15 Filipino moms we love – An International Women’s Day special

Filipino Moms We Love!

On March 8, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. Every year on this day, thousands of events take place worldwide in honor of women’s achievements, and also to inspire and empower women all over the world.

This year’s theme, "Empowering Women - Empowering Humanity: Picture It!" Envisions a world where every woman can exercise her rights and choices, from getting an education to living free from violence and abuse.

Supermoms are excellent examples of strong, empowered women. In honor of International Women’s Day we bring you 15 moms we love, who, through their advocacies and lifestyles, serve as an inspiration to other Filipino mothers.

Senator Pia Cayetano

Senator Pia Cayetano became the youngest woman to ever be elected into the Philippine Senate during her first term in 2004. Now 48 years old, the daughter of former senator Rene Cayetano already has two daughters of her own and an adopted son.

Apart from her work in the government, Senator Pia is also a mother, a lawyer, an entrepreneur and a triathlete. She proves that there is no limit to what can be achieved by the Filipino woman.

Why she rocks: A fierce advocate for women’s rights, Senator Pia and her office has authored a number of landmark health laws, including the Reproductive Health Act (RA 10354).

She uses her love for sports and fitness to further her advocacies. For women empowerment, for example, she has Pinay In Action, which provides Filipinas with tools for a healthy lifestyle and information for a better future.

Image source: Pia Cayetano Facebook Page

Cheska Kramer

Cheska Kramer is an actress and TV host, and mom to three adorable kids. The 34-year-old celebrity mom made a shift from show business to full-time motherhood, but remains in the spotlight through her family’s popular Team Kramer social media accounts.

As a mom, Cheska is hands-on, sharing in a PEP.ph interview that she gives her children a bath, serves them, puts them to sleep, and also prepares their clothes for school.

Why she rocks: The Kramers are all about family. Cheska realizes that many moms look up to her and her family as an inspiration. She chooses to use her influence to inspire others to live a God-centered marriage and a God-centered life.

This, she shares in an interview with World Vision, is her secret to a successful marriage and family life.

Image source: Team Kramer Facebook Page

Frances Amper Sales

A mom, a wife, a writer and a blogger, these are four words that Frances Amper Sales would use to describe what she does. The 38-year-old working mom is presently the market editor of Baby Magazine, and the blogger behind Topaz Horizon and Topaz Mommy.

Frances shares in her mommy blog that she never dreamed of becoming a mother, but now that she has three beautiful sons of her own, she feels a fierce love and joy towards her children and where she is in her life.

Why she rocks: Rocking the working mom lifestyle like a pro, Frances can be seen out an about during the day, attending meetings, shoots and events together with her youngest son, who she still breastfeeds. A peek into her Instagram feed shows that she manages to do all this and still remain stylish and chic.

Image source: Topaz Horizon Facebook Page

Michelle Ressa Aventajado

At 41 years young, Michelle Ressa Aventajado sees herself as a go-with-the-flow mom who likes to maximize her time and effort. She tries to get involved in all of her kids’ daily activities, but with four under her wing, it isn’t always easy.

"I know there are some days I certainly can't get it all done, so that's when I go with the flow. When I'm inspired and on a roll, I can do it all in one day. When I cannot? I let it go,” Michelle shares.

Why she rocks: This super mom stands for several things, and one of the advocacies closest to her heart is children with special needs, specifically Down Syndrome.

Her youngest child has been gifted with an extra chromosome, and since having her, Michelle has become active in organizations like the Down Syndrome Association of The Philippines, Best Buddies and the Center for Possibilities.

Image source: Momma 'N Manila Facebook Page

Rica Peralejo-Bonifacio

Rica Peralejo-Bonifacio, 34, is now a mom to a baby boy. She chronicles her life as a full time mom and wife, along with her travels in her blog Wanders & Wonders.

This adventure-seeker and travel-loving mom admits that she was unable to finish her education during her time as an actress. Despite already being a missus, she takes pride in finally graduating with honors from the Ateneo de Manila University with a bachelor's degree in Literature.

Why she rocks: She shares in an interview on KrisTV that making the choice to leave show business was something she felt would allow her to live a quality family life.

She believes in informed pregnancy and natural birth, and wanted the same for her delivery. Though circumstances led her to deliver via C-section instead, she still believes it to have been a beautiful birth, which resulted in a beautiful little addition to their family.

Image source: Carla "Rica" Peralejo-Bonifacio Facebook Page

Martine de Luna

As the blogger behind the successful blog community, Make It Blissful, Martine de Luna spends her days living meaningfully and intentionally. This 36-year-old mom of two is a lifestyle design advocate and a self-proclaimed bliss maker.

Apart from blogging, she also does blog coaching and conceptualizes workshops especially designed for women, all of which she accomplishes from the comforts of home.

Why she rocks: Martine’s intention is to create a life-bliss for herself, something she is able to accomplish by allowing her priorities to set the pattern for her days. She shares this in an interview on thespoiledmummy.com. She inspires other women and moms to find bliss in their lives as well.

""Making things blissful" is about taking what you have: a job, a relationship, even an object, and seeing its newness, finding ways to use that newness positively to uplift you and to invigorate others, too," she says.

Image source: instagram.com/martinedeluna

Joy Mendoza

Joy Mendoza, 38, is a home schooling mom of five and the blogger behind Teach with Joy. There she writes about marriage, parenting, and homeschooling, things that make up her Christ-centered life. Her stories of day to day life with her big family are both interesting and inspiring to read.

Why she rocks: Despite being a victim of abuse in the past, Joy remains positive in her life outlook. She is steadfast in her faith, and never fails to share the lessons she learns from both success and failure with her readers and followers.

