Bianca Umali: The Girl Who Has Been Saved

After interviewing Bianca Umali for "GMA Integrated News Interviews," Nelson Canlas reflects on his encounters with the Kapuso celebrity and what he's learned from her.

I

have been interviewing Bianca Umali since her early teens. Over the years, I’ve watched her grow—from a promising young aspirant to the fierce and formidable star she is today. I’ve known fragments of her past, stories I would hear from people. Like how, at the tender age of ten, she became ulilang lubos, having lost both her parents.

Her grandmother, Lola Victorina Umali, took on the immense responsibility of raising her, along with 11 other cousins. It’s a story of resilience I’ve long been familiar with. But my most recent interview with her for the GMA Integrated News Interviews segment on 24 Oras struck a deeper chord. Hearing it from her, in her own voice, felt different—like she was exposing a part of her soul she rarely lets the world see.

As she recounted her past, she refused to cry. As if it were a battle she had already won, and nothing—not even the weight of memory—could reduce her to tears.

I must admit, in that moment, in that very interview, being just a few inches away from Bianca, I felt greatness, in God’s works and her bravery. 

In that moment, I was the one who was almost brought to tears.

She called herself “the girl who has been saved.” And in that moment, I understood Bianca in a way I never had before.

“It was hard kasi hindi ko po naiintindihan kung ano yung pinagdadaanan ko noon eh. Being a ten-year-old, naghahanap ka ng aruga ng nanay at ng tatay mo eh. Kasi naghahanap ka ng kung sino yung magpapaintindi sa'yo ng kung ano yung nangyayari. Eh kaso wala. At yung lola ko yung nandoon para sa'kin. Siya yung nagpalaki sa'kin. Siya yung nagpaintindi sa'kin. Kahit na hindi niya ako maintindihan. Kasi hindi ko na naman siya masisisi because I didn't understand eh. As a child, hindi ako gaano nagsasalita. Hindi ako gaano expressive. And napaisip sila nun. I know my lola would say this too. Ngayon nakita niya na, ito pala si Bianca. Inintindi din niya ako with an open heart. At kinupkop niya ako without any question.”

S

ure, we all know her as the feisty actress whose talent cannot be shortchanged—and she won’t allow it. She has fought for her seat at the table—every role, every moment, a chance to prove herself. Because she knows what it’s like to feel invisible, to be underestimated, to not be chosen. She has endured the deepest of insecurities, battles that most of us may never even begin to comprehend.

But she refused to break.

“It’s not naman din something that I really share. And I didn’t make a big deal about it naman.
Kasi kapag naman talaga bago ka anywhere, ‘di ba, hindi talaga mawawala yun.”

“But you were bullied?”

“I think na-maliit. Kasi bago eh, kuya. So, kahit saan naman. Even in school, when you’re a new student, they kind of underestimate you because you’re the new one. Dahil wala kang kakilala. Eh ako din, lalo nung bata ako. You know me, sobrang introvert ako. Lalo noon. Hindi ako marunong makipag-usap. I had no social skills at all.”

“Di ba nga na-issuehan ka na suplada?”

“Yes, a lot of times. And siguro because nga wala ako gaano nagiging kaibigan kasi hindi ako marunong makipagkaibigan. And also dahil hindi rin naman kami talaga mapera po noon ng lola ko, kami talaga yung pinaka-simple. And when I say pinaka-simple, kami yung... How do we put it? Kami yung... Pinaka-simple. Pinaka-simple. Halos wala. And we were okay with that.”

“But I guess what I’m proud of is that yung apo and lola tandem namin—we always chose to be the kind ones.”

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Bianca Umali (@bianxa)

 

“I mean, naririnig ko yan, pero hindi ko alam na sineryoso mo pala yun.”

“Dala-dala ko siya. Not anymore. Actually, lahat. It became a motivation, actually. And sa lahat ng mga pinagdaanan ko noon—syempre bilang bata, na sometimes ‘pag bata ka hindi mo naman naiintindihan, hindi mo maiiwasan to compare yourself, ‘di ba, sa mga kasama mo, ano meron sila. Eh ‘yun nga yung kinukwento ko. Parang for example, yung mga kasama ko noon, lahat sila may mga sponsors, ang gaganda ng mga gamit, nakalatag.”

“Kami ng lola ko, ang dala namin, supot from palengke. Laging yellow plastic na manipis na pamalengke. bumili kami ng isa o dalawang manipis na pangtaas. Tapos uulitin ko na yun in the multiple episodes of the show. Kasi ‘yun lang po yung meron ako. Of course, at that time, because I was young, it made me sad. And it made me want what the others had. Pero as I grew up, and as my lola always told me, she always said na, Dadating din ang oras mo. Palagi yun. When she caught me siguro looking and wanting something I didn’t have, she always said, Dadating din ang oras mo. Maghintay ka lang.”

Beyond the strength and the fierce determination is a woman shaped by loss, by hardship, by survival. And yet, she stands triumphant.

She is, in every way, a success story—not just because of the fame, accolades, or the roles she plays, but because of the woman she has become. A woman who, despite everything, still chooses to believe, rise, and tell her story.

B

ianca’s story is not just about her. Maaaring kuwento rin nating lahat ito. We have all been tested by life in different ways. Some of us have lost someone too soon. Some have been forced to grow up before we were ready. Some have carried burdens heavier than we thought we could bear. And yet, like Bianca, those who triumph keep going.

Her story teaches us that we are not defined by what we’ve lost, but by how we choose to move forward. That pain can shape us, but it does not have to destroy us. That our struggles, no matter how deep, are not the end of our story—they are simply the chapters leading us to something greater.

Not all of us will be on television screens or grace magazine covers, but all of us have a purpose, a fight, a story worth telling. We are all capable of turning our wounds into wisdom.

And most importantly, Bianca’s story reminds us that none of us are ever truly alone. There will always be something—someone—to hold on to. It may be a dream, faith, a person, or even just the quiet belief that we are meant for more.

She calls herself “the girl who has been saved.” But in reality, she saved herself—by choosing to continue the fight her Lola Victorina started for her, by choosing to believe, and by choosing to live.

Giving up is not the only option.

— LA, GMA Integrated News