Ginger Conejero A tale of a faithful child

MANILA, Philippines -  The tapestry of Ginger Conejero’s soul is a beautiful tale of a faithful child. She has mapped her own path to be a no-nonsense entertainment reporter for TV in the Philippines but she also knows that her comfort zone remains in her parents’ hearts  in far away California.

It’s been 15 years since Ginger, an only child born and raised in the US, started living on her own. She was 17 when she moved out of their house in San Francisco to study Political Science (minor in Business) at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where she graduated magna cum laude.

She landed a job as an analyst in a legal firm in the US. It was in the late 2006 when she came to the Philippines, the county of birth of her parents, to compete for the Miss Philippines Earth beauty tilt where she landed Miss Philippines Earth-Air. The following year, the Filipino TV viewers welcomed her in their homes as a fresh face delivering entertainment news for ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol.

“I have survived living alone because I always have faith. To have faith is the most important lesson I learned from my mom. My dad taught me to work hard and to be strong,” Ginger says.

Ginger is a faithful child to her parents Antonio, 61, a part-time hotelier in the Bay Area; and Azela, 66, a retired lawyer who now does real estate management. Her parents own a limousine rental business in the US. “Their hard work put me through school. I’m very grateful.”

In February last year, amidst her successful TV reporting career, she filed for a leave of absence at ABS-CBN to be with her parents. “I was in a coverage when I learned that my mom had ovarian cancer, stage 3. I knew I had to be with her,” she recalls with tears.

“I am grateful to the ABS-CBN management because it allowed me to go on an extended leave of seven months. I accompanied my mom to her chemo sessions. Now, she is doing well in her recovery from treatment and is being closely monitored by her team of doctors,” Ginger smiles, adding that she has returned to her beat at the TV station in October 2015.

“Cancer is a horrible thing,” she says. Ginger now also involves herself in advocacies focusing on the fight against cancer. “I want to spend more time with cancer kids. That’s something that I would demand more from myself.”

Ginger is not coy about sharing that independence has its own challenges. “To be independent has taught me about loneliness and how to ride it out. It has taught me about myself, my purpose. It has taught me to be grateful of the littlest things that make me happy,” she says.

Every day, even if she lives alone in the Philippines, she is comforted by love from her parents from across the miles. “They call me every morning to make sure that I awake to another day.”

Indeed, Ginger, the Faithful child, welcomes a beautiful day every single day.

Photography by RITA MARIE • Creative direction by LUIS ESPIRITU JR. • Makeup by SARI CAMPOS for Make Up For Ever • Hairstyling by BOGGY DIAZ • Styling by DIANE LASAM

and JEAR DE MC CUTTAC • Jewelry by MILADAY JEWELS • Blue top and pink trousers by HARLAN+HOLDEN and pink beaded gown by AZUCAR