Jo Ann Bitagcol, then 18, was in a poorly-lit panciteria in Bulacan discussing with a girl friend her chances of being hired as a member of the crew in a fast-food chain. She just finished her contract as a factory worker in a cotton mill so landing a job as quickly as possible would spell her chances of, well, survival. She never thought that not too far away from her, an opportunity to enter another world was about to be bestowed upon her. In that panciteria  on April 5, 1996, a Good Friday, the day many perceived when God is dead  a miracle was alive for she was discovered by designer Peter Lim, makeup artist Jay Lozada and film director Jeffrey Jeturian to become a supermodel.
In no time, from the obscure darkness, so to speak, Jo Ann rose to be a star in the catwalk. Her first salvo, through the prodding of the three men who literally found her in the dark, was at the Body Shots modeling competition in 1996. She did not win. But she proved that a fighter truly never loses when she became part of the Fashion Watch in September of the same year. Ever since then, she has sashayed on the runway both here and abroad. Sure she has made a name for herself as a formidable 5’9"-mannequin but this proud alumna of Marcelo H. del Pilar High School in Malolos, Bulacan never forgets her past.
"I came from nowhere. I practically have nothing to brag about," Jo Ann says, conscious that the premium that comes with glitz and glamour in the world that instantaneously adopted her as its very own should never enter her system. Instead of allowing herself to be wolfed down by the dizzying world of modeling, Jo Ann invested in having a good reputation by doing the best of what her job requires her. She proved resilient in the many demands of her work, a characteristic that she has manifested ever since her family (she is the fourth in the brood of five) was forced to evacuate their home in Angeles City after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991.
Aside from resilience, Jo Ann also has both the passion and art for reinventing herself. Three years ago, as she was updating her portfolio, she noticed that there were not so many good photographs of her that she could use. Fret she did not. Instead, she used that opportunity to discover her knack for photography. In 2004, she took basic photography classes at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. She also apprenticed for photographer Lilen Uy. A year after, she was already contributing photographs for different publications in the country.
"I also asked for more tips and borrowed equipment from different photographers like Jun de Leon, Raymund Isaac, Steve Tirona, Nelson Villarica, Neil Lucente, Claudine Sia and Xander Angeles. Some lessons in lighting I learned from makeup artists like Chechel Joson. I am just so glad and thankful that I am blessed with so many people who are more than willing to share their talent with me," she says.
Now, Jo Ann has already made a mark in fashion and portrait photography. Yet still, she does not allow herself to swim and drown in hyperboles.
"I am doing what I’m doing now to better myself, to somehow help my family," she says, adding that she gets to reunite with her parents and siblings in Malolos once or twice a month.
At the moment, she is bent on perfecting her newfound career in photography. The world is very welcoming to Jo Ann because  even in the dark, just like the poorly-lit panciteria where she was first discovered to shine  she sees her craft with the shutter of her mind and the lens of her heart.