Life isn’t always sweet for Sugar Mercado

Nothing can be more heart-wrenching than seeing a mother cry. So when you see former Sexbomb dancer Sugar Mercado wail on a Facebook video, because she was threatened with arrest over child abuse charges, you can’t help but feel for her.

But she’s now braver, more prepared to fight back. She has the law, militant women’s movement Gabriela, and other single moms behind her.

“God is so good, and I’m so lucky,” she gushed before taking the stage as the face of Tatio Active Dx’s glutathione powder injection.
Sugar beamed as she told the press she’s the only woman in the country so far that the court granted a PPO (permanent protection order) to. The order protects Sugar from further harm by preventing her estranged husband, Kristoffer Jay Go, from getting near her, for keeps.

It will be recalled that Sugar charged Go with violation of Republic Act 9263, or the Anti Violence Against Women and Children Act before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

And Sugar won’t let her guard down. She has decided to continue her custody battle for her children, aged two and three.

Sugar lets her children stay with their father once a week for six to eight hours, as long as her sister and a representative from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) go with them.

This way, Sugar explains, she’s confident they won’t be whisked away abroad or to a place where she couldn’t trace them.

Sugar’s life may not be a bed of roses, but there are rays of sunshine that help ease her load as mother to a pair of innocent children.
She says her Tatio Active Dx endorsement, along with her regular stints at Klownz and Zirkoh comedy bars, are a big help in providing for her children. She’s speaking to GMA Artist Center, and is looking forward to doing projects for the Kapuso network.

“I’m so blessed! All I can do is thank the Lord because He gives me blessings even before I ask for them,” she said.

Prayer, she continued, has helped her weather the storm. Pouring all her energy on her children also saw her through days and nights when she experienced falling hair due to stress.

“I must work for my kids. I need to spend time for them.”

She’s willing to give up her personal happiness if it means focusing her attention on her children.

“It’s only now that I realize I can do it. I want the best for my babies.”

Many single moms have sought Sugar’s advice. And she would tell them, “First, be strong for your children. Second, hold on to God, because there’s no problem He can’t solve. I’ve proven this myself. God’s words are the best.” — With reports from Almed Garcia and Julian Mauricio