“We met in FEU. We were both members of the FEU Theater Guild. So, we were both actors. Naging magkaibigan kami, magkabarkada. It started there.” – Daisy Cariño
"What started out as friendship has grown stronger…” so the song goes, and this proved true for Jorge and Daisy Cariño who met at a university theater guild.
Jorge, before becoming one of the most respected broadcast journalists in the country today, and Daisy (actress and dubber) were friends at the Far Eastern University where they both took up Mass Communications. “We had no formalities. We’re not the type that had phases in relationship like courtship or dating. Our setting was very informal,” Jorge recalls.
The unconventional truth
Feeling no need to confine themselves to the conventional relationship stages, Daisy and Jorge found themselves attracted to each other’s warmth amid the comfort of the FEU Theatre Guild. “We met in FEU. We were both members of the FEU Theater Guild. So, we were both actors. Naging magkaibigan kami, magkabarkada. It started there. We felt there was mutual understanding and we just confessed,” Daisy shares.
And they would always date with chaperons, read: always in the company of their barkada. “They were always there to support us. And it was also where the bond started, it revolved around it. If we had dates, everyone was there. That’s why up until now, they are happy when they see us because we’re still together,” Jorge confesses.
As the bond that they shared with their peers grew, their relationship blossomed. From group dates along the side streets of FEU, Jorge and Daisy soon found themselves expecting a change that would shape their lives forever. With their first child on the way and still in college, Jorge and Daisy tied the knot.
There could not have been a more perfect pair. Daisy, being the youngest daughter, was the señorita of the household, while Jorge being the youngest in the family was used to, as he puts it, being the alipin at home. With a huge responsibility looming, the couple’s resolve did not waver – they both had to finish school and they had to get this pregnancy through! “First things first: finish college. After getting an education then focus on the family. Whatever the outcome is, struggle with it,” Jorge recalls his father’s advice during the time.
At home and on the job
Both being so young, the couple struggled with the pains of starting a family. “To begin with, we were economically unstable. Aside from that, we were still not yet settled emotionally and psychologically,” Jorge shares.
Each had to take on jobs to cope with the needs of a growing family. And as faith would allow it, both Daisy and Jorge found a home for their careers in ABS-CBN. Even though the proximity of their work is as close as it gets, time would still not allow them regular hours together.
Instead of folding under the challenge of shifting schedules, they made things work with a system. As Jorge would come in to work on the night shift, he would bring his son Johann Paolo still in his pajamas to Daisy. Daisy by that time would be on her way home with young Johann Paolo. “Our eldest son really grew up in ABS-CBN because we always had him with us at work. Salitan kami palagi,” Daisy shares.
This was the system for the young Cariño family, and it worked.
Jorge in his elements
As a man who thrives in conflict and hazardous coverage, Jorge has been tossed not only locally but across the globe to cover extreme situations for his network. This has brought him to places most people only dream about. It also enabled him to bring home the proverbial bacon, slabs of it.
This close proximity with danger, although an everyday occurrence in Jorge’s line of work, never sat well with Daisy. Being on the network’s Quick Response Team, it is Jorge’s duty to always be on the frontline. This brings Daisy at her wit’s end worrying about her husband’s safety.
It is precisely for this reason that prompts Jorge to leave Daisy and their kids out of the loop when it comes to his assignments. “She gets mad when I don’t tell her (where the assignments are) because she feels like I don’t trust her enough. The truth is, I don’t tell her because I know she’s going to panic,” Jorge says.
Even though the fear is always there, the task falls on Daisy to explain the situation to calm their friends and family members down. “Everyone panics, and deep inside I feel scared also. Every night, after I watch TV Patrol, I pray to the Lord not to take him. I don’t think I can handle the two kids without him,” Daisy shares.
Through the long hours and the hazards of work, Daisy remains positive in dealing with questions and concerns about Jorge’s job. “I’m very proud (of him). I always answer them that it’s because he’s the only one who can do the job. That’s why my friends are glad that I answer that way because they also get stressed out with the situation,” Daisy adds.
Now with their 17-year-old son Johann Paolo already in college and 12-year-old daughter Denise in grade school, Daisy and Jorge feel more secure about their children’s future. Their years of hard work have paid off and the couple is now reaping the fruits of their labors. From humble beginnings, Jorge and Daisy persevered to get to where they are now.
On who’s the better cook
He said: Bago kami nagkasama nagulat sya kasi nagluluto ako ng dinuguan, kare-kare, binagoongan. Pare-pareho lang naman ang style ng pagluluto e, nag-iiba lang ng ingredients.
She said: Siya! Doña kasi ako sa amin noon. Kahit 'yong mga bata gusto nila 'yong luto niya.
On arguments
He said: Basta hindi ako kumikibo. Ako 'yong tao na 'pag galit ako, iwanan mo na muna ako. 'Wag mo na lang muna ako kausapin.
She said: 'Di ba mayroong sinasabi na paghiga sa gabi pagusapan, hindi uubra sa amin 'yon. Kasi 'pag galit pa ako at paghiga sa gabi talikuran kami. Kasi 'pag nagsalita pa siya, mayroon siyang katabing tigre.
On being parents
He said: Naku, ang higpit sa mga anak niyan. Ganyan naman siya e, kokontrahin nang kokontrahin pero papayag din naman.
She said: Tahimik siya. Kaya nga minsan nagagalit ako sa kanya. Kasi malumanay sya. Ako pag naging malumanay baka mag-collapse ako e.
via Bryan Garcia, MB
