watching instructional videos.

Motherhood is such a challenging job. No one can ever be ready to become a parent (mother), unless one becomes a parent herself (as shared by Cielo from her readings), which bring us to the cliché that "Experience is (still) the best teacher." One time, my godchild, Stephanie Tumampos, shared with me a video on Facebook, which, to me, was very poignant that it made me cry – the Procter and Gamble promotional video for the London Olympic Games featuring mothers who have produced world-class athletes. I told Stephanie that, at least, it gave me a consolation that being a "stage mother" is not that bad, after all, I am just being a "mother" to Cielo, our family's great pride and joy.

To me, the greatest challenge of being a mother or father is to be able inculcate values in your children. I remember that starting when my daughter was about five (5) years old, I specifically told her that she can only have a "crush" when she will be 24 years old, of which I think she is strictly trying to adhere to because, from her elementary classmates at Holy Spirit School, I learned that she's one among the handful of girls in their graduating class at Holy Spirit School who has no crush, even up to now that she is already 15 years old and will be an incoming senior at Tagbilaran City Science High School this school year 2012-2013.

My husband, Jerome, and I always remind Cielo that she has to do her best in every endeavor and God will do the rest; to work really hard to get what she wants in life, without taking advantage of other people; to always be honest in her dealings with others, as credibility is very important; to share her talent and blessings with others; to express or assert herself when the situation calls for it and that "bisa'g pobre ta, dili jud ta angay mauwaw, kay ilabina gyud, wa man ta mangawat." I am always very emphatic and emotional every time I tell her that -- the very same line that I stress when I preside our TCSHS general assemblies as two (2) – termer FPTA president. Subconsciously, I have imbibed it in my psyche, probably because that's the legacy from Papa Rep, Mama Wincie, Lolo Aloy and Lola Pining Espejo, Lolo Tio and Lola Tilde Araoarao, even Daddy Angel and Mommy Laura's (my parents-in-law) - the very same thing that Jerome and I share and strongly believe in all these years in our marriage. We learn from our elders. Cielo was a "solo" child or "unica hija" for 14 years, but I am very happy to say that she has never been the "Bratinella" type who would unreasonably demand for unimportant things. In fact, she has remained to be very simple and humble.

Then, after 14 long years, a son, Renji, another blessing… Times have really changed. From the "structured" or what others like to call "strict" mother, I have evolved into someone who is "kengkoy," especially when I play with our cute Baby Renji. By "kengkoy," I don't mean being lenient, but this time, I am trying to be more open-minded to new approaches in parenting, even to the point of setting aside formalities sometimes, if it means establishing a closer bond with my child. At least, in my observation, mothers have to change their approaches in parenting, moreso, in today's generation. We cannot stick to the old practices through and through, although we would need the lessons of the past. In these contemporary times threatened by too much materialism and globalization, we parents have to strive hard to keep up with our children's needs (and wants) without really spoiling them. I know that it's too early for me to say this, as I still have many years to count as a mother, but I pray to God for enlightenment and guidance that Honey Jerome and I will be able to continue to guide Cielo and Renji to the right path – something that they will keep in mind and pass on to their children, even when we are gone… On Mothers' Day, I thank God and Honey Jerome for giving Cielo and Renji who have made "motherhood" more meaningful for me.

Mikey holds charity event for his 1st TBTK

Here for the Tigum Bol-anon sa Tibuok Kalibutan (TBTK) 2012 is US-based Boholano socialite Mikey Gatal. He has something to say about his first TBTK:


Mikey Gatal (extreme right) with the Penales brothers attending
the TBTK 2012.

Upon hearing about TBTK, I got so excited about it because it will be my first time to attend and at the same time they moved it on the month of May instead of July which is perfect for my busy schedule.

So far, i have visited many places already in Bohol on the second day of my vacay like the tarsiers in Corella, my first time visit and it was awesome with friends from LA and Pagadian City, the floating restaurant in Loboc, the blood compact in Tagbilaran City, dinner at Panglao Island Nature Resort and a coffee break at Metro Centre to end the night.

The people of Panglao especially the Penales clan in Tawala celebrated fiesta on May 3, had a great time and night swimming at Kalipayan Beach Resort.

On the 4th day, off to Cebu, Davao for island hopping then back in Bohol on May 9th where we were greeted by a group of friends with TBTK banner at the pier. This is one of the exciting vacations I ever had and seeing all my family, relatives and friends again made it more memorable.

The MikeyGatal.com Kids Foundation is dedicated to help kids in need and assist organizations in any outreach programs. This year as we celebrate our 5th year anniversary together with the TBTK activities, we are giving slippers to the kids of Ilihan, Ubay.

Thanks to all our friends and supporters.


Thanks for your letters, all will be answered. Comments welcome at leoudtohan@yahoo.com, follow leoudtohan at Twitter/ Facebook.

Leo P. Udtohan

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