Tootsy Angara: Rebel with a cause

MANILA, Philippines - Just one look at Tootsy Echauz-Angara and one is set to conclude that elegance is an intrinsic part of her life. But beneath her sophisticated veneer are remembrances  not necessarily traumatic  of her life in the Cordillera mountains  the place where, for four years, she was a juvenile witness to the way of life of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. 

When she was in Grade 2 at the Immaculate Conception Academy in Quezon City in 1982, Tootsy, an only child, was pulled out of school by her mother. She was not to be transferred to another school right away. She was brought by her mother, Baboo Mondoñedo, to the Cordilleras to join the rebels, particularly the group of rebel priest, Fr. Conrado Balweg. Her mother, a writer, former model and Blue Lady of Imelda Marcos, chose to fight martial law by joining the rebels. At seven, Tootsy said goodbye to her Barbie Dolls and her charmed life in Manila and joined other children of the rebels, creating joys and toys out of leaves and twigs as they crossed the Chico River in search of food and other destinations where they could camp out.

“We came down in 1986 after the EDSA Revolution,” recalls Tootsy, who adds that even when she was with the rebel group for four years, her mother still made sure that she would still finish grade school at Maryknoll in Baguio. She studied high school at St. Scholastica’s College.

“It was certainly a hard life but I will not have it any other way. My mom prepared me for it because when I was five, she brought me to jails to visit political prisoners. My mother made sure, despite being separated early from my dad, that our life in the mountains would still be worthy to live. And it was,” says Tootsy, now the AVP for advertising and sales department of ABS-CBN. She has been with the TV network for 16 years now, where she started as an account executive after finishing Marketing Management at the De La Salle University.

Tootsy says her experience was not at all traumatizing. In fact, she adds, it taught her the values of simplicity, perseverance and contentment. “My life in the Cordilleras taught me that happiness is a choice.”

Last year, life all the more taught Tootsy to value each day when she successfully underwent neurosurgery after her doctors found a tumor in her skull.

But now, her ultimate happiness is found in the arms of Aurora Rep. Sonny Angara, the man she married in 2003, and their three children.

“They are my source of strength and joy,” revels Tootsy.                                               

Photography by MAU AGUASIN • Creative direction by LUIS ESPIRITU, JR. • Styling by RUDOLPH LEONOR • Makeup by PIA REYES • Hairstyling by ALBERT SERRANO • Butter yellow pleated silk chiffon dress by JUN ESCARIO • Jewelry by MILADAY JEWELS • Shot on location at the DIAMOND HOTEL PHILIPPINES • Special thanks to the management and staff of Diamond Hotel Philippines