MANILA, Philippines — Judy Ann Santos is not one to pretend how she grew up devoid of the high-end trappings that her three children are now enjoying in life.
The award-winning actress, mother and entrepreneur had her first van when she was in her late teens. Thanks to her late manager, Alfie Lorenzo, who gave her first personal vehicle. That made her stop commuting.
“I would commute till I was 15 or 16,” Judy Ann recalled. “I had my first vehicle when I was already a teenager. I would commute or rent a car to go to my shoots. I was already old when I had my first vehicle.”
Hence, Judy Ann wants her children to experience her humble beginnings. Recently, she proudly taught her eldest child, Yohan, to ride the jeep and learned how to commute.
“I didn’t just allow her to experience how to commute, I forced her to try commuting,” the actress laughed. “Yohan was actually excited. We rode the jeep around the area. So she knows how to go around. She will not feel helpless when our car gets stuck in a traffic jam.”
Judy Ann negated that she actually even hailed a jeepney on the road so she and Yohan could ride. “It was an ungodly hour,” the mom disclosed. “So it turned out, there were very few vehicles on the road. For some reason, I also wondered why traffic was light.
“I just showed Yohan where she could eat around the area. This is the one thing which if you don’t teach your child, she will feel helpless when she gets to college. So they need to know how to do those things.”
Yohan is actually in college now taking up music production. She is turning 19 this November.
“When I was young, I rode the tricycle,” Judy Ann shared. “That was how I grew up. So when Yohan was younger, we also made her ride the tricycle. It doesn’t make sense to me if my children don’t know these things.”
Dad Ryan Agoncillo is proud to know that their daughter learned how to commute. “We don’t filter these things to our children,” Judy Ann said. “The two younger ones — Lucho and Luna — will follow. Yohan is always the template for everything since she’s the eldest.”
Not that she knows of any boyfriend Yohan has at this point. “But if she has, she is of age,” Judy Ann said. “I just told her if at some point somebody wants to court her, insist that they go to the house.”
Judy Ann prefers to see it the old-fashioned way when her daughter gets courted before she gets in a serious relationship.
“That’s when you can tell the intention of the guy is pure,” the mom maintained. “That’s my basis. If the guy doesn’t want to show up in the house, face Yohan’s family formally, talk to us and respect what we want to happen for our daughter, then he’s not worth her time.”
Judy Ann and her youngest child Luna are seen in the newest TV commercial of Alaska Milk. “We had a store in Antipolo before and we sold Alaska,” the newest endorser of the milk brand said. “So ever since I was small, I was already familiar with Alaska. My mom would use that when she cooked before, when we were younger.”
The Agoncillo kids get their rewards when they respectively endorse something. “All of Yohan’s endorsements eventually trickled down to Lucho,” Judy Ann said. “Same thing with Lucho, whose endorsements trickled down to Luna and maybe more.”
At Luna’s age now, she turned seven last January, she gets product endorsements for her age. “There are story boards that are suitable for Luna,” said Judy Ann. “I’m very grateful for that.
“But I always have to ask Luna if she is okay to endorse a particular product. Do you want to try it or test it? Even shooting schedules, that has to fit their schedule in school. The shoot should be scheduled a month ahead of their calendar day.
“I show them the story board and explained it to them. I want them to be aware of what they are exactly doing.”
Luna loves a Toca Boca pack, a doll house video game, according to the mom. So when the girl wraps up a TVC (television commercial), Judy Ann will ask her daughter what she wants.
“We just don’t want to instill in them that for everything they do, they should get a prize. It can also be a quality time, can watch a movie or take a trip. So they can experience something that they did for the work that they finished.”