By Ivy Lisa F. Mendoza/ Photos by Mark Chester Ang
Everybody’s favorite teen star has grown into a multi-awarded actress, wife, mother and businesswoman. She has also evolved into a more pro-active citizen, co-worker and employer. When a call for face shields for frontliners was sounded in the early days of the lockdown, the five-person “Team Agoncillo” readily buckled down to work, handcrafting their homemade face shields, even sealing these with positive messages specially handwritten by their children.
When Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo was barely 20, she started praying earnestly for God to make her a mom at 26. She was clueless as to how it would happen— via in vitro or, perhaps, out of wedlock. She was open to all ideas, crazy or otherwise, because all she single-mindedly yearned for was a daughter.
“Every day after work, no matter what time it was, I would pass by the adoration chapel to ask God to give me a daughter by the time I was 26. I grew up without a father figure. My mother, my sister and many of my friends were separated, so I thought I’d be okay with just a child. I felt I didn’t need a partner. Ang alam ko, anak lang ang bubuo sa akin (having a child was enough to make me whole),’’ recalls the actress-chef-entrepreneur.
Her prayers were so detailed and direct, but she was nonetheless taken aback when God answered them down to the specifics. A week after Judy Ann turned 26 in 2004, she got her precious gift. Johanna Louis (Yohan) came into her life.
And then came Ryan in 2009, Lucho in 2010 and Luna in 2016, three human beings who completed the pieces of her life’s puzzle. To this day, when she looks around her, Judy Ann still can’t wrap her head around the overwhelming blessings she has received.
“I carried two babies in my tummy, and one in my heart. I’ve been able to use what the Lord has given me to the fullest. Bilang babae, bilang tao, buong-buo ako (as a woman, as a human being, I feel whole). I was guided. I didn’t dream of a big house, of many cars in my garage. My only dream was to have a child and a life companion. And look what I’ve been given—children and a husband to spend the rest of my life with.’’ Judy Ann, now 43, waxes poetic in a mix of Filipino and English as she glows with unmistakable bliss.
Pandemic lessons
The lockdown imposed in March last year due to COVID-19 gave Judy Ann boundless opportunities to bond with her family.
“These extraordinary times taught me not to take things or people for granted. I thought everyone would just be there and then, suddenly, the world stopped and you realize you have only very few memories together. It struck me that life is really short and you do not know what will happen tomorrow,’’ she says.
When a call for donation of face shields was made for frontliners in the early days of the lockdown, the five-person “Team Agoncillo” readily buckled down to work, handcrafting their homemade face shields, even sealing these with positive messages specially handwritten by the kids.
“I know this memory will stay with them for a long time. They are learning about compassion without us forcing it on them. They learn to share their time and talent with a happy heart. They learn that if you could extend a helping hand to others, provide them with comfort and ease their worries even for a day or two, malaking bagay na ’yun (you’ve already done a lot),” Judy Ann says.
The kids are growing up unbelievably fast right before her eyes and Judy Ann says she’s basking in all these. “They matured during the quarantine and we have become much closer now. We watch the news together and we explain to them, this is what’s happening around us and this is what we need to do to help make life a little bit easier for other people,’’ she says.
She acknowledges, however, that it’s almost impossible to build dreams in the present situation. Instead, she and Ryan just throw their all-out support behind what the kids want to do — like Yohan discovering music, Lucho cooking meals, or Luna doing her own weather reports on cam. “All you do now is take care of your kids, be open as much as possible, allow them to make mistakes and ask them what lessons they’ve learned. We also make them realize why we should be grateful to people and why we should show respect to all kinds of people, regardless of their status in life,’’ Judy Ann explains.
All this while she herself was also gleaning personal life lessons while being stuck at home.
“I realized we don’t need much in life. I used to go to the grocery thrice a week. The place was my haven. But now, I haven’t been inside the supermarket in more than a year! Kaya naman palang ubusin muna ang nasa ref, pwede pala (I realized that we can consume first whatever is there in the refrigerator)! I look at my shoes and bags, and they no longer mean anything. I now invest in sleepwear, workout and pambahay (house) clothes,’’ she says with amusement.
