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By Perry Gil S. Mallari and Johanna M. Sampan
WOMAN can possess both splendor and strength.
For one, the symbol of justice (Justitia, the Roman goddess of
justice) comes not in a form of a knight in shining armor but of a
blindfolded woman holding a sword and a scale. A sort of parallelism
can be said about popular broadcast journalist Rhea Santos. Santos,
considered one of the most beautiful faces on Philippine television,
is aggressively pushing a campaign against domestic violence through
her weekly TV program Women’s Desk. Aiming to combat a menace that
has been surreptitiously creeping in many households for so long,
the program encourages victims of domestic violence to come out, be
heard and fight back. Basagin ang katahimikan [break the silence] is
the program’s resounding credo.
Enriching environment
At 27, Santos radiates with a very pleasant
aura, something that most probably stems out from a positive family
environment that nurtures her then and now. “I have two brothers.
I am the only girl and the middle child. My dad is in banking and my
mom recently went back to school to take nursing and I’m happy to
share that she’s graduating next year,” she beams with pride as
she talks about her family, which she considers her real strength.
Santos is also happily married to businessman Carlo Alexis de Guzman
of the Hotshots burger chain and she recently entered the world of
motherhood with the birth of their son Juan Nicolas “Uno” de
Guzman in August.
Santos knew what she wanted ever since she was a
little girl. “I love watching news and observing the things going
on around me,” she reminisces, adding, “In high school, I have
already set my sights on the broadcast industry.” Her proclivity
toward the media prompted Santos to take up Mass Communications at
Saint Paul’s College in Quezon City where she graduated magna cum
laude.
More than just a pretty face
It was GMA Network that gave Santos her first
and biggest break in the field of broadcasting. She first appeared
on television in 2001 as one of the host of Unang Hirit. Two years
later, she took charge of GMA Action Force, the crime news segment
of Frontpage: Ulat ni Mel Tiangco. In 2004, GMA lauched Pinoy
Abroad, which Santos cohosted with Ivan Mayrina. She is still on
Unang Hirit and divides her time between hosting 100% Pinoy, News on
Q and Women’s Desk. Looking back at her starting years in the
industry, Santos names Arnold Clavio as one of her early mentors.
“Arnold has always inspired me with his exciting stories as a
broadcast journalist. I remember interviewing him when I was still a
Masscom student and then now, I’m already working with him,” she
says with amusement.
It is her perseverance and inquisitiveness, and
not just her pretty face that pulled Santos through many tight spots
when she was just starting out. “I believe I was the youngest
broadcaster in the network then at ang hirap makipagsabayan sa mga
beterano [it’s tough to keep pace with the veterans],” she
recalls. Her success formula is very basic: “I don’t hesitate to
ask questions when needed, which I do until now. I read a lot of
papers and I go out on the field to dig facts,” she emphasizes.
The latter is deeply ingrained in her, adding that when she was
still covering the police beat for GMA News, her curiosity was
always stirred whenever a suspect is presented to the media. “I
always wanted to ask them what made them do it?” she relates. “
I wanted to delve deeper, to understand where they were coming from,
what they wanted to pursue.”
Santos’ humility is commendable considering
her popularity. “I still consider myself a greenhorn in the field
and I prefer to be labeled a plain media practitioner than a
hardcore broadcast journalist,” she points out, stressing that she
still has a long way to go compared to her seniors Clavio and
Jessica Soho (who now heads the news and public affairs program of
the network). To those who want to tread the same path as Santos
did, she has these words to say: “They should know what they want
and follow their heart. The job is not about glamour—great
responsibility is entrusted to you. And then, you have to earn the
credibility and respect of your colleagues and the public as
well.”
Tyranny of deadlines
As a journalist, Santos has already accepted the
fact the she will be living under the tyranny of deadlines partnered
with sleep deficit. “I used to get 4 hours of sleep every day but
now it is reduced to 2 to 3 hours because I have to get up earlier
to breastfeed my baby,” she narrates, without sounding like
she’s complaining, but more like motherly pride. Her day usually
starts breastfeeding Uno at 4 a.m. after which she proceeds to GMA
Network for her hosting chores on Unang Hirit, which airs at 5:15
a.m. This is followed by tapings and other studio work that last
until late evening. “I usually hit the sack around 12:30
midnight,” Santos says smiling.
