GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Apparently, Mommy D has yet to move on from her son Manny Pacquiao’s controversial loss to World Welterweight champ Timothy Bradley.
“Who has, when the world has not?” she asks.
Pounding the air with her hands, the PacMom declares: “I will go to the US for the rematch!”
In the comfort of her home, she is not the same Dionisia Dapidran Pacquiao, 63, whom the world either loves or hates. Except for her high-speed chatter, Mommy D comes across as a typical mother frothing at imagined slurs and slights against a favorite child. “I will kneel and pray in front of the ring so that Bradley will see me,” she vows fiercely.
Mommy D may have ostentatious taste, even an insatiable appetite for stuff that would shame the original Material Girl, but this dolled-up media creature confesses to a longing for the most basic need: A simpler life in a modest home, a feast of plain dried fish for dinner and a slice of bread dunked in a hot cup of milk in the company of friends who have stayed true all these years.
Her high-octave voice never fails to lure her neighbors into sneaking a peak at the Pacquiao household through the neck-high perimeter wall. “Hearing her voice is one experience you should have in your lifetime. She’s our star,” says one neighbor who is staring at her, oblivious to the househelp and her three beefy bodyguards.
“Kinsa tong naga-ayo, tan-awa ninyo [Check out who’s at the gate],” the Pacquiao matriarch tells them as she hears the dogs barking.
It’s a group of men from Pangasinan, come to see Mommy D, asking to pose with her for pictures. She readily obliges. “Wala akong magawa dahil sexy tayo. Alangan namang itaboy mo yang mga new friends mo. Kawawa naman [Well, what can I do? I’m sexy and it’s rude to drive away your new friends],” she deadpans.
Despite such trappings of celebrity, the PacMom’s hankering for the simpler things in life may be for real. Her latest mansion, a gift from the boxing champ, is currently up for sale for P13 million, its grand interiors included. She has retreated to the first house that her son built for her after his early wins in 1993. The modest two-bedroom house is located on the same street where the mansion rises, and is furnished simply, except for the countless close-up shots of Mommy D that adorn its walls.
Come September, she is set to move to another grand house, this time an elderly-friendly home in an exclusive subdivision. “Gusto ko simple lang, pero iba na ang tingin sa akin, ka-level na ng mga artista. Pero ang susunod ko na bahay, wala nang hagdan para hindi na ako mahirapan [I’d really prefer a simple house but things are different now and people see me as being in the same league as movie stars. But my next house will no longer have stairs so moving around would be easier for me].”
Indeed, her son’s fame and fortune have rubbed off on her, as the woman is known for her acquired taste for designer stuff, among them a Hermes bag that she had specifically asked for her birthday.
But the gloss is purely external and one might say, strictly for the cameras and the curious, sometimes condescending, public. Inside the privacy of her home, the real Mommy D is flagrantly exhibited, her thick Visayan accent undisguised, the loud guffaws hardly moderated, the probinsyana savoring newfound wealth and excitedly showing it off to trusted aides and close friends.
She avidly shares her so-called near-death experience from “kulam,” never mind if she sounds like a gullible hick in the thrall of a witch doctor. Since August 2011, Mommy D says she has been suffering from a mysterious ailment.
She recounts: “Nakahiga na lang ako, wala nang pag-asa. May gusto talagang pumatay sa akin. Dito na lang ako sa bahay nakahiga, ang bigat ng katawan, ang laki ng tiyan ko. Hindi nila ako kayang buhatin. Pangalawa na itong ganito, dati noong year 2000. Handa na sana ako mamatay dahil wala nang pag-asa. Pinatingnan ako sa doctor sa Cardinal Santos, walang diagnosis. Inuwi na lang ako. Kinulam ako dahil sa inggit. Buti may magaling na manggagamot, bumalik sa dati ang katawan ko. Malakas na ako ngayon. Salamat sa Diyos [I was losing hope. Somebody wanted to kill me. I was bedridden and felt very weak, and my stomach had become swollen. They couldn’t even lift me. Doctors at the Cardinal Santos Hospital couldn’t find anything wrong so I just went home. I had been bewitched; probably somebody envied me. Fortunately, I found a good healer and my body is back to normal].”
