Finding perfect match in Gionee smartphones

MANILA, Philippines - While much has already been said against Sara Duterte after she hit a court sheriff thrice in the head during a Davao demolition riot in 2011, there is still more to her that is yet to be unveiled.

The feisty daughter of Davao City's current mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is dubbed by Time Magazine as "The Punisher", Sara is the no-nonsense leader no one will dare to cross.

However, beyond the tough and superior image, she hopes to shatter the concept of first impressions, much like how she wants to shatter the image of China-based smartphone brands -- especially her superior yet affordable and reliable companion in constantly being connected to the wires even from any point of the world: Gionee Communication Equipment Co. Ltd.'s flagship device, Elife E6.

A start-up brand seeking to establish itself as user-friendly could have seemed to have done better than the rough and tough Sara as its face. As it is, it could only have a superior quality to win over a Duterte.

Alpha woman

"If you’re not firm, you won’t be able to orderly do what you want. You have to be firm because you lead," recounts ‘Inday Sara,’ the first lady mayor of Davao City is fondly called.   With the Dutertes as spearheads, the crime rate in the city has unfailingly been at its all-time low.

In fact, Duterte's, and the rest of her maiden family's rule for more than 20-year regime over the city, is highly lauded by the locals.  In her term alone, she was able to lead the administration with flying colors through her flagship program—BAROG, which stands for Barangay empowerment, Academe, Resource generation, peace and Order, and Governance.

Barog, which is the Bisayan word for “firm,” has also been Sara’s  leadership philosophy.

She also believes that being sensitive to the needs of the people she manages is vital and explains how there are offices that can be left alone and come back with results, while others have to be constantly guided.

But while people would easily think she has been naturally crafted for politics, the lady lawyer thinks otherwise.

“All throughout my life, I was focused on becoming a doctor,” she shares. After completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Respiratory Therapy, she proceeded to a medical school, but failed after only one year. Instead, she applied for and completed a Bachelor of Law degree at the San Sebastian College.

Law school led her to become a court attorney in the Supreme Court, but after she was convinced by her political party to run for vice mayor in 2007, then mayor in 2010, she learned to embrace being in public office—only to leave it after six years.

Sara was also offered to run for Congress in 2013 but refused, believing she was not ready for it. “My career in the government was staggered—three years as vice mayor and another three years as mayor,” she says. “Maybe if I held office for nine straight years, then I would say I have a solid track record, but that is not the case.”

What could make a Sara Duterte tougher, then?

“The challenges I face in my job and in raising my children," she says, revealing she is gearing up to being a judge in a few years.

Now, the 35-year-old Sara is enjoying her life as a private citizen.

“I’m kalog, galawgaw! I'm serious when it comes to work, but when I'm with friends, I'm kalog,” she shared.

At home, she is a loving wife to a husband lawyer, Mans Carpio and a caring mother to two beautiful children—five-year-old Sharkie and eight-month- old Stingray, who she nicknamed after Shark tale, the movie she and her husband watched on their first date.

While her birth to Stingray earlier this year was publicized, it is unknown to many that Sharkie was adopted.

In fact, it was not in the couple’s plan to adopt, but the first time she saw the baby after a social service officer called her for help, there was no thinking twice for them about taking her in the family. Now, she is an advocate of adoption “to save one life.”

“We are raising her without reservation and without any difference from how we are raising our biological son,” she says.

Now that she has tried to be a politician, a lawyer and a family person, is there anything more a Sara Duterte could want?

“It depends on God,” she says.

Aside from facing the challenge of rearing her children, Sara is also focused on doing private law practice at a small law firm in Davao City. She mentions how professionals like her, to be able to effectively do their work, need to have a reliable and versatile smartphones.

For this, she especially takes pride of her Gionee Elife E6 smartphone.

Asked what won her over, she beamed,  “Number one, it’s user-friendly.”

Gionee is a rookie player in the mobile wars, both worldwide and in the Philippines, and its products were crafted with the goal of “making complicating mobile technology user-friendly and unique to consumers.”

“It’s also on the go, which is essential for working people,” she added. The Elife E6 innovates with motion sensing technology – allowing users to simply press the phone against their ear to answer a call.

The Elife E6 is also Duterte’s perfect companion in fun. Powered by Android Amigo 4.2, it features over a million apps in Google Play and Google’s stable of products including Gmail and Youtube.

She also appreciates how Gionee has a range of prices, from the most affordable to the pricier ones, but never compromises the quality. “Whatever you need and can afford, there is a Gionee for you.”

When asked what she and Gionee have in common, she simply answers, “Efficient, effective, reliable.”

Coming from the alpha woman that is Sara Duterte, that statement is indeed indisputable.