By Büm D. Tenorio Jr.
It is a case of two “power lifters” joining forces. He uses his power to lift the living condition of the marginalized. She, on the other hand, uses her power to lift sagging skin. Together, they lift lives.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno was glowing when he entered the Imperial Court restaurant of Rizal Park Hotel. He was introduced to the media as the newest “Belo Baby,” being the male endorser of Belo Thermage FLX.
Dr. Vicki Belo, founder, CEO and medical director of the Belo Medical Group, gently pinched Isko’s face. The 45-year-old “Yorme” smiled, almost bragging about his newfound youth. “It’s firm,” he said in a hushed tone to the “doctor to the stars.” “The sagging is gone.”
“She promised there’s no injection. She promised it will be a quick procedure, and she promised I will see immediate results,” Isko told journalists, referring to the Belo Thermage FLX procedure performed on him by Vicki herself.
“She promised and she delivered. So that’s why it’s sort of saying, it’s a promise delivered to a client like me who’s very busy. I feel good about myself and I want you to feel good about yourself also,” he added with his bedimpled smile.
Isko is a Tondo kid, tough, resourceful and smart. Poverty taught him that. With hard work and firm faith, he rose from the grime of the garbage he collected to become the mayor of the country’s capital city. He remains tough to this day—fighting criminals and lawbreakers. Despite his valiant stance, he told PeopleAsia, “Takot ako sa hiringilya. Ayoko ng mga turok turok na yan. (I’m afraid of the syringe. I hate injections.)”
The mayor who admitted he’s scared of injections and is sometimes shy to admit he goes to a beauty clinic, openly encouraged busy men like him who don’t have time for themselves to try the Belo Thermage FLX. “Gravity will win as you age. I can honestly say to my colleagues and to my age bracket, it’s time. It’s time to take Thermage. This is for us,”Moreno said.
He added he did not accept talent fee from the Belo Medical Group for endorsing the non-invasive procedure. Isko agreed to do if his “TF” will be donated to his fundraising efforts for the survivors of the Cotabato earthquake. So Vicki wrote a check that went straight to the Cotabato local government to aid in the rehabilitation of the lives of earthquake survivors in Mindanao. “I did not even see what I earned. I donated everything, just like in the other endorsements I did.”
Why didn’t he keep even a fraction of his earnings from endorsements for himself? “I know how it feels to be needy. Singkwenta pesos nga lamang dati masaya na ako. (Just give me P50 before and I’d already be happy.) I have been blessed in so many ways. It’s time to help,” he told PeopleAsia.
Isko said it only took 35 minutes for his treatment to be complete. Right after he felt the immediate results. “I look forward to its long-term effects. I trust Vicki. She delivers,” he said.
Belo explained to members of the media the improvements on Mayor Isko’s face after doing the Thermage FLX. She said, “Yorme used to have deeper lines that have now become shallow. When I pinch his skin, there’s less to pinch now than before. Also, Mayor Isko’s jawline has become more prominent and his eyes more open.”
“I didn’t want to fix everything. I earned my lines, after all. I just want a refreshed look and I got what I wanted. I feel good about it. Kumpyansa ako (I trusted it to work),” Isko said.
Vicki told PeopleAsia that what drew her to the mayor was his belief in his country and his passion to promote it globally through the “lifting” he is doing in Manila.
“I know we’re third world but we are first class in dermatology. So when I meet a person who has that same love and who wants to raise the Philippine flag, I feel it in my bones and that’s what I felt with Mayor Isko. Put it together somehow, love for Philippines, Belo Medical Group being around 30 years trying to make a dent in the world, trying to make the country a beauty destination, parang (it’s as if) I feel a kinship,” Vicki said.
“We can compete with the best in the world. We have the same technology and training that others use in other parts of the world. And institutions like the Belo Medical Group are proof that Filipinos are world class and first class,” the mayor said.
At the end of the press launch, the Belo Medical Group also made a pledge of P500,000 to the Philippine Red Cross to help with relief efforts for the victims of the ongoing Taal Volcano eruption.
