ECQ Stories: Monika Afable, beauty queen and proud 'biribid' seller
As the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, many people's resourcefulness and resilience are put to the test as millions of livelihoods have been affected worldwide.
Monika Afable, Miss Sinulog Festival Queen 2020 and proud biribid seller
But in the midst of all the uncertainty and misery, people find hope and inspiration from uplifting stories, such as that of Monika Afable, the viral beauty queen and proud 'biribid' seller from Borongan, Samar.
GMANetwork.com had the pleasure of hearing Monika's story straight from the teen beauty queen herself, as she narrates her simple life before her viral fame and shares how she is taking the pandemic in stride, walking on with a heart full of hope and taking pride in her roots.
Monika with Dra. Rowena L. Adga, the wife of Borongan City Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda
Journey as a beauty queen
Monika was crowned Miss Sinulog Festival Queen last January 17, which makes her the automatic representative of Cebu in the Miss Millennial 2020 pageant in Eat Bulaga.
Aside from that, the beautiful morena lass with mixed Spanish, Caucasian, and African American ancestry is also the reigning Miss Borongan City.
It may seem like the 17-year-old beauty queen has been used to winning crowns right and left. But that was not always the case.
Monika lost on her first try.
“Yung first time kong sumali ng pageant is grade 9 po ako and school-based po 'yon.
“Napagtanto ko po na gusto ko pala mag-pageant. Kasi bata pa lang ako mahilig na ako manood ng mga pageant, so ayon, nag-try po ako noong grade 9 ako.
“Hindi ko pa alam yung process ng pagsali ng pageant or ano'ng preparation, so hindi po talaga ako handa noong first time ko kaya hindi po ako nanalo.”
Nevertheless,, Monika pursued vying for other titles and has successfully emerged as the winner.
“Sinabihan po ako ng handler ko na magkakaroon daw ng pageant yung isang barangay. Tapos sabi niya August 4 yung coronation night.
“So ayon, sinabihan ko si Nanay na what if mag-join ako sa pageant na 'yon. Birthday ko naman 'yon.
“Naging supportive naman si nanay kasi alam niya na gusto ko mag-pageant, gusto ko yung ganun na may makeup or gown.
“Ayon po. 'Yung pagaeant na 'yon, nanalo po ako. Saktong-sakto, before midnight nanalo po ako ng Miss Mutya ng Bugas, dito lang po sa bayan.
“Barangay muna yung sinasalihan ko. Pati dito sa amin, ako po yung reigning Miss Ando, and sa city po namin ako po 'yung reigning Miss Borongan City and first runner-up po sa Silangan, Samar.“
Monika is proudly holding a box of 'biribid,' which can sell out in just 30 minutes.
Proud 'biribid seller'
Just this month, Monika's photo selling "biribid" (or "pilipit") in Samar went viral. People were stunned that a beauty like Monika would have no qualms about peddling food on the street.
However, Monika revealed that she has been doing this since she was a little girl and she absolutely feels no shame about it.
“Since grade 4 pa po ako tumutulong na ako kay Nanay. So, nahinto lang noong March kasi nag-total lockdown po tayo dito.
“Before the ECQ or pandemic, nag-aaral po talaga ako sa city and sa weekends naman po tumutulong ako kay Nanay na maglako ng biribid or buchi, or kahit ano pong niluluto ni Nanay. tumutulong po ako.”
Monika also shared that it was poverty that motivated her to sell "biribid."
“Isa po kasi akong anak ng mangingisda and hindi naman po palaging may huli 'yung Papa ko.
“Nasa mindset ko na po 'yung tumulong. And kung pwede lang pabilisin po 'yung panahon para agad-agad ko nang matulungan 'yung pamilya ko po, gagawin ko po.”
Moreover, Monika said that the breadwinner in their family is her aunt who works abroad. And selling 'biribid' is their way of generating extra income.
She also narrated that the revenue from selling "biribid" mostly goes to their family's daily expenses.
It is also through selling "biribid" that she gets to save up for the coming school days, since she and her cousins have to pay for pumpboat and tricycle fare for when commuting to and from school.
During the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), Monika's family didn't have extra income since they couldn't sell food on the streets.
But, the good thing was they didn't have much expense either because they didn't have to go to school during the ECQ period.
And once the ECQ was lifted, Monika wasted no time and went back to selling her mother's "biribid" and "buchi."
“Malakas po ang benta. Kasi around 20 minutes lang po, natapos na po ako kasi sabi ng mga customers naming sa barangay naming na-miss daw nila yung luto ni nanay na biribid at buchi.”
Monika takes the high road when it comes to bashing and discrimination.
Ignoring bashers and discrimination
Monika's new found fame didn't only bring supporters or followers; it also brought a handful of bashers into her life.
Fortunately, the teen beauty queen knows how to take the high road and carry on with her head held high.
