Behind most successful ventures is a mother’s heart at work. This is one of the unwavering strengths of the longest running noontime TV show in Philippine TV, Eat, Bulaga! — for behind this TV institution’s almost three decades of continuous success is the unparalleled dedication of a woman everybody regards as a true mother, Malou Choa-Fagar.
Presently SVP for production of T.A.P.E. Inc., which produces Eat, Bulaga!, Fagar (or MCF, as she is called by industry people ) is one of the Eat, Bulaga! pioneers who has risen from the ranks and attributes her professional growth to commitment and enthusiasm for her job and her loyalty to a boss (Tony Tuviera) who is the most generous person she has ever known.
MCF started with the show in 1979 as a production assistant who usually made coffee for Tito, Vic and Joey. She became associate producer and was soon executive-producer-in-training. It was uphill from then on for MCF, who admits to being feisty and steel-nerved with the staff, which was dominantly male at that time. “I really had to put my foot down when it came to disciplining the staff. I had to show them I was no weak female, that I was in command because I knew what I was doing. I really had to be tough,” relates MCF, who attributes this toughness to being the eldest in the family and being the mother of her siblings when her parents separated.
As if being surrounded by males at work wasn’t enough, MCF eventually became the matriarch of an all-male household when she got married. Along with her husband, she raised four boys who are now aged 21, 18, 17 and 16. Asked what kind of mother she is , she enthuses that her boys say she’s a “cool mom.” She says that she applies the same firm discipline with them at home, but she also makes sure she spends time with each of her boys for her quality bonding moments with them. “I sleep with my boys on schedule so I get to spend time with each one of them. I realized that even if I’m busy with work and I come home late, if they sleep beside me I still get to keep the bond with them strong. When I lie down, I kiss them and embrace them, and they do the same to me.”