From supercars to sainthood

MANILA, Philippines - It was one experience I will never forget in my entire life.

Last Oct. 21, then Blessed Pedro Calungsod became the second Filipino to be canonized as saint.

And as a bonus, I witnessed the canonization a few meters away from Pope Benedict XVI.

It was perhaps, the “icing on my cake,” I should say, as the last two weeks saw me running, or more aptly, flying — from Abu Dhabi to Maranello, Modena and Lucca in Italy for work — to shoot the second anniversary episodes of Turbo Zone and season three opener of Home Base (the shows air every Saturday on GMA News TV at 9 to 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 to 10 a.m., respectively).

The week prior to canonization, on the other hand, took me on a different route — in Vatican. Here, I’ve worked with (husband) Jiggy as director, producer and technical support for some of his programs on GMA News and GMA News TV.

Traveling has always been a great passion of mine — seeing new places, experiencing different cultures, tasting their food and sharing new memories with friends and family. And this was exactly what became part of my job as a producer and director.

The past year, Turbo Zone featured different cars and products, traveled extensively for car launches and met a lot of new friends, while bringing to the viewers the latest in the motoring world and at the same time, providing practical tips for the everyday motorist.

As we all know, anything that has to do with speed and power is a Turbo Zone material.

First stop: Abu Dhabi.

Here, we went to Ferrari World to feature Formula Rossa, the world’s fastest rollercoaster.

From zero to 240 kph in less than five seconds, it was as if you were driving an F-1 race car on a one-lane, mountainside road.

We were given protective goggles to protect our eyes from popping inwards. We were also advised to keep our heads up, otherwise we would not be able to see what was in front should the speed catch up with us, while looking down. It was a truly fun moment, bringing memories of my childhood days, shouting uncontrollably during the three-minute ride. Fast and scary as it was, we went for another round, anyway.

After Abu Dhabi, the team flew to Maranello, a town in northern Italy.

Maranello has been home to Ferrari since the ’40s. The factory, which has an area of 250,000 square meters, has 45 buildings and more than 3,000 workers. It is here where passion, innovation and technology combine to create the company’s GT and Formula 1 race cars.

At the Ferrari plant, the Turbo Zone team was given the chance to shoot and test-drive the newest and fastest car in its stable — the F12 Berlinetta. Ferrari technicians said that so far, Turbo Zone is one of the motoring shows in Asia to have done so.

Turbo Zone viewers have had a preview of the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, when we featured this supercar in one of our episodes a few weeks back, during its unveiling in Jakarta, Indonesia.

But nothing beats driving it in the flesh.

The F12 Berlinetta offers unprecedented levels of performance and driving pleasure with a maximum speed of more than 340 kph. As described, the car “uses a new concept of space frame chassis and body-in-white architecture employing different aluminum materials and technologies developed for aeronautical applications. Its design strikes the perfect balance between maximum aerodynamic efficiency and the elegant proportions typical of Ferrari’s front-engined V12 cars.”

Turbo Zone was also fortunate enough to take a plant tour and document it as well for the Filipino viewers to see. Being in a highly-secured facility, Ferrari people do not usually allow foreigners to tour the inner portions of the plant. But Turbo Zone did just that — giving Filipino viewers a perspective of an Italian supercar plant — from a Pinoy’s point of view.

The experience of seeing how a Ferrari is made is definitely a highlight of my motoring life. Along with test-driving the F12, new memories were shared with my videographers, Struan Wallace, who is also a director; Icko Nicolas, resident cameraman of all my shows; and Marc Soong, executive director of Autostrada Motore, Inc., exclusive distributor of Ferrari in the Philippines, who is also a believer of my shows, since day one.

From Maranello, our team drove to Modena, where we had the chance to tour the Maserati plant, home to another supercar. The Maserati’s engine is made by Ferrari, but comes with a different body. And the sound of the engine, only a Maserati can deliver. We saw how this body is built, chiseled from materials that also have space and aeronautics applications.

What is interesting in the Maserati factory is that there are Filipino workers inside, working at the assembly lines of this supercar.

