Starting Saturday last week, Vicky Morales on her show Wish Ko Lang (4 p.m. on GMA) has been featuring how Kapuso actresses are struggling with the pandemic.
“Our most loyal viewers are women who are wives, mothers or part of the workforce,” said Vicky. “Ngayon na halos lahat sa kanila ay may pinagdaraanan dahil sa pandemya, we wanted to honor their resilience so we are dedicating to them all our episodes this month.”
Vicky recalled that she broke into a “Wow!” when she got an e-mail from program manager Mychal Feraren about her show’s September theme and the line-up of resource persons.
“I am all praises for the Wish Ko Lang team,” added Vicky. “I love the energy each one has been bringing into the show. I am also thankful to each and every cast member for braving the tough times to bring our stories to life. Seeing their work has made me appreciate now more than ever not just how talented these actors are but also, more so, how hardworking and courageous they are.”
The theme is “winning moment” and Vicky leads her guests by revealing her own. “Getting Wish Ko Lang back on the air is certainly a winning moment for me and for the team,” shared Vicky. “We absolutely love the show and we kept praying it would come back and it did! But I would say that the most winning moment for me was getting a negative result after my PCR swab test. Anyone who has been tested knows the agony of waiting for that all-important e-mail or text message. Moments like that make it very easy for us to filter the things in our life that are important like family, good friends, peace of mind and prayer. All of a sudden, everything else outside of that seems inconsequential. Now, I see every day as a blessing. And just having your family stay healthy, happy and symptom-free is a huge triumph.”
What do you consider your winning moment in life, how did it happen and how did you enjoy it?
Glydel Mercado: “When I became a mother. It’s a fulfillment in life, I always dreamed of having a family.”
Rochelle Pangilinan: “Motherhood. Ini-enjoy ko ang bawat araw na lumalaki s’ya (Shiloh).”
Herlene “Hipon Girl” Budol: “Thankful ako since day one ng buhay ko. Bonus na lang lahat ng nangyari sa’kin at mangyayari pa.”
Vaness del Moral: “Marami akong winning moments pero isa ito sa mga ‘yun: ‘yung pag-graduate ko ng high school six years ago kaya nabigyan ako ng chance na makapag-college. Hindi ko pa natatapos college ko but I plan to finish it soon. After my graduation nung HS, umakyat ako agad ng Baguio to celebrate with my family.”
Paano mo gagawing magaan o kaaya-aya ang isang mabigat na situwasyon para masabi mong “winner” ka?
Glydel: “Just don’t worry and always pray and trust God for He will help you with everything.”
Rochelle: “Kapag hindi ko kaya ang mabigat na sitwasyon, ipinapasa Diyos ko na lang lahat.”
Herlene: “Basta marunong ka magdala ng kahit anong problema or mabigat na sitwasyon, winner ka na with God.”
Vaness: “May mga bagay na dapat dinadaanan mo lang, you don’t have to stay in a negative situation and live in it kasi kakainin ka nang buhay niyan. Your mind, your heart, your way of living. Struggles are meant to be passed by, huwag mo tatambayan. With the lockdown and the virus, nawalan din ako ng drive and tinambayan ko ‘yun for a while until I realized it, so I made a conscious effort to get out of it and move forward.”
What do you consider your biggest mistake in life and how did you correct it at feeling mo panalo (winner) ka?
Glydel: “I only have small ones that everybody goes through. (I correct them by) finding solutions to whatever mistakes I have done.”
Herlene: “Marami na po akong pagkakamali sa buhay. Pero hindi po ako naniniwala na nasa huli ang pagsisisi kung hindi nasa gitna. Dahil una, magkakamali ka; pangalawa, magsisisi ka; at pangatlo, itatama ang mali at muling babangon. At ‘yon ang pagiging winner — ‘yung hindi ka sumusuko sa lahat ng mahirap na sitwasyon.”
Vaness: “I would not say it’s a mistake pero regret siguro oo, ‘yung di ko muna tinapos ‘yung pag-aaral ko bago ako nag-artista. Kaya when I had the chance to finish high school, I did and now (I’m) still moving to finish college.”
Sa love, kelan mo matitiyak na winner ka?
Glydel: “Matitiyak ko na winner ako sa love because I’m contented with my family now.”
Rochelle: “Kapag nahanap mo ang ‘The One’, winner ka!”
Herlene: “For me, sa love araw-araw akong winner dahil andiyan ang pamilya ko.”
Vaness: “Winner ka kung sa lahat ng mahirap, mabigat at mga pagsubok na pagdadaanan ninyong mag-asawa ay nagtutulungan kayo and you see each other’s weakness and be each other’s strengths. Sabi nga ng husband ko nung kasal namin, ‘You had me at my worst, now you have me at my best.’ It has been the best two years of my married life even with this pandemic.”
He also has a ‘winning moment’
Entrepreneur Wilbert “Wil” Tolentino (photo), 2009 Mr. Gay World Philippines (now organizer of the pageant), also has his own “winning moment.”
“That’s when I won my battle against COVID-19,” Wil confessed to his friend Richard Hinola, PR practitioner and events organizer. “I am a triumphant survivor.”
According to Richard, Wil’s ordeal started on July 24 when he posted on his Facebook page that he had sore eyes. A friend doctor told Wil that it could be a symptom of COVID-19 and advised him to undergo a swab test at a private diagnostic center. Negative.
Soon after, continued Richard, “Wil had back and chest pains. A hypochondriac, he took another swab test from another clinic and he turned out to be ‘positive.’ He went into solitary confinement and took Chinese herbal remedies while isolating himself from his four-year-old son.”
When his condition worsened, having breathing difficulty, Wil was confined in a hospital, diagnosed with a severe case of pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). He stayed intubated in the ICU for three days, reminding his friends to leave his son in his brother’s care “whatever happens.” With medical care and fervent prayer, Wil got well.
As a gesture of gratitude to medical frontliners, Wil has launched The Frontliners Online Challenge in which five entrants with the most compelling stories of hope and bravery will receive fabulous prizes. Those interested may check Wil’s Facebook (“Sir Wil Online Challenge”) for specifics.
“Wil’s two-week confinement made him realize the brevity of life and it strengthened his faith in God,” said Richard. “As an advocate of spreading awareness to help curb the rise of the virus, he is donating his blood to the Red Cross. “He wants to erase the stigma attached to COVID-19 patients and survivors.”
(E-mail reactions at rickylophilstar@gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)