The National Shrine of St. Padre Pio in San Pedro, Sto. Tomas, Batangas

I first heard of St. Padre Pio through my friend Mark a few years ago when I attended the birthday of his son, named after the saint himself. He said that they prayed to St. Padre Pio and offered novena to him with whom he and his wife, Reena believed had helped both of them to conceive their first born son. Mark told me that when I get married, I can also pray to Padre Pio to ask for his help to conceive.

In July 2016, I remembered about my conversation with Mark. Due to my frustration of not getting pregnant the previous month, I thought that it would be good to pay homage to St. Padre Pio’s National Shrine in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. I told my husband about my plan to visit the Shrine and supportive as he was, he offered to accompany me. It will be our first time to go to Batangas so it was also an opportunity for us to spend quality time together.

We planned to go there on the third Saturday of July since I am busy with work on weekdays. With a little research, I learned that every first and third Saturdays of the month, there’s a 9:00AM mass followed by a Healing Liturgy. I felt that it was a good timing to go there as planned.

We lived near Makati City Hall. We left the house around 6:00AM. Our first destination was the bus station in Pasay-Buendia. Since we thought that we would be late for the 9:00AM mass if we would ride the jeepney which stops for every passenger’s destination, we opted to ride the taxi. After all, the road was free from traffic congestion since it was early morning so we thought it would really help us speed up our travel time. If we didn’t ride the taxi, our route would have been to ride the tricycle from Makati City Hall to Jazz Residences and walk a few meters to Buendia. From there, we can ride the jeepney to the bus station in Pasay-Buendia. When we arrived at the Pasay-Buendia bus station, we looked for the bus with the route to Lucena, Quezon. The bus fare was Php80. To ensure that we will not miss our stop, we requested the driver to drop us off at the St. Padre Pio National Shrine bus stop. We were dropped off at the corner of Barangay San Pedro in Sto. Tomas, Batangas where there is a small street leading to a nearby 7-11 store where tricycles going to the Shrine are located. As what I could remember, the tricycle fare was Php20 per person.

When we arrived at the St. Padre Pio National Shrine, there weren’t many people around because they were already inside the church. We were just in time for the 9:00AM mass. It was the Healing Liturgy that really moved me. I felt that God was really working in me to heal me for whatever ailments I have in my body. When you visit the Shrine, I recommend that you stay after the mass for the Healing Liturgy and profess your faith that God will really heal you. After the ceremony, my husband and I got the chance to stroll around the place.

The National Shrine of St. Padre Pio

This is a shed where you can buy your votive candles.

This tower holds St. Padre Pio's portraits and the map of the whole Shrine.

My husband and I actually went back to the Shrine after a few weeks when we found out that I got pregnant for us to say thank you to Padre Pio who we believed was also instrumental for us to have our daughter.

I suggest that when you go to the St. Padre Pio National Shrine, Batangas, go there with an open heart and open mind accompanied by faith in God and let the Holy Spirit work in you.

Thank You Lord for Ryanne Zyana!

When we got married in May 2015, my husband and I have talked about having children as soon as we can. We were both in our 30’s and we thought that it was the right time for us to fulfill our dream to have our own family. We knew that having a baby is not in our own hands. It is God’s will and blessing that we will have the gift of family.

I had PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) for years. My monthly period was regular though but the cysts in my ovaries would not completely go away. I was also overweight. My OB-Gyne said that losing weight would help me to conceive. I heed her advice but the struggle was real. I experienced the Yo-yo effect but with determination and hard work, I eventually lost weight.

My husband and I also prayed a lot for it. We visited Padre Pio Shrine in Batangas and said novena to him. We did pilgrimage to the 5 churches of mercy. We prayed the rosary almost every night. We went to Our Mother of Perpetual Help Shrine in Baclaran every Saturday (We used to go there every Wednesday but I don’t feel well amidst the crowd so we decided to go there when it’s calmer). I would drop by the Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel at BDO Makati Avenue almost everyday since it was near our office. We also sought help from my OB-Gyne. I was very diligent in taking the prescriptions but still we encountered many failed attempts to conceive to the point that for every failure, I would cry out my frustrations to God and I would ask Him what do we need to do for Him to grant us our hearts’ desire. My husband consoled me each time I underwent such frustrations. He told me that I should not be impatient. We should wait for the right time when God will give us what we have always longed for. I realized my husband was right. God always knows when is the perfect time and we should patiently wait for it. I came to a point when I said “Lord, I’m still not giving up my dream to have a family…but Your will be done.”

