Miss U Pia as BDO endorser: ‘Confidently finding ways’

Think before you click.

If the stars (beauty queens included) heed what Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach has been reminding everybody from the time she won Bb. Pilipinas-Universe and then the country’s third Miss Universe, they will not get into trouble with bashers.

The problem with celebs is their propensity of posting on social media everything that they say or do, and then plea for “privacy.” Some of them don’t spare their babies (pity the innocents!!!) and cry “Foul!” when trolls bash the little ones who should be, in the first place, shielded by their parents from social-media cruelty.

Of course, I expect some people will remind Pia to follow her “reminder” and moderate her posts about her so-called “love life” with People magazine’s Sexiest Doctor Alive, and not to forget that, according to unsolicited pieces of advice, “siya’y dalagang Filipina.” Yes, Pia, think before you click.

Incidentally, more than just being “confidently beautiful with a heart,” Pia has been “confidently finding ways” of securing her future, as Funfare’s “beauty specialist” Gerry Diaz (also a member of Aces & Queens which grooms beauty queens) aptly puts it. Gerry is the region head and senior vice president (SVP) of BDO which has tapped Pia as its new endorser.

“Serendipity is how Pia puts it as she has long been a client of BDO even before she was chosen as the bank’s latest endorser,” said Gerry who helped Funfare make Pia answer a few questions.

What does being an endorser of the country’s largest financial institution mean to you?

“Well, even before hearing about the possibility of being an endorser for the company, I was already a BDO depositor. When I worked for ABS-CBN, BDO had a branch there and everything went through that account. I never had any problem with picking up and depositing my checks.

“When I became Bb. Pilipinas, I got advice from Sir Gerry (Diaz). He educated me with finances and the importance of savings.

 “It was only recently that I got myself a credit card because (before) the unrestricted spending habits afforded by credit cards could be difficult to control. It’s very helpful because I live in New York now and I can use it anytime.”

Do you have plans of expanding or trying the bank’s other services?

“I’m still learning about it. Before I left for Las Vegas (for the Miss Universe pageant), I was actually thinking of getting a new car. However, the pageant happened and it seems that I’m not going to be driving in Manila for quite some time. Definitely in the future, I would consider.”

What comes to your mind whenever you hear “we find ways”?

“You don’t forget it. It sticks to your mind.”  

This early, do you already envision your future and how would you like to spend your retirement?

“Yes, of course. You know, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) treats me like family. They want to make sure that after I pass on the crown, I’m secure; and that my finances are in order, and that I don’t go off on my own without education on investments as well as what I’m going to do with what I earned and with what I will earn.”

Plans after your reign as Miss Universe?

“I’m at that age already when I feel like I need to start planning for my future, for myself and also for my family. I was the breadwinner of my family growing up. Now that they’re okay and they’re settled — my sister has a family of her own already and my mom has remarried — it is the perfect time to take care of myself and think about my future.”

Can you share encouraging words with our kababayan on the importance of saving and investing for the future?

“Everything is fleeting. Even my crown is fleeting. My reign is not going to be forever, so I have to think about the future as well. Whatever I’m doing now, whatever I’m earning now, whatever is going to happen to me as Miss Universe in terms of maturity, finances and future, is fleeting. It is really important to save because you never know when you’ll need it. It is always good to boost your security and have that peace of mind.”

Any plans of becoming an entrepreneur once you graduate from the industry that you are in now?

“Certainly. I thought about that already before. I have many ideas, but then I would keep changing my mind because of different plans and the pageant. I did consider putting up a restaurant, or partnering with some trusted friends or chefs. I have some ideas. Maybe I’ll get back to that after my reign.”        

And Pia added that her HIV/AIDS awareness advocacy is not co-terminus with her reign as Miss Universe.

In the cover story by Gaby Ignacio for Cosmopolitan magazine’s April issue (some copies still on sale in bookstores and five-star hotel gift shops), Pia was described as “not content with simply paying lip service and talking statistics” and expressed her willingness to be publicly tested.

Quote-unquote:

I want people, especially women, to realize that it’s 2016, why do we have to settle? There’s a stigma around HIV/AIDS. A lot of people are so afraid of those afflicted by the disease that they don’t even want to hug them. I think it’s silly. For the people who have it, they automatically think it’s the end of the world, that they can’t live normal lives, which is not true.

I don’t think a lot of people know how easy it is to get tested…The kind of message that I want to put out there is kailangan matapang na tayo and ‘wag tayong mahiya. Let’s be fearless. Let’s get past the days when we have to follow the rules. I know I’m a beauty queen and I shouldn’t be saying this, but at some point, we have to break the rules to progress.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)