What is your passion?

Every cliché about passion is true that one must be passionate about something to be very good at it, that life wouldn’t be complete without passions, and that mastery of one’s passions is the secret to happiness. So we asked accomplished people what they are passionate about and their answers give us glimpses of their lives.

Thelma Dumpit Murillo, deputy executive director, CITEM

The dictionary defines “passion” as a boundless enthusiasm. Going by this definition I would say finding meaningful projects, no matter how big or small, and making them succeed is a passion that brings satisfaction.

Amina Aranaz-Alunan, creative director, Aranaz Bags

Creativity and fashion are among my greatest passions ever since I was a child, which is what has led me to this industry. But I am also very passionate about helping and encouraging others to find their true life’s passion and pursue them. I believe a successful and happy life is one that is lived out of passion!

Weena Lim, badminton Olympian

Since childhood, my passion has been badminton. Ever since my parents and brothers introduced the game to me I have loved it! It is the combination of the physical, mental, emotional and social aspects of the sport that make me keep playing it. More so that I try to get everybody to join me. I have been playing the game for more than three decades and I don’t plan to stop for the next three.

Jun de Leon, photographer

Photography: 38 years and 11 books after, I’m still chasing images. I have no special talent. I just love photography....more than food.

Gilbert Pangilinan, chef/co-owner, Kai My wife and my baby.

Rep. Ed Zialcita, Parañaque

My passion is singing and playing percussion instruments like bongos, conga, timbales etc.

Nadia Montenegro, actress

My passion is cooking. I cook every day. I cook for anyone and everyone. That’s how I show my love.

Rima Ostwani, fashion consultant and customer development manager, Rustan’s

My passion is dressing up people and making them look absolutely gorgeous, elegant and effortlessly stylish so their inner and outer beauty are radiated with utmost confidence. Fashion is instant language as Miuccia Prada once said — what you wear is how you present yourself to the world.

Rio de la Cruz, running coach/trainer/race organizer

What made me passionate about running? I have been running since 1995, the love for this sport is within me already. It gave me a diploma and an unexpectedly good life. Being passionate in this sport pushed me to inspire people to live a healthy lifestyle through running. Running also gives me runner’s high, which gives me a clear mind and relieves me from stress. It is part of me already. Running is already part of my lifestyle and my day is not complete without it. It is a matter of time management and commitment. I always make sure that I find time for it and I adjust whenever I have meetings in order for me to run.

Maribel Garcia, curator, The Mind Museum

One of my passions is to encourage people to realize that you do not have to be a scientist to appreciate the sciences. There is so much wonder out there that can be revealed or made richer if we understand it and understanding is something that science is pretty reliable in delivering. Clear thinking is so rare in public discourse but I think if we improve the scientific literacy of Filipinos, we can see more glimpses of it. I have been doing science writing for over a decade now but for the past four years, the focus of much of this passion has been The Mind Museum at Taguig, the science museum being constructed in Bonifacio Global City (BGC). There, I have the pleasure of making scientists and artists “talk” so that we will have exhibits and programs that will make science roar.

Lor Calma, architect

My passion for form is a constant one. It was fleshed out in my furniture design and interior design, which sustained me for decades, and in my paintings and sculptures.  I am now trying out sculpture in a smaller, more intricate form — in jewelry. Right now, I am working with silver and some rough stones. My other passion is farming. My roots are in a farm — in Magalang at the foothills of Mt. Arayat in Pampanga, where I remember feeling the December breeze all year round.  Being able to cultivate a passion is connected to my roots and it rejuvenates me. I always feel decades younger than I am now when I go back to Magalang. I also have a farm in Malvar where I have fruit trees — lanzones and rambutan. I also want to raise native chickens and go back to a time when people were not so far removed from their sources of food. That regains for me a sense of respect that I feel a lot of people have lost, living fast lives. Because they are my passions, I always make time for them.  Art and farming keep me young and engaged with the world.

Reli L. German, president, Agents International PR

From setting the precise time for appointments (for example, 8:42 a.m. or 5:37 p.m.) to mapping out political and corporate public relations campaign strategies and tactics, I have this passion for precision compounded by an eye for detail. I suppose that’s the Sagittarian and Atenean in me. 

Timi Gomez, brand manager, Unilever Philippines

Travel is definitely a passion! But to keep affording it means work has to be a passion, too! So I work hard to travel harder!