Turbo Zone team also had the chance to test-drive the Maserati GT Sport in the rolling hills of Modena.

The company provided us with a test driver, who drifted, and wildly maneuvered the Maserati GT Sport.

Just like that.

In Lucca, the team met up with Italo Fontana, owner of the U-Boat brand of watches, and gave us an exclusive preview of his home, which is precisely what we’ve wanted for the show, Home Base.

Inside his home is an array of new designs for his U-Boat watches, as well as in his stores nearby.

Despite his busy schedule and his stature as a businessman in Italy, Mr. Fontana was warm and gracious enough to receive us in his home, which has its own vineyard, from where he gets the grapes that he uses to make his own wine at the basement, and a training area for his future racehorses.

By the way, he also makes his U-Boat watches at the basement of his mansion.

When I arrived in Rome, Jiggy was already there.

My vacation mode immediately switched to work mode again, as he was to cover the canonization. The theme for the week was “Trabaho lang, walang personalan.”

I was in charge of production, direction and technical support from our end in the Vatican, while Jiggy handled content. As the news person that he was, Jiggy called the shots, leading our team to where the news about St. Pedro Calungsod was, where the Filipino pilgrims were to be found, and the Filipino priests, bishops and cardinals’ next Mass or vigil would be held. Because of the six-hour gap between Rome and Manila, we held on to the principle of Kuya Germs’ “walang tulugan,” to send videos to Manila and do voice-overs on the side.

We were fortunate enough to completely cover the so-called triduum Masses, the three Masses prior, and in preparation for the canonization, attend the vigil and had confession as well.

Here we met a lot of pilgrims, Filipinos from as far as Ginatilan in Cebu, to Saudi Arabia, Malta, Chicago to other parts of the world to witness the canonization.

A few hours before the canonization, there was a clear, exclusive, behind-the-scenes story that Jiggy knew was for the taking. Remember that President Noynoy Aquino had sent Vice President Jejomar Binay to lead the Philippine delegation. There was no other network that tailed the Philippine delegation, except for GMA 7. In the group, I saw Energy Sec. Rene Almendras, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, former Sen. Kit Tatad, MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino and Holy See embassy officials.

Early on, however, there was also a problem. The VIPs were given special passes colored white and while our team had media passes, we were able to secure only orange passes, which meant we were on the other end of St. Peter’s Square, farthest from the Pope.

But I would like to think that St. Pedro Calungsod did some small miracles for our team. The Swiss Guards and the Vatican police known for their being strict, did not mind what kind of passes we had and instead just asked us to “help ourselves.” We were seated in front of the choir, just a few meters away from the Pope. As early as January, Jiggy and I went to the St. Pedro Calungsod chapel at the Cebu Archdiocese compound, and prayed that we be given the chance to witness the canonization upclose. Though small as it is, again I consider it a miracle from St. Pedro Calungsod.

Seeing Pope Benedict the XVI upclose made me cry like a child, reminiscent of the 1995 World Youth Day in Manila when Pope John Paul II was about to leave. It was truly a holy moment for me, reminding me of my mortality. It made me reflect also on the kind of life I’m living and the life I’d want to give my children, Sam and Sabina. Of course not to mention, the love I should be giving my husband, Jiggy. I also thought of having the “childlike” traits one should have in order to go straight to heaven (in the future, of course). I’m blessed to be able to witness the canonization upclose, not only contemplating on my own life but like St. Pedro Calungsod, I would want to be able to give a part of me to the youth of today and be a woman for others.

Other pilgrims around us also cried — some in disbelief, some because of an instant outpouring of emotions, as it was a true blessing to be part of the historic and religious moment.

When canonization time came, I have already finished all my homework for Turbo Zone and Home Base, and was spiritually ready for the event as well.

Admittedly, I live a very fast-paced life just like a supercar. I’m a certified multi-tasker, balancing my work and family life. But this trip has, indeed, shown me that one must keep up with the pace and be on the go. It is also an amazing feeling to step on the brakes, slow down and pay attention to the more important things in life. I’m glad I went on this trip — from Supercars to Sainthood.

And as I always end my shows, all these are done for the greater glory of God. Amen.