Mommy D was born on May 15, 1949 in Inupakan, Leyte, one of five siblings who grew up poor. Her mother Cristina Dapidran was their source of strength, she says, adding that the woman pulled weeds, worked the fields and caught fish to feed them. “Nagtrabaho siya sa basakan (ricefields), nagbunot nga mga damo para may pambili kami ng bigas, nanghuhuli siya ng isda para may pang-ulam kami.”
In 1960, without a steady income from farming copra and corn, her parents moved to Makilala in North Cotabato in search of a better life. They lived with an uncle for six months then moved to live with her mother’s sister in Polomolok. In 1962, the family settled in Glan, Sarangani Province where they bought a three-hectare land that was sold eventually when her father died. “Hindi na ako nakapag-aral sa paglipat-lipat namin. Hanggang Grade 4 na lang ako [Because we were constantly moving, I only managed to finish Grade 4].”
She had wanted to finish school and take up education in college, but her mother’s fears prevailed. Nobody else had gone to college and it was a strange unknown experience after all. She was an obedient child, Mommy D recalls, and she decided to forego her dreams.
At 16, Mommy Dionisia became a young bride to Alfonso Belbestre, 19. The couple settled in Glan and had a firstborn who died at eight months. Liza came two years later. The marriage soured soon after.
“Sumama si Alfonso sa ibang babae dalawang buwan pa lang si Domeng sa tiyan ko. Dalawa kaming babae niya ang nanganak ng taong yun. Totoo nga na ginayuma niya lang ako, kasi nawala lang ang pagtingin ko sa kanya. Tamad siya. Ako ang bumuhay sa pamilya namin [He had another woman when I was two months pregnant with Domeng. She and I both gave birth that same year. I think he had cast a spell on me because I suddenly lost my feelings for him. He was lazy; I had to be the family breadwinner].”
Rosalio Pacquiao came into her life when Domeng was 11 months old. In quick succession, the couple had Isidra, Manny, Alberto and Rogelio.
“Wala si Pacman kung wala si PacMom! [No Pacman without PacMom!]” she declares.
Rosalio and Mommy D have been estranged for 20 years now. She had discovered his affair with another woman. It was then that she decided she’d rather rear her children single-handedly.
She sold fish crackers and showed them how to be strong, how to cope with a harsh life. That was her legacy to them, she says. “Yun ang namana nila sa akin. Ramdam ko ang respeto nila.”
Rumors that she and Rosalio had gotten back are simply that, she says. “Ako ang tipong tao na hindi na babalik sa dating buhay. Tapos na kung tapos na. Wala na kami. Ginawa ko yun para sa anak ko lang [I’m the type of person who never looks back. I only did that for my son],” she says of their trip to the US for the Pacquiao-Cotto match. It was Rosalio’s first time to watch Manny fight live, she adds.
“Pero kung hindi ako nag-asawa uli, wala tayong Manny Pacquiao. At nasulat yan sa aking kapalaran, na ipagbubuntis ko ang yaman ng bayan. Si Manny yon [But if I had not gotten married again, there would be no Manny Pacquiao. And that was written in my stars-that I would get pregnant with the country’s treasure. That’s Manny]!”
If it were up to her, she would rather that Manny did not become a boxer. But the boy had persevered and secretly pursued his dream, even stowing away in a ship bound for Manila.
“Nagpadala ng sulat sa akin. Gusto ko man siya habulin sa Manila para patigilin sa boxing, wala akong gamit na pwedeng isanla. Kulang ang pera para sunduin ko siya. Tingnan nyo naman, dahil sa Diyos, tagumpay si Manny. Nakuha ni Manny ang lakas ko, mana siya sa akin. Pareho kami ng mga buto-buto, malakas. Umalis siya ng bahay na buo ang loob, nagsakripisyo siya. Ang ayaw ko lang yung papirmahin ako ng waiver pag may laban siya [He wrote me a letter, but I couldn’t follow him and make him drop boxing. I had nothing to pawn and didn’t have enough to bring him back. But thank God, he succeeded. He got my strength, we have strong bones. He left home and sacrificed. But I’m not comfortable when they would ask me to sign a waiver whenever he had a fight].”
Her initial misgivings aside, she is definitely one proud Mama: “Siya na lang ang natirang matibay sa mga amateur noon. Wala nang pumatol sa kanya noon dahil siya palagi ang nanalo. Noong nag-champion na sya, nabilhan na niya ako ng television [He was the only one left in the ring among the amateurs. Nobody else wanted to fight him. When he became a champion, he bought me a TV set].”