It was in July 2016 when I’ve already felt some pregnancy symptoms but I shoved off the idea that I was pregnant because I didn’t want to expect too much. When I got a few days delayed in my period in August, I finally convinced myself to do a pregnancy test just for the sake of answering my own question “Am I pregnant?”. I bought 3 PT’s on my way home from work and when I arrived at our house, I immediately went to the comfort room to do the test. My heart was beating fast with excitement and fear (of failure). A few minutes passed and I didn’t even want to look at the result because it might be another false alarm. To get it over and done with, I prayed first to God to grant me the courage to accept whatever the result will be. When I finally got enough courage to look at the PT, I shouted in disbelief when I saw two vivid lines! I couldn’t control my joy and excitement! I rushed to my husband who was busy watching some videos on YouTube and broke the news to him: “Dear, I’m pregnant!” He gave me a startled look and said “Really? Did you take another test?” Hahaha! What a response! So I took another test and got the same result! And we were both so happy! I did another test in the morning with the same result and we were so excited to spread the great news to our families.

It wasn’t an easy journey for us to conceive but I think that the most important thing I learned was that we should always trust God and have faith in Him in ALL His ways. Though there were a lot of times when I wanted to give up, that faith kept me going and gave me hope that one day, God will answer our prayers.

Fast forward to today, I’m 27 weeks pregnant now and we’re ecstatic to meet our precious baby girl in 10-13 weeks! Thank you so much, Lord for manifesting your miracle in me. We knew that it was Your Holy Will which made this possible.

Part of the enthusiasm in meeting our first born, my husband and I have been discussing on names for her and I have always been vocal before when we were still planning to get pregnant that if it will be a girl, I want to name her Ryanne. It’s a combination of both our names: Ryan and Ann, then just add “e” to make it look better. I’m glad my husband liked it. For the second name, I wanted something that means gift from God or answered prayer. Thus, I came up with the following:

Ryanne Eliana (Eliana, means God has answered)

Ryanne Michaela (Michaela, means gift from God)

However, my husband wanted something related to his profession. He said he had always wanted the name Stella Maris because it means Our Lady, Star of the Sea, an ancient title for the Virgin Mary. Mama Mary is very close to my heart and it didn’t take long to convince me to have it as the second name of our daughter. So, it will be

Ryanne Stella Maris

We thought so, because when we wrote the name on paper, we thought that it was quite long. Our daughter might have a hard time on it when she would write her lengthy full name. I looked for other alternatives and while browsing on the Internet for names related to gift from God and answered prayer, I came upon the name Zyana, which means blessing from heaven. I easily liked the name and the sound of it so I suggested it to my husband. Fortunately, he liked it too and we both agreed to have it as the name of our first born daughter whose nickname will be Zya (zi-ya).

Mommy and Daddy look forward to see you soon baby Ryanne Zyana! We love you so much! Muah!

How to Update Pag-ibig Membership Status from Employed to Voluntary/Self-paying

I resigned from my employer in Makati, Metro Manila last September 2016 and my husband and I transferred to my hometown in Cagayan de Oro for us to be with my family during my pregnancy . I then opted to work from home because I think it is best for my condition.

Despite working home-based, I wanted to continue my monthly contributions to Pag-ibig Fund. I learned that for contributions, one can pay thru Bayad Center or SM Business Centers (including Savemore and Hyper Market). I opted to pay thru Bayad Center and headed to the nearest LBC branch in Divisoria, CDO since LBC is listed as a Bayad Center.

In the Bayad Center Transaction Form at LBC, you will be asked to provide the following information:

• Account Name (Surname, Given name, Middle name)
• Present Address
• Contact Number
• Biller (under Transaction Details; write Pag-ibig as the biller)
• Date (under Transaction details)
• ID Number (under For Government Transactions only; write your Pag-ibig MID number)
• Payor type (SE - self employed, VM - voluntary member, OFW, Others; choose VM)
• Applicable Month(s)
• Contribution/Month
• Signature over printed name

I was able to pay for my November and December contributions at Bayad Center and unintentionally skipped October for the reason that when I tried to pay for my October contribution last November 7, the system will only reflect the payment for the current month, which is November.

