Whatever we do in our life now will determine what we will become in our next life. Our goal is to always try to do good so that in our next life we will be rewarded and when we do get that chance to come back, we want to be a better person and have a better life. It’s interesting to note that when asked this question, half the people chose to come back as themselves while the other half want to be part of something historical and take the unfamiliar road.
ROSANNA ROCES, actress: I would like to be me again. I promised one man kasi that I would meet him in my next life. We fell in love at the wrong time and maybe my next life won’t be as tough!
JC BUENDIA, fashion designer: In my next life I want to be a priest. I feel I can be a good one – I have a good listening ear and I can share life lessons of this lifetime to the next. I believe there is much goodness people can do, so much goodness to bring out of the Filipino and I wish to be God’s instrument.
NICOLETTE BELL, commercial and ramp model: I want to be the President of the Philippines because if I have the power of the president I can make reforms to make this country great again.
MALU A. GAMBOA, general manager, El Cirkulo and Milky Way Cafe: Annika Sorenstam, golf champion. She gets to play in the world’s top courses and wins more often than not.
ANNA MARIE PERIQUET, president, Anna Marie Home Collection Inc. and Aurelio Periquet Jr. Foundation: I would still like to be myself in the next life because I want to go through the same experiences I have had and meet the same people I have encountered in my present life. However, I would want to go through a time warp and backtrack my next life to 1954.
MARILEN TANTOCO VALBUENA, vice president, Rustan Commercial Corporation: I would still want to be me because I am happy with my life now, especially having my daughter Annica, my little angel.
CHRISTOPHER L. CARRION, businessman: Without being immodest, I want to continue to be myself. Life is but a fleeting moment in the infinite chapter of God’s Divine plan which is seemingly short. After everything I have learned from life and with all that has happened in my present lifetime, I would be able to continue from where I left off as a much wiser person. I would avoid all the mistakes I committed, and love more as well as allow myself to be loved more. Should I be given a choice to be someone besides me, my choice would be St. Thomas Moore for his uprightness and wisdom so I would be able to carry his righteousness in the world today.
LIA ANDANAR YU, news anchor, ANC Money and ANC 4PM: I’d want to be a charismatic princess of a small but prosperous nation with a lot of extra funds, which I can choose to share with my chosen cause, charity and foundation. How fascinating to be in a position to inspire and be of concrete help to those in dire need of funding for educational, environmental and livelihood projects. How perfect it would be if I were to have the same loved ones in that second life as I do now and to meet the same genuine people who have made my life immensely rich.
KATE TORRALBA, fashion designer: I’d like to be both a mother and a teacher in my next life – there’s nothing more noble than to nurture and educate. Kids are wonderful to spend time with; they’re happy, unjaded, and naturally inquisitive. I wouldn’t mind running my own school! I look up to one of my mentors, Lygia Ibanez of St. Benedict’s Childhood Education Centre in Cebu where I spent my elementary days, and it was a great experience for me. She was the school administrator and yet she always found the time to give me piano lessons during lunch break! To this day, she continues to devote her life to giving children a good education. What a great legacy she has built. I’m proud to say that I’m a tiny fraction of it.
PAMELA AYSON, student: I’d probably want to be myself again. I enjoy life as it is. I’m having the time of my life. It would be fun to have another chance to relive the past, but this time around, I’d probably take different paths and decisions to see the outcome of what might have been if I made other decisions. But for now, this one will do. In fact, I wouldn’t want to trade it for anything else.