Ladylyn Riva answering a question from the media during the Bb Pilipinas candidates visit to the offices of PLDT Home DSL in Makati. (Teddy Pelaez/Interaksyon)
Aside from their respective profiles posted online, the recent ABS-CBN TV special “Bb. Pilipinas 2014: The Road To The Crown” also allowed the public to get to know the candidates up close and personal.
Several candidates talked about how much they missed their fathers in particular. Candidate #30 Joy Marie Gangan recalled how her father encouraged her to come to Manila to try her luck in beauty pageants but he died shortly after she heeded his advice.
Candidate #3 Joanna Angelica Romero wants to surprise his father with a win at the pageant when he finally comes home this month after working in Aruba for many years. Ditto with #38 Janine Asanion who takes care of her mom in the absence of her dad and #24 Ednornance Agustin whose parents are both working overseas.
After working overseas herself in a five-star hotel in Macau, #17 Diana Arevalo said she realized the sacrifices that her dad had made when he left their family to work abroad.
But #39 Ladylyn Riva is missing her father for a different reason altogether, she never knew him.
“I was six months old when my mom moved to Italy with my dad. Iniwan nila ako sa lola ako. After 12 years my mom went back here to the Philippines, then she passed away after four years,” the 26-year old Aklan native recalled at the TV special.
“After my mom passed away, that’s when I called my Italian dad. When I talked to him, he said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Ladylyn but I am not your father’ and that’s the time I cried.”
In an interview with InterAksyon during a recent courtesy call by the Bb. Pilipinas candidates at the office of sponsor PLDT Home DSL, the returning contestant said it was painful to know that she grew up thinking she was half-Italian when she is, in fact, half-German. But other than her real dad’s nationality, there’s nothing else she knows about him.
The Binibining Pilipinas 2014 candidates pose with PLDT Fibr group head Gary Dujali at the entrance of the PLDT Building in Makati. (Teddy Pelaez/Interaksyon)
“The Italian that I grew up recognizing as my dad said he doesn’t know anything about my biological father. Neither my mom nor my lola who both passed away also told me about him,” she lamented.
Knowing that the TV special will also be shown in the network’s overseas affiliates, Ladylyn took the opportunity to address her biological father in the hopes that if he were still alive, he would come forward and be reunited with her.
“If you’re watching right now, dad, I really don’t know who you are. If ever, you might know Loida Rivera. She’s my mom, I hope you’ll give me a chance to know you,” she said in a riveting plea.
Although her official Bb. Pilipinas profile states that if she is determined to win a crown in honor of the grandmother who raised her, she said her quest for her father, which began 10 years ago when she was 16, is an equally motivating factor.
“I haven’t given up on finding him. At the very least, I want to know what happened to him. Wherever he is, hopefully he will hear about me if I win one of the crowns and compete in the international pageants,” she noted.
Despite possessing one of the prettiest faces in this year’s field, a good track record in beauty pageants that include winning Miss Casino Filipino 2013, a 1st runner-up finish in Miss Resorts World 2011 and making the Top 12 semi-finalists of the Century Tuna Superbods, Ladylyn is considered one of the dark horses in the competition.
But as only one of two candidates from the Visayas (with Cebuana #13 Kris Tiffany Janson being the other), Ladylyn enjoys strong support from the region. She topped a readers poll conducted by Kattera Beauty pageant blog. She also landed in the Top 10 of Jag Jeans’ “She’s So Jag”.
Ladylyn Riva.
She got good reviews for her performances in the Jag Fashion Show and National Costume Competition. The catwalk sashay she dubbed as her “Dynamite Walk” was also favorably received.
Still, she remains an underdog in a particularly strong batch of beauties this year. Actress and former beauty queen Alma Concepcion said that’s not a reason to lose hope as she herself was a dark horse when she joined Bb. Pilipinas in 1994.
“Wala kayang pumapansin sa akin nun. Ang gaganda ng mg ka-batch ko, sina Charlene Gonzalez, Cara Subijano, Abigail Arenas and Janine Barredo, among others,” she recalled to InterAksyon.
“They also said I was not qualified to win Bb. Pilipinas-Universe and Bb. Pilipinas-World since I was still a teenager and were not qualified for those titles because of my age. When I did not win any special award, I was already disheartened but to everyone’s surprise including my own, I won Bb. Pilipinas-International that year.”
Last year’s Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Ariella Arida and Bb. Pilipinas Tourism Cindy Miranda were also considered as surprise winners who threw a monkey wrench into most fearless forecasts.
At 26, this is also the last time Ladylyn can join Bb. Pilipinas so it’s now or never for her. Win or lose, she still hopes to be reunited with her dad someday.
The registered nurse and freelance make-up artist is also not ruling out a career in showbiz as not a few have noted her resemblance to actress-turned politician Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez.
“I think the most important lesson I’ve learned is to never give up. No matter how many times you get knocked down you have to get back up because life will always be full of struggles,” she conceded.
The Bb. Pilipinas 2014 grand coronation night will take place at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, March 30.
Bb. Pilipinas candidate hopes to win to help her reunite with long-lost dad
Source: InterAksyon.com (March 30, 2014 at 08:55AM)
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