Faith, hope, love

MANILA, Philippines - Beauty comes from God. When you’re connected with God, there is no stopping your being beautiful.

This is how a woman like Sonia Roco defines beauty, something that continuously springs from the widow of the former Sen. Raul Roco, who passed away in 2005, amidst times of storm and calm.

In 1964, she won The Most Outstanding Student award, placing first among all college students in the country (Raul Roco came in second). It gave her a chance to make a tour of nine cities in Southeast Asia as a student ambassador. She graduated magna cum laude with an Education degree from Saint Joseph’s College in Quezon City. The educator also earned her master’s degrees in Communication Arts and Social Psychology from Ateneo de Manila University and took courses at the Child Development Center of the University of the Philippines. “I must say that I had a very well-rounded education which I’m thankful for,” she shares.

“I’m a very blessed person. I’m blessed with good intelligence, the greatest spirit and courage to face storms in life. I’m blessed with a good family and lots of friends. What else can you ask for?” says the mother of six and grandmother of seven (soon to be nine). She adds that there is no course for motherhood, that one learns it as one goes along; but she has learned a lot of lessons on the track. “You may say I have become a wise mother and a doting grandmother, and also a mother to many people who would need my motherly care.”

Deciding to marry Raul Roco was one of the turning points in her life. Asked how the former senator was as a husband, she says, spontaneously: “He was very loving and committed to the family, and more committed to the country. He was a great provider and very conscious of his duties and responsibilities not only to the family but to the country as well.”

She also tells a poignant recollection of their earthquake experience in Baguio in 1990, being the most memorable anecdote of their love. “He did all he could to rescue me from the earthquake,” she reminisces. “He was outside while I was trapped inside the Nevada Hotel and, not having any training in rescuing people during disasters, he organized the materials that the rescuers needed to go into the hotel and dig us out. All my friends, when they knew what he did, they asked their own husbands, ‘Would you do the same thing for me’?” She muses that the earthquake gifted her with a second life. And given another chance to live, she believed she was expected to give more. However, Mrs. Roco didn’t anticipate what would unfold next, that her husband would become a congressman, a senator and even vie for presidency. She gave him all the support as wife and mother to his kids, and to his constituency.

At present, Mrs. Roco is busy developing her farm in Antipolo City, supporting culture through music and helping the youth in Bicol become nation builders. No, she is not running in the 2013 elections.

There are a lot of things that make her walk in the air. Good food, new places, traveling, theater, poetry and photo shoots like the one with Filipino cosmetic brand Ever Bilena. “Anything that challenges my creativity and my generosity makes me happy,” she beams. She likes traveling and music. She plays the piano, sings and dances when she has the luxury of time.

“All these things I do in God’s good time. If I’m not healthy, I would not be able to do them,” shares the mother, educator, social reformer and an advocate of a very simple beauty regimen: “Eat healthy. Get the right amount of sleep. Keep your face always clean and protected. Think positive thoughts. Smile as often as you can.”

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Photography by Mau Aguasin • Styling by Belle Camarsi • Hairstyling by Froilan Sulligue for Ever Bilena • Makeup by ARMAN MISTA for Ever Bilena • Evita layered dress in sunset from Florence Fling (available at Crossings, Shangri-La Mall) • Accessories, stylist’s own • Shot on location at Valley Golf, Antipolo