All about Vicki

(First of two parts)

She was an inherited friend — introduced to me by Rosanna Roces. I still recall our first meal together — arranged by Osang — at the Red Crab restaurant in Tomas Morato. We hit it off immediately and became instant friends. That was nine years ago. Dr. Vicki Belo, however, had been in medical practice longer than that. Her Belo Medical Center, in fact, is currently celebrating its 20th year. Below, I am ticking off some 20 pieces of information I discovered about Dr. Belo during the almost decade-long period I had known her:

1. It is common knowledge that she can be generous to a fault. But what most people may not be aware of is that she knows when to say enough is enough. It takes long for her to reach boiling point, but she gets there in time — when she feels she’s already being abused.

2. She may be known to be carrying signature bags all the time, but when it comes to her palate, her taste is very Pinoy: She likes bibingka, sapin-sapin and other native cakes.

3. The medical tourism project she had been espousing the past few years is not only to get more clients for her business, but to boost the image of the Philippines. Her manner of showing patriotism is not to get shot at the Luneta or at the tarmac. A couple of years ago, the trainer of a beauty pageant delegate to an international contest asked me if Dr. Belo can put a butt on Miss Philippines prior to the competition abroad (they didn’t have time anymore to work on that through exercises). The RP bet was tall, beautiful and bright, but her body was lacking in shape. When I talked to Vicki about it, she agreed to do it — on the house — “because that’s the only patriotic act I can do for the country.” She went on to explain to me the problem regarding Filipina beauty contestants sent to international beauty congresses. According to Dr. Belo, the few times we have tall candidates, “they usually don’t have the appropriate chest size and, yes, the butt.” P.S. The local pageant organization said no and Miss Philippines didn’t even enter the semi-finals — maybe because she didn’t have the right curves.

4. She is always grateful to great deeds by other people even if she is not necessarily the beneficiary. When Rosa Rosal expressed her desire to visit the Belo Medical Center for treatments, Vicki immediately agreed to accommodate the actress-humanitarian free of charge. “After all the things she has done for the Red Cross, that’s the least I can do for her,” she told me. Today, Ms. Rosal proudly proclaims to the world that: “I am a Belo baby.” When Marichu Maceda saw Rosa Rosal in one function some months back, the industry pillar was quoted as saying: “I admire Rosa Rosal for still having a sense of vanity, which every woman should have, especially those in the entertainment profession.” Well, Dr. Belo is behind Ms. Rosal’s effort to look good — and she still does look great — at almost 80, which is important since she has to be at her most charming when soliciting donations for the Red Cross.

5. But restaurant owners beware of her. When she eats out and likes a particular dish, she will order one to go, brings it home for her cook to duplicate and serves it or gives it away to friends. One dessert she discovered from a local restaurant was turon with halo-halo ingredients inside: Red munggo beans, purple yam, macapuno and, of course, the usual saba banana and strips of jackfruit. She started giving this away as a food gift. Her karma for copying somebody else’s recipe is that I stole it and passed it off as my own. My own karma: The cook at home started churning out this dessert on a regular basis that halo-halo turon is starting to come out of my ears.

6. She may be projecting this frivolous image because of her sense of style, but she is one of the most intelligent and sensible women I’ve met in my life.

7. While she can easily learn to operate the latest medical equipment offered in the foreign market (she is always the first one to have it in this region), she has difficulty tinkering with a computer and only knows how to use Word. 

8. Her adoptive parents were lucky to have her. She was devastated when her foster father, lawyer Enrique Belo, passed away. Today, she continues to pamper her mother, Nena, and always showers her with love. No matter how tired she is at the end of the day, Vicki would hop over to her mother’s house (somewhere down the block) to kiss Nena Belo good night.

9. Her heart also breaks when her children, Quark and Cristalle, end their respective relationships. She considers like her own children whoever her kids bring home to Mama. Vicki begins to love them and she, too, gets hurt when characters change in her children’s romantic affairs.

10. She is the coolest mom. Her children can tell her anything and she will be most understanding. No wonder both her kids turned out to be well-adjusted and grew up to be fine and responsible adults. As their Dad, Atom Henares, always jokingly points out: “They turned out to be great kids — in spite of us.”

(To be concluded)