Since I have already paid two months contributions, I wanted to double check whether my payments have been received by Pag-ibig. To verify, I went to the Pag-ibig office located in Pag-ibig Fund Building, J.R. Borja-Montola Sts., Cagayan de Oro City, 9000, Misamis Oriental. Upon inquiry, I was informed that my payments were not yet on their system. I found out that Bayad Center payments are chartered to the main office in Metro Manila before they are disseminated to provincial offices. According to the Pag-ibig personnel, it takes a long time for payments to be reflected in local offices. She did not specify how long though. In that case, my status was not yet updated from employed to voluntary/self-paying member. For me to change it, I was asked to submit my Certificate of Employment from my previous employer and that actually did the job. I was also advised that for future monthly contribution payments, I have to make them directly at a Pag-ibig branch in Cagayan de Oro.

Pag-IBIG Expanded Raffle Promo

When I went to Pag-Ibig office to update my status from employed to voluntary/self-paying, I got a glimpse of the fliers displayed on the personnel's table and among all the informative and colorful fliers, their latest Pag-IBIG Expanded Raffle Promo caught my eye and I got more curious when I saw the word "ONE MILLION PESOS". HAHA. Of course who wouldn't be interested to win such amount? It will be a viable solution to my financial needs. I can pay off all my debts, help my family, set aside for down payment for a house and lot, put up a small business, and save some for emergency fund. I'm sure other people also have various plans on what they will do with Php 1,000,000. 

I asked the personnel about the Pag-IBIG Expanded Raffle Promo and she told me that it's very simple to join it. I just have to increase my current contributions to at least Php600.00 per month which will entitle me to one electronic raffle number. The higher the contributions, the more entries I will get which also means more chances of winning. Aside from that, I was also encouraged by the Pag-ibig staff to remit higher monthly contributions because it is also a means of savings which will also impact the amount of loan that I can apply for. In short, the higher monthly savings qualifies a member to a higher loan amount and higher dividends earned. That sounds great, right? I got easily convinced since I have a plan to apply for a housing loan in the near future. 

I told my husband about it and he supported me about my plan to increase my monthly contributions. I also convinced him to do the same. After all, it will benefit us both since it's an additional way for us to save money for our retirement. I think one advantage of this is that since we are already used to the monthly deductions from our salary, it will not be that hard for my husband and I to set aside some amount for the Pag-ibig contributions.

Here are more details about the Pag-IBIG Expanded Raffle Promo:

Promo period is from May 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017

Mechanics:

1. This promo is open to all qualified Pag-IBIG members, both local and overseas Filipinos, with remittance of upgraded Pag-IBIG I savings amounting to at least Php600.00 per month within the raffle promo duration.
2. One (1) electronic raffle number will be issued for every Php600.00 Pag-IBIG I savings per month.
3. One (1) BONUS electronic raffle number will be issued to member upon registration to the raffle promo (one time only) and upon validation of the initial remittance of required upgraded Pag-IBIG I savings.
4. All electronic raffle numbers corresponding to the validated remittances of upgraded Pag-IBIG I savings will be sent through the email address registered in the raffle promo.
5. Upgraded Pag-IBIG I savings which are part of housing loan amortizations are excluded from the raffle promo.
6. All Pag-IBIG Fund personnel - regular, direct-hired/agency-hired contractual, consultants, and members of the Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees - are disqualified from joining the raffle promo.

How to Join:

• Remit the required minimum Pag-IBIG 1 membership savings of Php 600.00 per month.
• Visit www.pagibigfund.gov.ph and click the “Join the Raffle Promo”link.
• Enter your Pag-IBIG MID ID No.
• Click the “Verify”button. The system shall then display the member’s full name and birth date. In case the member does not have an updated membership information with the Fund, he/she is required to update his/her records via the Pag-IBIG online membership registration system before joining the raffle promo.
• Fill out the required information and then click the “Submit” button. A prompt message shall appear informing the member that he/she has successfully registered in the raffle promo and an email confirmation from Pag-IBIG shall be sent to the member.
• Online registration to the raffle promo shall be done only once while electronic raffle numbers shall be sent continuously via email for every Php600.00 monthly membership savings remitted.

