LOOKING GOOD, FEELING GOOD,

Veteran journalist CES DRILON gets candid about major changes in her life including singlehood, pursuing happiness and picking herself up from the woes of last year, and how she looks after herself through it all

- ANGELA CASCO

There’s a positive energy radiating from Ces Drilon as she talks about what’s been keeping her busy lately.

She goes live on Kumu via her show Bawal Ma-Stress Drilon and regularly uploads videos on her Youtube channel, Ces and the City. She is also gearing up for an upcoming public service radio show called Basta Promdi, Lodi! She does all these while fulfilling her duties as president of The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS), and as an owner of Vagabond Farms.

That’s on top of an impressive career in broadcast journalism at ABS-CBN spanning 30 years, where she has taken on every role imaginable: field reporter for the Philippine Senate, and later, the business beat; cohost of Usapang Business; presenter for news and current affairs programs, Pipol and The Correspondents; news anchor for Bandila and TV Patrol; executive editor of ANC’s digital lifestyle site, ANCx; and one of the heads of the network’s Lifestyle Ecosystem Group.

A CHALLENGING YEAR

But even Drilon could not be spared from the challenges of the pandemic. Just like everyone, the last year has been particularly difficult in both her professional and personal life.

When the pandemic hit, not only was she fearful of a then-unknown viral disease-causing an outbreak, she was also one of the many employees ABS-CBN had to let go when its franchise renewal was denied.

“The difficulty was finding a purpose,” she tells Lifestyle Asia. “I lost not just the income, but also my purpose. I had to ask myself, ‘What will I do now?’”