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By Jon Vicente Tuesday, 11 March 2008 Marching up the steps to Katre’s second floor, Bernadette Sembrano emerges, armed with nothing but a smile and an apology to diffuse her delay. But this is to be expected. Lateness is quite the calling card for men and women in her profession: an assumption that celebrity takes punctuality as one of its first, proprietary victims. She isn’t immediately striking and the clothes she wears are practical. Her movements are economical and purposeful, never once gesticulating, whether to prove or refute a point. But one gets the impression that this is how she is: simple, uncomplicated, honest and true. “You won’t see me in social circles,” she establishes quickly. “It’s not me, I’m not comfortable.” It isn’t so much as a critique of other media personalities who have become celebrities and politicians, as much as it is an admission of a personal reflection. “Just be yourself,” she reasons. “How can you help (people) if you’re pretending to be someone else.” Bernadette firmly believes in recognizing and then establishing what and how one truly is as a most solid platform from which to administer one’s vocation or, in this case, avocation. The statement provides an insight into defining the current state of Bernadette Sembrano. It gradually becomes clear that this is what she really wants to do: to help people, and to do so within her own conveyances. She recalls her amusement at being chosen after a decidedly less-than-eager audition for newscaster with IBC 13. That eventually led to bigger things, but she recalls that by her second year, she was beginning to step into her element. She calls it a big blessing “to do what you like, with passion, you’re happy with what you do” and get paid for it. But perish the thought that she hasn’t also stumbled along the way. There was the time where she “resigned from GMA without any real options,” and apparently, ABS-CBN hadn’t picked her up yet. But she’s certainly had formidable help, in the form of no less than veteran Cheche Lazaro, who was there “more than anything to show me the ropes,” she reflects further, “[she’s] more like a mom to me.” Bernadette won’t immediately admit to the axiomatic effect of her work. “It’s inspiring, they (the subjects) are the ones who are truly heroic, not me.” She uses the prestige generated by her position as a tool. “Kids need somebody to follow, to look up to. If they idolize you, you may as well maximize that (by leading a good example),” she says. “I may be a nobody, but if you’ve inspired somebody, then you’ve done your job.” Cheche Lazaro once told her that their industry is temporary and so she’s already preparing for the time when Bernadette Sembrano is off the air. Future plans see a continuing involvement with social work, particularly with Bantay Bata. There are also plans of a wedding soon, and the sketchy details reveal, typically, a small guest list. When she changed into a white dress for the pictorial, the whole effect is a transformation that has imparted a new quality about her. It isn’t elegance, that would be too pretentious, and pretty just doesn’t do her justice. Allure, perhaps?
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