Modern Homemakers

Eva Patalinjug on Motherhood, Pageantry and Guiding Would Be Beauty Queens

by Alexa Villano
January 18, 2022

The Binibining Pilipinas 2018 titleholder is now a mother of one and leading a new pageant, Hiyas ng Pilipinas, which will stage its first competition in March in Cebu.

For beauty queens, the endless possibilities are out there after their reign. For Binibining Pilipinas Grand International 2018 Eva Patalinjug this meant going back to Cebu, spending time with her loved ones, finishing her last years in law school, and starting some projects which include her skincare line, Eva Beauty.

In February 2021, Eva and partner Francis Lim introduced their son Frederick. Her career now involves being a law student, entrepreneur, mother, and national director of Hiyas ng Pilipinas, a beauty pageant based in Cebu which will be held this March. She then shared with us how she manages to balance her life as a mom and being the director of the beauty pageant.

Eva on motherhood and lessons from her parents

When Eva Patalinjug found out that she was pregnant with Frederick, she and Francis made the decision to keep a low profile.

“It was a conscious and mutual decision to keep the pregnancy quiet as we just want to enjoy the moment to ourselves, to our family, and close friends,” she said.

Although some were surprised, the reaction to Frederick from her followers was genuinely happy. Eva said that she and Francis would share pictures of Frederick if this makes people around them happy.

“My baby is a very happy baby, you can never see him not smiling and I want other people to see that. People tell me to post more of my baby because this relieves their stress whenever they see my baby’s infectious smile.”

The beauty of being a parent

Eva said that she has picked up tips along the way and also got some reminders from her parents.

“I have learned the value of time, though we are in the midst of a pandemic. This is a time to reflect and to prioritize those things that are very important, especially a time to bond with family, reconnect with old friends, and time for yourself because life is fleeting, you’ll never know what will happen tomorrow. We should enjoy every moment with those who are special to us,” she said.

“Enjoy every moment with your baby because they grow so fast. Be there in every milestone, teach them the values that will help them when they grow up.”

With Frederick turning one soon, we could not help but ask which traits he has from her and from Francis.

“He is amazing! Very smart for an 11-month-old baby. Fredrick is such a happy baby. He is very kind and clingy. He is friendly and doesn’t cry when other people carry him around. They say, he’s more me but chinito version but, of course, Francis will say otherwise,” Eva laughed.

Eva on grooming new beauty queens

As a former titleholder, Eva Patalinjug knows the in and outs of the beauty pageant industry When she was approached to be part of Hiyas ng Pilipinas, she took on the challenge. Hiyas ng Pilipinas is an organization that was established in Cebu and will have its coronation night on March 27 at Waterfront Cebu.

Prior, to Hiyas, Eva was initially a national director of another beauty pageant organization. But due to differences, she left. Although traumatized by the experience, Eva felt Hiyas was something different.

“The people close to me encouraged me to take the risk again and to the candidates who joined to that prior pageant, I didn’t want their efforts to go to waste as I have been in their shoes,” she said. “And I know how hard they’ve worked. I want them and all the people to know that they should be bigger than their failings.”

Eva shares the lessons she learned

Eva Patalinjug shared that there’s a lot of lessons she can share with the girls competing in the contest.

“I’ve learned the value of fairness and ethics. It’s not all glitz and glamour, the efforts of all the girls and hard work put into joining pageants I can relate to,” Eva said of her role in Hiyas ng Pilipinas. “I also want my girls to experience that in Hiyas ng Pilipinas. I know with all these lessons, as we handle the day-to-day planning and operation of the Hiyas ng Pilipinas Pageant, I will be incorporating these specific lessons so as to be able to give everyone a good show.”

Although Hiyas ng Pilipinas is new in the industry, its 35 candidates have been picked as some of the most beautiful women in the country. Eva admitted there were so many challenges along the way but managed to iron it out.

“It’s really not easy, but if you’re really passionate about the things you do as I am in everything that I do, it just comes naturally, and even though it seems impossible but you can really make time for the things you love, ” she said. “With all the experiences I’ve acquired during my pageant days, they are my guiding force in building Hiyas ng Pilipinas now. I could not have wished for any more.”

Eva looks ahead

Although people compared Hiyas ng Pilipinas to more established pageants, Eva Patalinjug shrugged them off.

“I don’t want to compare our pageant to others because we are unique. Every beauty pageant has its own identity,” she said. “We are staging our inaugural pageant and we want to incorporate new things that we hope people will like.”

“We want to be able to stage a grand show amidst this pandemic and amidst Super Typhoon Odette that devastated Visayas and Mindanao, especially Cebu, where the coronation will be held.”

Although she’s already balancing so many things, Eva still has so many things to accomplish.

“I have so much in mind. I want to enter into politics or have my own law firm someday,” Eva said. “For now, I’m just taking everything one step at a time and doing my best to succeed in life. To be able to pass law school, pass the bar exam, stage a very successful Hiyas ng Pilipinas, to be able to see my son grow healthy, and strong and surpass the hardships of running a business.”

“They’re’s is so much more to learn and so much more to achieve. I’m excited about what’s to come.”