Life without filters
Away from the happy social media posts and hazy filters, Judy Ann admits life isn’t rosy every day. Last year, when ABS-CBN lost its franchise, Judy Ann had to deal with the stress of witnessing the network she calls home crumble; of seeing many people lose their jobs. Just like that, there were no more long nights shooting or taping, no glam team to doll her up, no scripts to memorize, no lights, camera, action. It was an abruptly altered life, which she believed she could hack on her own.
“I thought it was just the usual stress. There were so many things happening around me. I see the troubles being faced by my network. I involved myself in so many things. I’d be quiet and I’d drink almost every night, sabi ko wala naman akong gagawin (telling myself I had nothing to do anyway) the following day. ’Yun pala I was drinking to cover up what I was feeling. Tumatawa ako, but in my heart, ’di ko pala na a-acknowledge ang dapat ko i-acknowledge (I dismissed my true feelings publicly by appearing upbeat, by not acknowledging them),” Judy Ann confesses.
There were times she took it out on her cooking. She would endlessly whip up dishes in the kitchen. It took her husband to point out to Judy Ann what was really happening.
“I didn’t realize I was pushing my husband away, feeling ko okay lang ako, kaya ko ’to (I could manage everything on my own). But Ryan feels me and it came to a point when he asked me what was happening. He tried to understand where I was coming from and he helped me by telling me things I refused or failed to see—bakit ang bilis ko daw mapikon (why am I suddenly being overly sensitive), why do I refuse daw to see the true situation,” she now looks back with a sigh of relief.
In time, Ryan’s honesty helped her snap out of her melancholic state.
“He was there, he listened. Unlike me, who can keep things bottled up for a long time because that’s how I grew up, Ryan needs to talk it out immediately. He’s so open. Until then, I thought keeping everything inside me was normal. And it soon caught up with me. How I wished I knew sooner that it was better to talk about it, masarap pala (I realized it felt good)!”
She has also learned to accept the imperfect Judy Ann. “I am not trying to be perfect, I am perfectly happy that I’m not perfect,’’ she muses. “Before, I would hate my cheeks, but today, there’s nothing in my appearance that I dislike. I can now appreciate myself more. I may not be sexy, but I am strong, and this is what I offer to my family.”
Mad about Angrydobo
When news broke that the Department of Trade and Industry was proposing to “standardize” the cooking of the well-loved Filipino dish adobo, the Agoncillo’s Angrydobo immediately came to the public’s mind. After all, their adobo is known for being intertwined with the couple’s love story, a dish developed from both love and tampo (petty misunderstandings). It was Judy Ann’s love language-turned-enterprise.
“Pati ba pagkain kailangan may opinyon ang gobyerno (does the government need to have an opinion even on home cooking)?’’ the actress could only react with laughter. “Let us be considerate. The adobo they offer in the carinderia (street-corner eatery) is their best version of the dish. Why change that? Not everyone would appreciate our take on adobo. Every house has its own version of the dish. Let’s focus on what’s important. What we need these days is positivity.”
Her entrepreneurial mettle was also tested during the early days of the pandemic. Their first Angrydobo branch along Taft Avenue was operating for only eight months, while the second in Alabang was open for just two months when the pandemic hit. Ryan and Judy Ann had to make quick decisions—pivot the business or see it die.
“We learned to be ready for anything. We learned that we needed to be quick in adjusting to the situation. You need to quickly pivot to keep on going and moving. We didn’t want any more people losing their jobs,’’ she narrates.
Today, Angrydobo has even hired new people, expanded its offerings and made itself more accessible to its market. Indeed, the 2021 version of Judy Ann Santos may be the best ever yet. “Little things make me happy these days, my heart overflows with gratitude and happiness. I believe my fervent prayers a long time ago in the adoration chapel have been answered. Even when all this is over, the lessons we learned and the memories we made will remain with us. And that, I think, is good enough for me,’’ she realizes.
