At 33 years old, Lia Badillo has already held key appointments in three different government departments. But what’s even more impressive than how she has accomplished this feat in just two years is how she has managed to stay true to herself in her journey to get to where she is now.
In an exclusive interview with Preview, we get to know Department of Health Public Relations Officer and Head Executive Assistant Lia Badillo as she lets us in on the events that catapulted her into a life of public service, the heights she has set her eyes on, and the driving force behind these aspirations.
On Hitting the Road: How Lia Badillo Became a Public Servant
“I know you're gonna think, ba't andami-dami na kaagad ng positions ni Lia in such a short period of time,” Lia interjects as she details her previous government posts. She would call her journey in public office “kismet,” “destiny,” and “God’s design” throughout the interview—even if her path wasn’t as straightforward.
After passing the Bar Exams in 2016, Lia set her sights on being a no-nonsense, powerful, and chic corporate attorney much like Jessica Pearson of Suits. “I planned my life around it, I thought of myself mastering the craft,” she recounts. She would rise the ranks in the private sector, serving as General Counsel and Corporate Director of Palawan’s Lionheart Farms, Legal Consultant for real estate agency KMC Savills, spokesperson of Udenna Malampaya, as well as a media practitioner hosting morning shows and interviewing prominent political figures. But then the pandemic happened.
In January 2022, her son Alonzo was struck by the omicron virus, and out of desperation, she pleaded with God. “So diba pagka meron kang hinihingi kay Lord, you tend to pray about it, you tend to negotiate with the Lord and say, ‘Lord if you do this, I'll do this’,” she narrates. “His temperature rose to 40°C and he couldn't breathe. At that time, I said to the Lord out of nowhere, ‘Lord, if you heal my Alonzo, I will go into public service and serve with all my might’.” She wasn’t sure how it would unfold, but as Alonzo got better, she took it as a sign to pursue public service.
Doors would eventually open, starting off with a position at DOLE, then PEZA, and now DOH. Kismet, maybe, but these didn’t come without its own set of challenges.
On Road Bumps: How Lia Badillo Rose Above Bullying in School and Office
“Public service is so different from private,” Lia says, noting the weight of the government’s role in Filipino lives. “You now think about the stakeholders, how to make the department better, and how to make the stakeholders' lives better.”
It’s both a privilege and a responsibility that her then-boss DOLE Secretary Benny Laguesma reiterated to her. “Lagi nga niyang sinasabi sa akin, ‘You are not my assistant secretary. You are the Philippines' assistant secretary,’ and I really took it to heart. I've always liked helping out before [becoming a public servant] but when I was given that medium or that platform to help out, sabi ko talaga sa sarili ko, I will do my best.”
“Sa totoo lang, nahirapan ako,” she candidly confesses. Apart from the gravity of her work, she also had to face road bumps because of who she is as a person. “It's more on fighting and surviving that stigma of being labeled na 'ay bata,' 'ay babae,' 'ay ganito yung itsura.'” Being a newbie in an office of resident veterans, she shares that, “Kahit na lawyer ka, kahit na naging cum laude ka, you're always gonna be that pair of legs lang. So what did I do? I tried my best to really serve.”
This, after all, wasn’t her first bout with naysayers. “I'm very vocal about not tolerating being bullied or being disrespected,” Lia shares, drawing from her high school memories as a 5'10", 11-year-old, 220-pound girl who quite literally stood out in a sea of petite, fair-skinned chinita classmates. “We cannot allow people to put us down. We cannot make others convert us into being inferior.”
It’s something she feels so strongly about, that it has become the advice she gives other women. “Never ever put yourself down or dim your shine just to make others happy. That's one lesson I should have learned before,” she cautions. “I tried to dim myself. I tried to, you know, hide myself. But at the end of the day, if people know you and people matter to you, they would think na okay, she's not making papansin. She really is bright. And we need that brightness.”
This mindset that places value on both authenticity and excellence is something she constantly conveys to her Communications team at DOH, encouraging them to “share to me that brightness” for a job well done. She notes that a good leader helps those around them shine more so that they can advance further in their mission together—something she’s grateful to have experienced under the tutelage of her mentors Secretary Benny, Director Theo Panga of PEZA, and Secretary Ted Herbosa of DOH.