Still, she could never watch her son’s live fight. Instead, Mommy D locks herself in the prayer room of Manny’s mansion in Lagao, General Santos City, and gets down on her knees to implore the heavens to keep her son safe during his match.
The simple woman that she is, Mommy D seldom minces words, especially when it comes to her daughter-in-law Jinkee, a former promo girl for beauty products.
“May iba pang mahal noon si Manny pero nahulog ang loob niya kay Jinkee. Nagpakasal sila. Mabuti naman ang pagsasama nila [He had another girlfriend but he soon grew fond of Jinkee and married her. They have a good relationship].”
She recalls that Jinkee used to be a gambler. “Sugarol. Dumadayo sila kung saan-saan kasama ang ibang kamag-anak. Pero natigil din agad yon [She and her relatives would go gambling in different places. But that stopped soon enough].”
Change is definitely her constant companion since her son started earning billions. She can no longer go out without bodyguards “because of the possibility of being kidnapped.” Manny pays for the three bodyguards that Mommy D tags along in her frequent visits to the mall, the grocery and salons.
Aside from the bodyguards, Manny pampers her with lavish birthday celebrations attended by politicians and celebrities. Then there are his gifts that range from luxury cars to jewelry and a Hermes bag from Jinkee for her 62nd birthday.
On her 63rd birthday, Mommy D got an eight-seater Toyota Alphard luxury minivan, worth P3 million from her son. She never had any birthday celebration when her children were growing up so Manny indulges her now. No, she has never asked for the parties nor the gowns that her son gives her for her birthday. But she enjoys them nonetheless. As the make-up artist once assured her, “Aayusan kita para magmukha kang 18-year-old lady [I’ll fix you up to make you look 18].”
Life is good and even better with the ballroom dancing that has Mommy D twirling in her fancy clothes for three hours straight. Her DIs (dance instructors) get tired, but she doesn’t, she says. She has sturdy legs and a healthy heart, thanks to ballroom dancing, she adds. But, she clarifies, her DIs are not her boyfriends. “May mga asawa yan at mga bayot. Sayaw lang kami [Some of them are married, the rest are gay. We only dance].”
Mommy D’s colorful and unforgettable hi-jinks have led to commercial endorsements that have made her a household name. From her earnings, she has managed to buy her own Hilux car.
She enjoys the perks of showbiz as well: “Hindi ko malilimutan yung pelikula namin ni Ai-Ai (delas Alas). Nami-miss ko sila, yung mga kasama ko [I can’t forget the movie I made with Ai Ai. I miss them, my showbiz friends].”
Given her constant media exposure, detractors might say that Mommy D is a media hound, but she lays that to rest. “Inggit ang nagsasabi na kulang ako sa pansin [They’re only envious, those who say I crave attention].”
You could say the woman has everything, but Mommy D has one fervent wish: “Ang gusto ko pang marating ay tataas ang edad pero hindi tatanda ang mukha ko [I’d like to reach a ripe old age without it showing on my face].”
Not that she’d go out on a limb for that fountain of youth. Touching her face, she talks about her beauty secret. Jinkee, who has had some cosmetic procedures done by Vicki Belo, had wanted to bring her to Belo for some work, but she refused, says Mommy D. “Hilamos lang ako at moisturizer para gwapa [I only wash my face and apply some moisturizer to look good],” she says.
But faith and forgiveness also keep her young and strong, the PacMom reveals.
“Kung may hinanakit kayo sa kapwa ninyo, pabayaan mo, iwasan mo. Diyos na ang bahala. Magdasal tayo at hindi dapat kalimutan ang pag-alaga sa katawan [If someone has wronged you, forgive and let God fix it. Pray and don’t forget to take care of your body].”
She has kept the faith, she says, just as Manny has despite his recent Bible-quoting public appearances that have people thinking he has become a Born-Again Christian. Her son is still a Catholic, Mommy D says. He still has statues of saints in his house and he still prays the rosary. The only change is his Bible-reading, she adds. “[Pero] kahit nagbasa ka ng Bible, hindi natin dapat ibahin ang religion natin [But that doesn’t mean we should change our religion].”
It’s a good change, she adds. Her daughter Isidra used to gamble on the numbers game “last two.” But now she’s joined Manny in his Bible study, as does his other siblings. Things are working out well.
Fame, fortune, faith. Can life get any better for Mommy D? •
