Health is a top priority in the Dingdong Dantes-Marian Rivera household. Now blessed with two adorable kids, Zia and Sixto, they are taking the most important roles of their lives very seriously.
“Parenting is a very challenging task. As we discover every day, andami naming natutunan. I think during this pandemic, bottom line is kalusugan ang pinaka-kailangan natin. We want to do so many things. Our kids want to do so many things. But the fact is that marami pang darating na mga hadlang like viruses and the only way to fight them is to have strong immunity,” Dingdong says.
Marian’s Devotion
“Marian especially needs a strong mindset because she’s a very hands-on mom. We are a tandem. S’ya maghahanda, ako maghahatid at ako magsusundo. Mahalaga na dun pa lang sa prep stuff, kumbaga napapatibay at napapalakas na namin sila so that when they go to school especially now it’s face-to-face, there’s a certain level of protection when they want to get into sports para alam natin na kayang-kaya ng katawan nila,” declares Dingdong, whose Family Feud Philippines is the highest-rated game show in the country.
To boost their immunity and their hyperactive kids’, Marian and Dingdong found a strong ally in Ceelin Plus, one of the products of Unilab, the leading pharmaceutical and healthcare company in the Philippines. It has Ascorbic Acid + Zinc that provides double protection plus stable ZincPlus® Technology that helps give fully loaded immunity with a proper diet and healthy lifestyle.
Like all happily married couples, Marian finishes off Dingdong’s sentences seamlessly as she chimes in: “Sa bahay kasi nag-eendorso kami ng isang produkto palagi na kailangan na ginagamit ko at sure ball ako na gagamitin ko s’ya. Ayoko ‘sya i-endorse just for the sake of the money or because of may endorsement ako, no. Bakit namin kinuha ang Ceelin at patuloy na nakikipag partner sa kanya? Kasi sa bahay, ang mga bata Ceelin talaga iniinom nila since Day 1. It’s very easy for us na i-feed sa kanila ang Ceelin kasi kilala na nila, alam na nila at kabisado na nila at iniinom talaga nila.‘Yun ‘yung mahalaga sa akin.”
PangakongProteksyon #ImmunityForAllKids
Marian, who once played the indestructible Darna, continues: “Nakikita namin ang benepisyo ng Ceelin especially now nag-fi-face-to-face classes na ‘yung mga anak namin. Sorry for the term talaga, for being a mom is being paranoid and OA talaga. Hangga’t kaya mong ibigay at siguraduhin na secure ang kalusugan nila, lahat ng pwede mong ibigay, ibibigay mo talaga. So nandyan ang Ceelin Plus para sa amin.”
The couple just wrapped up work on their GMA sitcom, Jose & Maria’s Bonggang Villa. In May, they also released their documentary, MISS U: A Journey to The Promised Land. Dingdong directed Marian while she was in Israel as a judge at the 70th Miss Universe and where she talked to overseas Filipina workers who are mothers just like her. Besides Family Feud, Dong also hosts Amazing Earth while Marian is dabbling in hosting chores for Tadhana.
With their combined star power, Marian and Dingdong have lent their support to help typhoon victims, over the years and once joined PETA in their campaign to free the elephant Mali from the Manila Zoo. Dingdong founded the Yes Pinoy Foundation while Marian is a “dedicated woman advocate of breastfeeding and women with special needs; and staunchly supports Smile Train, an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate.
But it is as overly protective parents, they now have a new cause near and dear to their hearts.
“Araw-araw, walang mintis, binibigyan namin si Zia at Sixto ng Ceelin Plus para siguradong ligtas sila sa banta ng mga sakit. Ngunit hindi lahat ng bata ay nakakakuha ng proteksyong tulad nito,” the couple shares. “Kaya naman, natutuwa kaming maibahagi sa inyong lahat ang #PangakongProteksyon #ImmunityForAllKids ng Ceelin, in partnership with Caritas Philippines!”
The project is a partnership between Ceelin and Caritas Philippines, the humanitarian, development, and advocacy arm of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), under the direction and supervision of the Episcopal Commission on Social Action-Justice and Peace (ECSA-JP).
An estimated 100,000 kids from geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) who are nutritionally deficient have been given vitamins since the project started in March 2022, helping them strengthen their immunity against sickness especially since the world is still in the midst of a pandemic.
“Lahat ng mga bata ay may karapatang maging protektado at magkaroon ng magandang kalusugan at maging malakas ang resistensya laban sa sakit. Good health is a basic human right, but access to it is limited,” the couple points out.
To help ease this problem, the couple distributed Ceelin vitamins to kids under the care of Caritas Philippines on September 13 held at the Obispado de Cubao, Quezon City, right in front of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral where they married in 2014. In attendance were Bishop Jose Colin M. Bagaforo, the National Director of Caritas Philippines, Fr. Ronnie Santos, Director of Caritas Cubao and nuns from Kidapawan City, Cotabato.
Fr. Antonio “Tony” Labiao, Executive Secretary of Caritas, expresses his gratitude to the advocacy campaign: “It provides a very good opportunity to expand our legacy programs. Salamat sa Unilab, at sa Ceelin, na walang sawang tumutulong sa Caritas Philippines, lalo na sa mga komunidad na palaging naaapektuhan ng mga bagyo.”
The project vows to leave no children behind as it goes full blast nationwide, from the hinterlands of Bontoc in the Mountain Province to the secluded islands around Tawi-Tawi, benefiting about 1.2 million this year.