Award-winning journalist Jay Taruc had an exclusive glimpse on Aling Dionisia’s life before and after Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao’s boxing triumphs in the amusing documentary “PAC-MOM,” of the I-Witness episode, Monday midnight, over GMA-7 after the late night newscast Saksi.

"There is no Manny Pacquiao if it weren't for Aling Dionisia," this is what Manny declared in his lavish blowout for Aling Dionisia’s 60th birthday celebration, a GMA-7 press release said.

Well-known politicians, celebrities and throngs of fans trooped to General Santos City just to greet Manny’s equally famous mother.

But before fame and fortune came knocking at Manny’s doorsteps, Aling Dionisia was the family’s main provider. She single-handedly raised her children after her separation from her husband, selling rice cakes around the streets of Barangay Labangal to support her family’s needs, the press release said.

Her determination amidst the family crisis and financial problems is what inspired her son Manny to pursue boxing, a career that eventually brought affluence to the Pacquiao family.

With millions of pesos tucked under his son’s championship belts, Aling Dionisia is now reaping what she has sown. The woven bilao that she used to carry before to sell rice cakes is now replaced with expensive designer bags and jewelries, the press release said.

Instead of walking, she now uses luxury car to go around the city, driven by her own chauffeur and watched over by two personal bodyguards. If she was known before only as the prayerful mom of Manny, now she can be seen on several TV programs showcasing her talent in ballroom dancing, the press release added.*

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