Vicky Morales: More than Wishful Thinking

By RIONE PALACIOS |

There is a gentleness that sets Vicky Morales-Reyno apart from the bevy. It’s in the lilt of her voice. It’s in the way she talks to her audience and the people whose dreams have come true through her show.

Vicky Morales carries her own sunshine. The lady is a ray of positive energy. She listens intently, leaning in and meets your eye with sincerity. She doesn’t miss names upon introductions. She tries them out by rolling them off her tongue, committing them to memory. She remembers details, a skill you know came even before she got into news and public service.

Hard to believe that the woman with the youthful glow and trim figure has clocked in a solid 25 years in Broadcast Journalism, an arena that has thrust her into the public eye. And in this digital age where every news personality is online and networking with the rest of the world, Vicky prefers a different track.

“People will be surprised to find out about this but I’m actually a very shy person,” she confesses. “You may be surprised about that but it’s really the way I am. I don’t have Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. I don’t have anything like that. I’m not in the habit of updating people about what I do. I’m a very private person.”

She cites being interested in news programs during the 1986 EDSA Revolution, which were broadcast by female journalists and how bravely they put their lives on the line in the spirit of press freedom. This prompted her to earn a degree in Communications in college and eventually, working for GMA-7 as a news anchor.

She recounts earning her stripes and gaining experience through local and international stories. “Whenever I’m sent out on coverage, I never do things half-baked. I always give it my all. If a story can’t be done, that means there’s nothing humanly possible — that it cannot be done in any other way. I really do my best whenever I’m out there.”

She shares a quote that makes for an excellent sound byte: “The best of your work is produced at the edge of your competence.” She goes on, “If you really push yourself, you will really be surprised at what you can accomplish. Looking back, I ask myself, ‘How was I able to do that’?”

Woman power

One can tell Vicky is a woman who knows what she wants and sets out to accomplish goals. “I choose to be happy. I try not to complain because I don’t like it when people complain. I prefer to be proactive about things because if you complain, I think it never really solves anything.”

She’s from that journalistic mold that blends curiosity with integrity. She doesn’t court publicity but instead, chooses to remain inconspicuous despite her line of work. “My role is also not to be famous or to be noticed. It’s really more to spark some hope and to inspire in my own simple way — which is why the shows I’ve chosen to do are Wish Ko Lang and Good News. I like to give the news a positive spin because that’s really who I am as a person. News has enough bad news as it is. So it’s really my choice to focus on the positive. That’s who I am.”

When asked about the strongest influence in her life, she names strong, quiet, hard-working, incorruptible women like her mom. “I think my mom would really have the strongest influence on me. The way she raised us — she would always tell us money is not the most important thing; what is important is we do the right thing. You sleep well at night when you choose the right things to do, choose the right company, try to correct the things that you can correct, and try to have a sense of humor along the way.”

Outside of her inner circle, she makes no secret that she really looks up “to women in government, in other fields of public service who are doing so well — like Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. I don’t think we’re related but I tell people we are. That’s how proud I am of the work she’s doing. She doesn’t care about who she steps on. She just does her job. That’s the way I would do my job.”

Vicky also mentions her admiration for former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. “It’s a very tough job what she’s doing, what they’re both doing. Look, it’s what you would call a man’s job but they do it even better. I try to put myself in their position and, my goodness, you can see it is a lot of work.”

Wishes come true

Blessed with a blissful family life, Vicky goes on to share in her candid yet private way, “I now have twin boys and a girl. It took me and my husband seven years to have kids. I wish I had them earlier. But all in His good time. I think it’s all working out very well. I never questioned the timing, actually. I’m happy the way things are. It couldn’t get any better.”

Vicky further reveals a special fact about her personal life: “I think the biggest help for me in balancing my act is really my husband. I’m very lucky that I ended up with someone who is a very good father, someone very compassionate. I think that’s key — to have a husband who is very supportive, who understands what you do, who likes seeing me do what I do. He sees that I enjoy it a lot, which is why probably he encourages me to do it. He never gets in the way. It also helps that he’s a very busy person as well. He’s a lawyer. His profession complements mine.”

It looks like she’s on the right track by carving a path that’s slightly different but totally admirable. I would really like to dwell on the positive. So we continue to do Wish Ko Lang. So far, it’s been working. It’s been a very rewarding run for me. I hope it will be around for a really long time because when people watch it, they really feel inspired. We may not be able to help all the people who write us letters, all the people who e-mail us. But one person at a time, and I think the real gem there is the inspiration it gives others. Sometimes, we just need to be reminded that it takes so little to make someone happy.”

When we ask her how she sees the future, she sums it up straight: “I want to be around my kids for a really long time. I want to see them grow up. I want to see them have their own kids. I want to see them for as long as I can. My concern really is the kind of world my kids will inherit — which is why I get worried when I read about what goes on in the world. I worry about the kind of world that awaits them in the future. I want it to be really nice, I want it to be a better place for them than it was for me.”

She describes her work guidelines simply, sparingly and straight-to-the-point: “Keep your record spotless. That’s something you can’t gamble on. Just for a scoop you will gamble your credibility, the trust people give you? It’s not worth it. Over the long term, it’s still better to be conservative but correct. All the time. That’s always been our guideline in the news — and in everything I do. That’s a known thing already. They know that already.”

We look at her as a ray of afternoon sun dances on her countenance, and see that everything’s coming up roses for her. There’s a sweet smell of success about her. True enough, when we check after we asked about her choice of perfume and her — and her husband’s — love story surrounding it, it’s a bright pink flacon with a multi-hued ribbon and elegant gold trimming. And right there and then, we know that the scent is the smell of quiet happiness.

Photography by JAR CONCENGCo / Art direction by Ramon Joseph Ruiz Hair and Makeup by Bryant Sevilla

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