Bianca thankful for her second life

‘Not everyone gets a second chance to live. I’m thinking, maybe I still have a mission in life.’

Bianca Manalo is “back to work” but her near-death experience during the Holy Week is still fresh in her mind and difficult to talk about.

The beauty queen/actress survived a traumatic accident at sea on Maundy Thursday, after the speedboat she and her companions rode on got hit by strong waves and capsized en route to an island off Antique province. News reports said -she was with a group of 10, including fellow actress Ehra Madrigal and Bianca’s boyfriend, Mayor Jonathan Tan of Pandan, Antique, when the incident happened and left one dead. The mayor and a companion had to swim for two hours to seek help until they were spotted by local fishermen. Bianca and the rest fought for their survival for three hours before rescue finally came.

“I’m still recovering. I’m still having panic attacks. Kaninang umaga, yung dream ko dagat pa rin. Nalulunod ako. Yesterday, I dreamt of being in the water again, hinihila daw ako ng mga whale. My dreams are all water-related,” Bianca, whose sunburn marks were still visible, told The STAR last Saturday. “But I’ve been having counseling with my psychologist. The last session I had with her was a two-hour session. Sabi niya, it’s not going to be easy, but it’s normal (what you are experiencing).”

According to Bianca, her psychologist advised her “to take deep breaths whenever I’m experiencing anxiety… (and) run my race. Whatever my personal problems are, she told me to fix them first because once I fixed them, everything will fall into place.”

One thing is for sure, the beach lover added, “Ayoko munang makakita ng dagat. Kasi pag nag-fa-flashback... ayoko muna. Even the thought of stepping into a speedboat and imagining — just imagining sa gitna ng dagat na wala akong...” Her voice broke off, as she suddenly placed her hand on her chest. “Nanginginig ako, nagpapalpitate ako.”

It’s not hard to understand why Bianca still struggles with the memory of her experience. She tried holding back tears all throughout this interview. But she has decided to open up about it so that others may somehow learn from her story.

“For now, kahit mahirap, nagpapa-interview ako to create awareness at the same time be an example — to be careful next time, be sure to have a life vest, dapat there’s presence of mind and you should always be alert.”

She believes her training as a former flight attendant helped her. “I think so because I wouldn’t know basic swimming since I never had swimming lessons. I remember when we were almost drowning, hinihila ako ng mga friends ko because I wrapped my legs around the propeller,” she recalled. “Hinihila ako ng friend ko, tapos sabi ko, ‘wag mong hawakan kasi malulunod tayo lahat, relax ka lang, calm down, so tinulak ko siya sa taas ng speedboat.”

She further narrated that she also took off her outerwear. “Nag-bikini na ako kasi mabigat eh. Because I remembered when I was a flight attendant, when you’re in the water, you have to remove your clothes para di mabigat. So, basic swimming. Everything was basic. Then pray and stay calm.”

There was a point though that Bianca thought she was going to die, and if that was to be her fate, she was already prepared to accept it.

“I still had my phone. Nalunod kami ng 10:15 a.m. 12:35 (p.m.) tumawag ako ng 911 twice. Hindi ko na marinig pero tumatakbo ang number, so I know nasagot. I said, please locate our location here, in the middle of the ocean, here in Antique.

“And then, that time, naisip ko, ‘Tatawag na ba ako sa Mommy ko? Tawagan ko kaya brother-in-law ko, pahanap ako sa helicopter?’ Tapos inisip ko, ‘Baka maging burden ako, ayoko nalang. Anong mangyayari sa show ko, may tribute kaya?’ I had already accepted that I was going to die.”

Bianca began to entertain such thoughts because only about a foot of the boat’s bottom stayed above water. “Then I saw the look of my friend, yung look na ‘wala na.’ I heard her telling both of her kids, ‘I love you mga anak.’ So parang pumikit nalang ako, sabi ko, ‘Lord, wala na?’ Then, I was singing God Will Make A Way. I was praying out loud.

“Tapos si Ehra, she was saying (to her husband Tom Yeung), ‘Love, please stay strong for me.’ So yun na ang naririnig ko. Sabi pa ni Tom, ’pag lumubog na ang banca, mag-floating tayo. I tried floating but I drank so much seawater. So, I thought, if this boat was going to go down, we’re all going to die.

“Tapos nakatingin lang ako sa langit. Sabi ko, ‘Lord, kung ganito po ako mamatay, kayo na po bahala.’ Kaya nung dumating na ang rescue, iyak ako ng iyak kasi dun ko na feel na, makikita ko pa pala yung pamilya ko. Basta iba yung pakiramdam! Oh my God, I’m alive!”

Bianca observed the Holy Week afterwards. “The next day, I attended the High Mass, the two-and-a-half-hour Seven Last Words. And then, I joined the procession and then Saturday, we rested kasi may bangkay kami, may lamay, so nakiramay kami. Then Sunday, I attended the Easter Mass. When I arrived in Manila, nagpa-thanksgiving Mass ako, and then last Tuesday, I went to Manaoag (Church in Pangasinan). Talagang, Lord, grabe talaga!”

The incident led to a renewal of faith for her. “Grabe talaga, grabe po. Parang ngayon, ayoko ng gumawa ng kahit anong kasalanan. Kahit magsinungaling lang ako, baka mamatay ako, baka parusahan ako, ayoko na. Parang ngayon, ngiti ka lang, mabait ka lang, pagbigyan mo lahat.”

Every day, Bianca said, she wakes up thanking God for her second chance at life. She has also resumed her work commitments. Last Saturday, she was a judge at the press presentation of the finalists for the Mr. & Ms. Hannah’s World Tourism Philippines pageant at SMX Aura. She has already informed the production of FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, where she plays Bubbles, lover of Jhong Hilario’s villain character Alakdan, that she was ready to continue taping for the ABS-CBN series.

“Life goes on. Things are going back to normal. Basically, back to normal as an artista, as a sister to my siblings, as a daughter to my mother,” Bianca said.

“I’m very thankful for my second life. Not everyone gets a second chance to live. I’m thinking, maybe I still have a mission in life. Siguro mahal ako ni Lord. Sinasabi nga nila, siguro mabait ka kasi pinagbigyan kang mabuhay uli or di pa tapos yung mission ko sa buhay.”