Chiqui Roa-Puno’s ‘self-actualizing’ saga

THE PUNOS and their children with Antipolo kids at a community celebration. facebook.com

WHEN Chiqui Roa was born, she was immediately dubbed a show biz and media “princess.” Not only was she the daughter of TV producer and host Pete Roa, but her mother was no less than the lovely and very popular TV-film star, Boots Anso-Roa, who at her prime was a certified movie queen who starred in over a hundred films, opposite top male leads like Joseph Estrada and Fernando Poe Jr.

To make her claim to “royal” lineage complete, Chiqui even looked like a princess, cute and pert and “perfect” in every way. So, it didn’t take a fairy godmother to predict for her a life of wealth, love, fame and unending happiness!

—That’s the cloying show biz fantasy. Even more happily, however, Chiqui’s real life story is a much more interesting, vital and self-actualized biography, a series of key decisions that have sometimes caused her to stumble, but have also enabled her to develop her abilities in an uncommonly wide range of fields.

Fame

Many offsprings of show biz “royalty” are content or resigned to live under the shade or shadow of their parents’ fame. But, when the Roa family moved to the States in the ’70s, Chiqui first felt the chafing need to become her own person.

To prepare herself for a life of increasing independence, she made sure that she studied hard and thus did really well in school. Like many American teens, she later worked at a wide range of jobs to earn her own keep and eventually see herself through college, even graduating magna cum laude!

To their credit, Pete and Boots gave her the slack and space she needed, and proudly saw her come into her own.

And yet, it was Chiqui who first saw and felt the need for the Roa family to return to the Philippines after the Edsa revolution, to reestablish their personal and career roots—with eminent success.

Since the Roas’ return, mom Boots resumed her stellar TV-film career in a big way, became a prime mover at Mowelfund, headed a TV station and taught communication subjects, among many other productive activities. For her part, Chiqui was just as busy, launching a prolific TV career, which saw her taking on hosting stints at different TV channels.

Decided preference

Eventually, she went from lifestyle and women’s shows to a decided preference for sports and wellness features and coverages—plus dance demo portions that showcased her exceptional terpsichorean gift.

In those shows, the fact that Chiqui had enthusiastically gone into jazz dancing and sports like softball, basketball and football in college definitely came in handy.

To further “stretch” herself as a dancer to a professional degree, Chiqui even “dared” to be mentored by no less than Powerdance’s famously demanding Douglas Nierras.

Chiqui also got married to her college sweetheart, Robbie Puno—and their three spirited and gifted children, Randy, Nick and Sabrina, are proof positive of the Puno couple’s superlative parenting skills.

Chiqui Roa-Puno

As though all these activities and concerns weren’t enough, the Punos also went into public service and politics, with Robbie currently serving his last term as congressman of the city of Antipolo—with Chiqui poised to run for the same seat this year.

In all of these endeavors, it’s clear that Chiqui has “actualized” herself so well that she now has much more to offer than just being the “heiress” of media and show biz icons.

Mom Boots may still be a popular star, but Chiqui has definitely not been stuck under her “shadow”—and people don’t think of her merely as “Boots’ daughter.”

We saw this when we went to Antipolo City and, for the first time, saw Chiqui “in her element,” interacting with many residents in different areas and contexts. The congressman’s wife and the people she met and talked to looked completely comfortable with each other.

Chiqui’s “relatability” has come naturally to her, due to her many years as a hands-

on media person, whose coverages and features took her all over the country and the world, and primed her to deal with all sorts of people, from different walks of life.

In addition, we dare say that the “training by example” she got from her parents, who were supremely accessible and “just folks,” has come positively to bear on Chiqui’s involvements.

We were also heartened to see that Chiqui may not have gone into her parents’ “artistic” line of work, but the arts are very important to her—as evinced by the Punos’ Antipolo residence, which is full of beautiful paintings.

Pride

A love for beauty is similarly evident in Chiqui’s pride in her city’s lovely and dramatic vistas, tourist attractions, art galleries, studios and workshops. She also supports adjunct activities in arts education, sports, health and wellness, “special” education, environmental protection, local crafts, and traditional food products.

What makes this wide range of interests unique is Chiqui’s personal involvement, her heart feelingly supporting what her good judgment believes to be important.

Again, we trace this to her own “self-actualizing” journey,  as she discovered and developed her diverse strengths, interests and abilities. She may not have realized it then, but she was slowly but surely preparing herself for her life in maturity, when she would come into her own as a media professional, wife, mother and advocate of many worthy causes.

Best of all, in “actualizing” herself, she has succeeded so well that she’s helped other people improve their prospects—and come into their own!