To recharge her batteries, she keeps her
weekends sacred. “Pagurin mo na ako ng weekdays basta give my
weekends to me,” she quips. Santos names no specific way to unwind
except that she really enjoys being with her family, particularly
with her son.
Championing a cause
Santos’ passion is evident when she talks
about her show Women’s Desk. “It continues to open my eyes to
the fact that many victims of domestic violence are still suffering
in silence,” she discloses. She acknowledges the fact that culture
has a lot to do with the high number of abuses committed against
women and children in the Philippines. “Ang Pilipino kasi gusto
buo ang pamilya at malaki ang pagpapahalaga sa reputasyon kaya kahit
inaabuso na, nananahimik na lang,” Santos relates indignantly.
Santos cites a number of harrowing cases
featured in her program. There’s a husband who, in a fit of
jealous rage, shaved hair off the scalp of her wife and formed the
shape of a cross. Then there’s another guy who splashed muriatic
acid on the face of his spouse, and another one who bludgeoned his
partner with hammer. But it’s the children caught in the midst of
these nightmares that break Santos’ heart. “Many of them are
fragile and innocent, yet they are helplessly trapped in between the
squabbles of their parents,” she laments. Interviewing these
people is all in a days work for Santos who admits that if there’s
one thing that scares her of her job, it is the possibility of being
emotionally desynthesized. “Gusto ko may emosyon pa rin ako [I
don’t want to be emotionally deadened] when I face these
victims,” she ponders.
Fighting back
Hosting a program like Women’s Desk is not for
those with the faintest of heart. Santos would, more often than not,
totally immerse herself in the resolution of every case featured in
her program and this includes the provision of legal assistance to
the victims and accompanying authorities in serving warrants of
arrest to suspects. “Kadalasan, tinututukan namin ang kaso
hanggang makulong ang suspek [We often monitor the case until the
suspect is behind bars],” she says. Then there were instances
where Women’s Desk opts to walk the extra mile by providing
livelihood assistance to victims of domestic violence so that they
can pick up the pieces and start life all over again.
It is interesting to note that Women’s Desk is
not only committed in helping sufferers of domestic violence but
also in empowering women not to become victims of abuses in the
first place. When asked if it is justifiable for a woman to use
physical force to defend herself from a marauding spouse, Santos,
without second thoughts, replied yes. “That’s one of the goals
of our recent campaign “Draw the Line” where we conducted
self-defense clinics for women,” she narrates. Santos admits she
was surprised by the huge turn out of enrollees numbering around
300, adding, “Given an opportunity, many women are keen on
learning how to protect themselves.”
Fighting skills not included, Santos believes
that education is still the best way to empower women against
abuses, revealing that a lot of them chose to be silent because they
don’t know what to do. One good example, she explains, is the
ignorance of most women to the existence of a 15-day protection
order available through the barangay authorities. Santos explains
further that under such law, a victim of domestic abuse can go
straight to the barangay officials and request that her abusive
husband be required to vacate their dwellings. She also adamantly
points out that in cases of physical violence between couples,
mediation of barangay leaders is absolutely illegal, ”Hindi dapat
pagkasunduin ang mag-asawa kundi dapat ituloy ang kaso [The case
must not be settled amicably but through the court],” she
stresses.
Though there are legal associations that provide
assistance to abused women, the assertive broadcaster also hopes
that the justice system will bring greater attention to the plight
of victims of domestic violence. Santos reiterates that women
quietly bearing the agony of abuse should break their silence and
fight for their rights. She also admonishes society not to be
judgmental to women who opt to separate from their abusive husbands.
Indeed, violence in the home is a nonnegotiable issue for Santos.
“Women after all, are created to be loved and respected,” she
says as a parting shot.
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