Raffle Draw and Prizes:

• Prizes include 2 winners of Php 500,000.00 each, 2 winners of Php 250,000.000 each, 20 units of MacBook Pro, 25 units of Samsung S-7 Edge and a Grand Prize Winner of 1 MILLION PESOS!
• There will be eleven (11) raffle draws with the corresponding dates and prizes as follows:

Monthly Draw	Monthly Draw	Monthly Draw	Monthly Draw	Monthly Draw	Monthly Draw	PRELIM DRAW	Monthly Draw	Monthly Draw	Monthly Draw	GRAND DRAW
RAFFLE DRAW DATES	Qty	24 Jun 2016	22 Jul 2016	26 Aug 2016	23 Sep 2016	28 Oct 2016	25 Nov 2016	21 Dec 2016	27 Jan 2017	24 Feb 2017	24 Mar 2017	01 May 2017
Qualified Transaction / Remittance Dates		01 May 2016 - 31 May 2016	01 May 2016 - 30 Jun 2016	01 May 2016 - 31 Jul 2016	01 May 2016 - 31 Aug 2016	01 May 2016 - 30 Sep 2016	01 May 2016 - 31 Oct 2016	01 May 2016 - 30 Nov 2016	01 May 2016 - 31 Dec 2016	01 May 2016 - 31 Jan 2017	01 May 2016 - 28 Feb 2017	01 May 2016 - 31 Mar 2017
Cut-off Date and Time in Joining / Raffle Registration		19 Jun 2016 / 11:59 PM	17 Jul 2016 / 11:59 PM	21 Aug 2016 / 11:59 PM	18 Sep 2016 / 11:59 PM	23 Oct 2016 / 11:59 PM	20 Nov 2016 / 11:59 PM	16 Dec 2016 / 11:59 PM	22 Jan 2017 / 11:59 PM	19 Feb 2017 / 11:59 PM	19 Mar 2017 / 11:59 PM	26 Apr 2017 / 11:59 PM
RAFFLE PRIZES			Number of Winners
Samsung S-7 Edge	25	1	1	1	1	1	1	8	1	1	1	8
Mac Book Pro Retina	20	1	1	1	1	1	1	7	1	1	1	4
Php250K Cash Prize	2							1				1
Php500K Cash Prize	2							1				1
Php1M Cash Prize	1											1
Total	50	2	2	2	2	2	2	17	2	2	2	15

1. Winning raffle numbers will be drawn via a rotating tambiolo, to be witnessed by the Pag-IBIG Fund Internal Audit Group and Commission on Audit (COA) representatives.
2. A Pag-IBIG member can only win once during a draw. Should he/she win more than once during the same raffle draw date, the prize with a higher value will be awarded. Non-winning raffle entries will automatically be included in the succeeding raffle draw.
3. Pag-IBIG Fund reserves the right to validate/certify whether or not a winning member is an eligible Pag-IBIG member and his/her membership savings account satisfies the criteria set in the promo mechanics.
4. Cash prizes will be awarded in the form of a check made payable to the confirmed winner. All other prizes are non-transferrable and non-convertible to cash.
5. Every winning entry will be confirmed/certified by the Pag-IBIG Fund Raffle Promo Committee, Pag-IBIG Fund Internal Audit Group, and Commission on Audit representatives.
6. Pag-IBIG Fund will shoulder all applicable taxes of the raffle prizes.

Claiming and Notification:

1. Winners will be notified within five (5) working days from the dates of the raffle draws by telephone, e-mail, and/or registered mail.
2. Prizes must be claimed within one (1) year from receipt of notification from Pag-IBIG Fund. Otherwise, they will be forfeited and offered as prizes in other related activities of Pag-IBIG Fund for its members.
3. Upon claiming of prizes, winners must present the following:
   - Two (2) valid IDs with picture (e.g. passport & any government-issued IDs)
   - Pag-IBIG Fund Receipt or Transaction/Remittance Slip - corresponding to the winning entry (if applicable)
   - Notification Letter from Pag-IBIG Fund
4. Note: Pag-IBIG Fund reserves the right to request for additional documents from the winner if deemed necessary.
5. An authorized representative may also claim the prize (except the cash prizes) on behalf of the winner provided he/she presents two (2) valid IDs with picture, winner‟s duly-signed Authorization Letter, and all other requirements from the winner.
6. Pag-IBIG Fund reserves the right to disclose and publish the names, photos, and other information of all winners as deemed appropriate.

