Precious advice Precious Lara

Miss International 2005 Precious Lara Quigaman has lived in different parts of the globe – having been born to OFW parents. But here in the Philippines, home is in Taguig City – in a place called Ususan.

I’ve been to Ususan a couple of times and has even heard anticipated Mass in one of the churches there dedicated to St. Ignatius of Loyola. And even before I got the chance to visit the place, I’ve been ordering native cakes from there – from a woman named Nalia, who makes the best sinukmani (bico made of pirurutong – or purple rice) in that southern part of the metropolis.

Ususan is so-called because in days of yore it was pastureland for native ducks and the place would often be filled with droppings or us-us, an old Tagalog word for waste.

Today, there is no trace of duck manure – no, not even ducks I believe – to remind residents of what the place used to be in days past. It is now a progressive community – charming in a rustic way – in spite of the narrow streets so typical of old Rizal towns. And now, they have no less than Miss International 2005 as their most famous community member.

From her end, Precious seems to be equally proud of her neighborhood (actually her mother’s place of origin) – never mind if etymologically, it derives its name from us-us. What matters to her perhaps is the fact that she’s not allowing herself to take s__t from anybody – and from a warped culture that thrives on gossip and mudslinging.

I’m saying this because when I interviewed her two Saturdays ago on Startalk and asked her about her showbiz ambition, Precious seems to already be having second thoughts about joining the entertainment profession. (She had indicated earlier that she wants to try acting – with Dennis Trillo as her preferred first leading man).

The change in plan must have stemmed from the fact that a week or so within her triumphant return from Japan as Miss International, she already got bad press. I’m not elaborating on this anymore because this has become a sore spot for her.

And they I also noticed that she seems tired doing the rounds of interviews – to the point that she had to be sent to the hospital after an asthma attack.

Maybe it’s due to exhaustion – or perhaps the pressure – that’s making her give up her showbiz dream. Or probably she got really peeved by some nasty write-ups.

I can only hope she doesn’t give up that easily on her ambition to join the world of entertainment because she could be an asset to this field.

But first, let me tell her to think twice about joining the movies. To begin with, now is the worst time to be an actress on the big screen because nobody is doing movies these days. Unless, of course, she wants to dislodge Irma Adlawan as queen of digital films.

At 22, she may also be a bit "too old." Believe it or not, 22, is quite old to be starting out in films. Of course, Gloria Diaz was almost 24 when she made her first film, the blockbuster in Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa. But Glory went through the wet look route – which isn’t really all that bad because in the end she became an award-winning actress. The trouble is, even if Precious is willing to go sexy (and I don’t think she is), she also has to do it by way of digital films (low-budget in other words). But again, Irma Adlawan has beaten her to it.

And then, there’s the matter of her height. Even if at 5’5" she is short by Miss International standards (which makes her victory even sweeter), she is quite tall for local films because we basically want our heroines petite.

So what else could Precious Lara Quigaman do in show business?

My suggestion is for her to go into broadcasting. I noticed that Precious could easily think on her feet and always knows the right thing to say at any given moment. That question-and-answer bit about Precious’ stand on Filipinos being typecast as nannies currently going around the Internet may be a hoax (see Bum Tenorio, Jr.’s New Beginnings column in Allure last Sunday), but there’s no denying that she is a very intelligent person – and we need her kind in the broadcast industry. So here’s hoping she’d embrace the broadcast profession – perhaps after her reign as Miss International is over.

But first, she must condition her mind that she cannot please everybody and that some people are bound to say something nasty about her.

In this life, especially in show business, you must be able to take s__t from time to time – whether or not you are from Ususan.