Image source: Teach With Joy Facebook Page

Kara Alikpala

Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. She was then told during her treatment that she would not have children after chemotherapy.

When all the odds were against her, Kara prayed that she would someday become a mother. And she did. This strong woman beat the odds, surviving cancer and giving birth to a baby girl who is now a teenager.

Why she rocks: Together with three other survivors, Kara founded the iCanServe Foundation in 1999. Together with the group, she continues to provide support for women who are battling breast cancer, and helps survivors get on with their lives after treatment.

Image source: iCanServeFoundation.org

Jenny Ong

A quick visit to her blog, Chronicles of a Nursing Mom, and you will discover that Jenny Ong is a breastfeeding, baby wearing, cloth diapering, natural parenting mom to her two children.

She is also the mompreneur behind Mama.Baby.Love, an online store that offers accessories for breastfeeding and attachment parenting.

Why she rocks: Jenny is passionate about breastfeeding and an avid supporter of the milk code, firmly believing that mom’s milk best for babies.

She has taken this passion to the next level by becoming an accredited peer counselor of L.A.T.C.H. Also, to promote natural parenting, she gives talks on cloth diapering, as well as breastfeeding and baby wearing.

Image source: Chronicles of a Nursing Mom Facebook Page

Noemi Dado

Noemi Dado is popularly known on social media as @momblogger. This multi-awarded blogger authors several blogs including her only son suddenly passed away several years ago.

Why she rocks: The passing of Noemi’s son motivated her to become involved in grief support in the Philippines. As her recovery progressed, she saw a bigger picture for herself and her advocacy, that of social change and engagement in issues on family and society.

As part of her advocacy, Noemi is a resource speaker on topics such as online safety, parenting in the digital age, bullying and cyber bullying, and social media engagement.

Image source: Momblogger Facebook Page

Suzi Entrata-Abrera

TV personality and fitness enthusiast Suzi Entrata-Abrera looks amazing at 39, thanks to her affinity for sports and exercise. The mom of three chooses Barre3 as her go-to workout, and also enjoys Zumba and spinning.

It’s not surprising how active she is after all she was one of the hosts of the sports-themed show, Game Plan, where she met her husband Paolo.

Why she rocks: It isn’t easy balancing family, career, wellness, but Suzi manages to find time for them all. She believes that strong is the new sexy, as shared in an abs-cbnnews.com interview.

Her husband is very much involved in her active lifestyle, and they enjoy diving and cliff jumping together. Suzi also includes her kids in her exercise activities, whether it’s through swimming, biking or running.

Image source: Suzi Abrera Facebook Page

Jane Uymatiao

One of the pioneers of social media in the Philippines, Jane Uymatiao remains to be active online as @philippinebeat in her social circles.

She is also a blogger who writes about social media and parenting on her site, Here’s to Life, lifestyle content on The Philippine Beat, and about her yoga practice on The Yogini from Manila.

Why she rocks: Jane believes in the power of social media, not just for companies and brands, but also for social good. She co-founded Prep2Prime Digital with fellow social media mom, Noemi Dado, and together they provide social business consulting services.

Their expertise includes topics such as proactive parenting, social media in crisis communication plans, developing a wellness mindset and reinventing one’s life.

Image source: about.me/janeuymatiao

Chef Rosebud Benitez

Rosebud Benitez is a celebrity chef and host of GMA News TV’s Quickfire cooking show. Nicknamed Chef Mom, she has three kids, two of whom are already teens while her youngest will be turning a year old soon.

Why she rocks: Chef Rosebud advocates healthy cooking for the family, and even shared some of her nutritious recipes with moms from Payatas during a recent Operation Blessing feeding program.

In line with her healthy meal advocacy, she also has a business that is close to her heart, a diet delivery service called Weigh to Go. The boxed meals that they deliver range from 1,200, 1,500 to 1,800 calories.

Image source: Chef Rosebud Benitez Facebook Page

Janice Crisostomo Villanueva

Her daughter describes her as a loving mom, a caring mom, and a mom who is proud to be a mom. "She knows me well," Janice Villanueva, 43, says. This mom of 3 is a mompreneur and the blogger behind My Mundo.

Between managing the Belly Blessed Pregnancy Portal, Mommy Pages and the mompreneur network Mompreneur Manila, you can clearly see that this supermom has a lot going on. And these are only but a few of her successful ventures under the Mommy Mundo umbrella.

Why she rocks: Janice has fulfilled her mission to bring together like-minded moms through Mommy Mundo. Here she is able to offer help and support, host events and workshops, and provide useful information for moms, both online and in print.

The Mommy Mundo portal aims to serve a mom’s every need, and even offers a privilege card and an annual planner designed especially for moms.

Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo

She is a local superstar, a chef, an endorser and a host. More importantly, Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo is a mom and a wife. She is domesticated and hands-on, and likes to cook for her family whenever she can.

Why she rocks: From child star to supermom, Judy Ann has gone a long way. In juggling her career with motherhood, she makes constant adjustments and sacrifices. She wakes up early so that she is up when her kids are, and she tries to bargain for a mom-friendly taping schedule so that she can be the one to give her kids a bath and take them to school.

At the end of a long day, she makes an effort to stay awake for precious bonding time with her kids, no matter how tired she may be. Together with her husband, Ryan Agoncillo, they parent as a team and make sure that their children are always cared for.

Image source: Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo Facebook Page

Who are your favorite inspiring Pinay mommies?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Patricia de Castro-Cuyugan
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Written by

Patricia de Castro-Cuyugan

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