Good luck to all Pag-IBIG Expanded Raffle Promo participants!

Change Has Come!

I’ve been working in Metro Manila since I graduated from college. I’ve worked for several industries: call center, health care, and digital marketing for hotels, online classifieds, real estate, staffing and recruitment. It was when I met my husband Ryan in 2013 that I could say that I was on the right track of my career in digital marketing. I still wanted to do more and grow in this industry which I started to embrace since 2008. Since I aimed for growth in my career, I took up Masters in Marketing Communications at De La Salle University Manila to broaden my knowledge in marketing. I earned my masters degree last June 2014. However, in August 2016, a major decision had to be made.

I lived alone in Makati, Metro Manila. My family is in Cagayan de Oro. I enjoyed living alone because I had all the freedom that I needed. I appreciated the simple frills like no one would tell me what time to go home, or no one to ask permission to before going out with friends. Most especially, I learned how to be independent. Independence was pretty big deal for me.

However, there was an incident in 2014 when I was rushed to the ER because I collapsed in the office. It made my family decide that I should go back to my hometown in CDO because no one can really take care of me in times of emergency. We had several relatives in Metro Manila but I have never met them and thus, I was not close to them. I do have my friends who are ready to support me in times of need but I think my family simply wanted to be there for me when I needed them. Despite my family’s plea for me to go back to CDO, I didn’t heed their advice.

Fast track to 2015, Ryan and I got married. As work opportunities are plentiful in Metro Manila, we decided to continue staying in Makati. As a married couple, we had discussions on how we would handle certain situations. We’ve been looking into the possibility of going home to CDO. After considering some factors, we thought that it would be best for us to settle down there. I told him that the only reason that will make me go home is pregnancy because I knew that I would prioritize having a family over my career. Since I would be left alone in our rented home in Makati when he’s away for work, we both agreed that it would be best for me to go home to CDO to be with my family and be well taken cared of during this delicate situation.

After getting married, I got a new job as a Digital Marketing Manager for a real estate company. It was a fresh start for me and I felt that my career was starting to fly. I really had high hopes that I would achieve more in the digital marketing industry, only to find out that God had other plans for me one month after my first work anniversary. It was then that I knew that I was PREGNANT!

It was an unexpected blessing which my husband and I were very thankful for. We’ve been praying so hard for it and God had answered. This was indeed a big change that has come to our lives which we joyfully embraced. Thank you, Lord for giving us our little angel! 

Start the Year Right! Hello 2017!

I’ve long been contemplating on setting up my own blog but I didn’t know what it will be like. I had various ideas in mind but I didn’t find time to actually set them up. Today, January 1, 2017, I woke up from my second sleep (woke up at 9am today, had breakfast, chitchatted with family, checked facebook on my mobile while lying in bed, and eventually fell into a slumber again) and I immediately thought of the life inside me. Seconds later, I felt my baby’s soft kicks and they made me happy. To me, her movements let me know that she’s fine and literally alive and kicking and it gives me so much comfort to know that.

Yes, I’m actually an expectant mother. I am running 26 weeks pregnant this week and my husband Ryan and I are very excited to see our precious gift in 11 to 14 weeks! Not too far away, right? It wasn’t really a smooth journey for me to reach this point in my pregnancy (when I would compare it to my sister-in-law’s pregnancy who didn’t have any issues at all, but I do understand that each woman is unique and each pregnancy is unique) and I’m sure glad that my little angel and I are doing well so far. Thank you, Lord!

As I’m writing this down, I’m actually doing my first blog entry for 2017. It has been one of my goals to put up a “mommy blog” because I want to share my motherhood journey and impart to other moms and moms-to-be all the things I get to learn along the way. This first entry is a way of starting my year right since I acted on one of my goals and I’m on my way to make it a full-fledged mommy blog. Cheers!

I believe that 2017 will be a great year for me and my soon-to-be little family. I look forward to a year full of love, happiness, and hope. This will be a year of learning new things in motherhood as well as on how to take good care of my own family. Having my own family is a gift that I have always dreamed of and now that it’s happening, I can never thank God enough for having answered my prayers. Thank you Lord for everything!

Happy New Year! God bless us all this 2017!