“Dito sa village naming wala naman, kasi supportive sila sa akin. Pero doon sa internet, nakita ko yung mga (negative) comments.
“Okey lang naman po kasi free naman sila mag-comment kung ano man gusto nila, pero may nakita rin po kasi akong comment na matutuwa lang daw sila sa akin if anak daw ako ng presidente or mga artista at naglalako ako.
“Sabi nila hindi naman special na 'yung beauty queen magbenta ng kakanin or what, kasi hindi naman po ako anak ng mayaman.
“Okey lang naman po sakin kasi sabi naman ng tita ko na dapat hindi ako magpaapekto doon.”
Monika also admitted that she has experienced a bit of discrimination from her classmates when she was younger.
“First time ko po na naconscious ako sa pagtitinda ko was when I was in Grade 7 po kasi first time 'yon.
“Kasi yung elementary po namin dito lang sa isla namin. 'Yung high school naman is nasa city na.
“So, medyo naghesitate ako noong una lang kasi nakita po ako ng mga classmates ko na naglalako ako and naconscious ako kasi hindi ko alam na hindi pala okey sa kanila or parang sinasabihan nila ako na ang baba kong tao.
“Parang hindi nila expected na naglalako ako. Parang 'yung pagtingin nila sa akin is bumaba kasi 'yon nga, naglalako ako.
Nevertheless, Monika has learned to best deal with other's negative opinion about her and her selling of "biribid" and "buchi."
“Noong following day naman po na nakita nila ako, parang sinabihan ko na lang sarili ko na not everybody ay tatanggapin ka. And nag-focus na lang ako sa mga taong sumusuporta sa akin.”
Monika is vying for the crown of Miss Millennial 2020
On her Miss Millennial 2020 bid
There is no word yet on when the Miss Millennial 2020 pageant will resume on Eat Bulaga but Monika remains enthusiastic and determined to represent Cebu in the competition.
Despite being a native of Borongan, Samar, Monika can represent Cebu on account of her winning the Miss Sinulog Queen Festival crown this year.
“Excited po akong mag-tour sa Cebu kasi napaka-interesting po kasi ng mga Cebuano.
“Marami silang ma-i-o-offer and marami po silang mga tourists spots and yung food po talaga yung pinaka-excited ako.
“Maraming iba't-ibang food yung Cebu and hindi na po ako makapaghintay na ma-try po 'yon.
“Hindi pa po ako sure, pero hopefully, sana nga po matuloy (this year). If ever naman po (hindi), baka next year na po, in God's will po.”
What does Monika aspire to be in the future?
Future plans
As Monika became an overnight celebrity, offers started pouring in. However, she is in no hurry to pursue a showbiz or modeling career anytime soon.
“Marami pong nag-o-offer. 'Yung pagmomodeling kasi is medyo time-consuming and hindi pa po kasi ako (sanay) mag-Tagalog kasi Waray talaga 'yung language namin dito.
“At hindi pa po kasi ako 'tinutuyangan'. Here sa Borongan yung 'tinutuyangan' ay parang 'pinahihintulutan'.
“Hindi pa po ako pinahihintulutan ni Nanay mag-join ng modeling kasi medyo bata pa raw ako, minor pa talaga ako. 'Yon po.
“Thankful naman po ako if may mag-offer, pero nasa isip at puso ko na po talga na gusto ko pong iprioritize 'yung studies ko before anything else po.
Moreover, the Grade 12 student-beauty queen divulged that she aspires to be a CPA lawyer someday.
“Gusto ko po kasing maging CPA lawyer. Kapag hindi palarin, kahit CPA na lang po.
“Marami po akong panagrap. Kahit ano'ng trabaho po, basta marangal.
“And yung main goal ko naman po is matulungan ko 'yung mga mag-anak ko, 'yung parents ko, 'yung mga nagpalaki sa akin and lalo na po 'yung father ko kasi gusto ko po silang pagawan ng bahay someday.”
Monika, the model millennial
Message for fellow millennials
If there's anything Monika would like others to emulate from her, it would be her willingness and determination to help her family and those in need.
“Ang message ko po para sa mga kabataan, mga millennial na tulad ko, ay sana maging inspirasyon po ako sa inyo na maging bukas po ang inyong puso sa pagtulong sa inyong pamilya at sa mga taong nangangailangan, kahit small amount lang po or kahit ano man pong maitutulong natin, sana po maging bukal ang ating puso sa pagtulong, kasi lahat po tayo ay affected ng pandemic na COVID-19.”
Indeed, millennials should take inspiration from a humble and resilient teen beauty queen like Monika who faces adversities in life with grace and dignity, and keeps her feet firmly on the ground and stays proud and true to her roots.
For more lifestyle content, visit GMA's Lifestyle page.
And for updates on the Coronavirus Disease pandemic and the enhanced community quarantine, visit GMA's COVID-19 page and ECQ page.
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