Making a distinction between unfounded confidence and knowing your self-worth, she clarifies, “We are our own person and that is not arrogance—that is you believing in yourself that you can do it, and [that if you can’t do it yet,] you can learn more about it.” It is acting from a place of integrity, where you truly know and respect yourself and your values that you commit yourself to it, even when no one—or everyone—is watching. “You cannot please everybody. So what you can do is reflect on your values, reflect on your principles, and think if ito ba yung gusto kong gawin?”
On the Road Ahead: What’s Next for Lia Badillo
Having found her footing, Lia reveals that she intends on staying in DOH as it’s the agency that aids all social classes and impacts the most number of people. “Ang health sector natin, it's not for the classes A and B lang. It's really not. It's for the classes A, B, C, D, and E. Ang health po ay para po sa lahat ng klase ng sektor sa Pilipinas,” she asserts. And while she eyes touching a multitude of lives, her passion stems from one very personal reason.
“In my own little way, hopefully it's not going to be little, but I'm still learning,” she humbly discloses, “But in my own ways, I get to help out. I get to, you know, achieve the dreams I have for women and children alike to have better maternity care here in the Philippines.” It’s something that strikes a chord and you can hear her voice break, “Sorry, I'm getting teary,” she says, “[For them] to have better healthcare, that would be my legacy because I am a mom.”
Needless to say, Lia’s bond with her only child is a deep one. Not only was it Alonzo who set her off on her route to public service, but he also remains to be a constant inspiration for her to do good. “My son is non-verbal. So, because he is non-verbal, I want to create an environment for children, that the DOH can help with, para maka-feel sila na happier sila, na healthier sila,” she says.
And this safe environment she envisions for Filipino children begins in the womb. She gets emotional as she talks about incidents wherein fetuses are thrown because parents could not afford proper prenatal care, much so, birthing and feeding a child. “We should not live a life like that,” she says. “Whenever I see children out [on the streets], malnourished, or those who have illnesses that no one is helping them with, parang nasasaksak ako. I don't know if it's privilege guilt, but I really, really want to help. And as much as I want to talk about how helpful I was in my previous years as a lawyer, I would not because wala pa yan. Alam ko marami pa ako maitutulong [in the health sector front].”
Emphasizing the responsibilities of her job in alleviating Filipinos’ quality of life, she iterates“Kami na nasa gobyerno, trabaho namin mag-isip kung anong pwede naming maibigay na solusyon sa mga kababayan natin na may mga ganong problema. Hindi lamang sa mga manganganak, sa mga may cancer, sa mga may sakit na hindi talaga maitawid dahil wala silang pera. Trabaho ng gobyerno yan.”
She sums up this calling with a simple guiding principle: “What we're gonna think about is, ano bang maitutulong ng Kagawaran ng Kalusugan sa mga kababayan natin?”
Looking ahead, she wants to have an even more active hand in addressing this by supporting her vision for Filipinos with her background in law. “I know it's far-fetched right now and it's, you know, very malayo pa but I dream to be a Senator,” she shares.
“I dream of a world na I could contribute something that actually helps,” she explains, “I know I'm doing it right now but I want to make laws, mga batas na makakatulong sa ating mga kababayan pa [lalo]. Gusto ko gumawa ng batas na makakontribute not only for investment, not only economically for our country but also towards the betterment of the [individual] lives of our kababayans.”
“It's the job of the government to make our kababayans feel empowered, to make our kababayans live a life where they are able to pick themselves up and live,” she says. “And I think that's the best thing that you can do to help others. You can help them feel that they matter.”
And with her heart and passion, you’d quickly understand “ba't andami-dami na kaagad ng positions ni Lia in such a short period.” She may not have been the Philippines’ Jessica Pearson, but she has unapologetically been the spirited Lia Badillo who strives to bring brightness wherever she serves.
Hey, Preview readers! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, and Twitter to stay up to speed on all things trendy and creative. We’ll curate the most stylish feed for you!
