Life Goes On with Mila's Putobumbong

We all know that puto bumbong is only sold during the Christmas season, but Mila's Puto Bumbong has been selling their products all year-round since 1981 in Muntinlupa City. Unfortunately, the owner Aling Mila has passed away  and later her husband followed, leaving her only son Ermel to continue running her business.

 

Ever since he was young Ermel or casually just "Mel" has helped Aling Mila run her business and learned the secret of making Aling Mila’s year-round special puto bumbong, but as he grew older he found passion in other things.

 

Content creation was what truly sparked  Mel's passion and this led him to work at Adobers Studios in ABS-CBN which eventually opened the opportunity for him to be a fellow teacher at Eugenio M. Lopez Jr. Center for Media Arts SHS.

 

Who would have thought that the skills he picked up and honed working as a content creator would be used to effectively advertise Mila's Puto Bumbong during the pandemic.

 

His work proved to be effective though because Mila's Puto Bumbong became even more in demand. But what was supposed to be a smooth sail to grow the business sank when Aling Mila suddenly passed away.

 

One day the world stopped without warning

 

Losing someone is hard especially at a time like this during the pandemic where we need all the support we can get. We can only try to imagine what Ermel feels about losing both his parents so quickly.

 

Ermel is already 27 years old  but he said that losing his parents was unfathomably the most challenging thing he ever experienced.

 

"The most challenging struggle I faced recently was losing my mom last year due to Covid-19. It was devastating. I'm so helpless at that time because 2 days after my mother died, my father got sick due to severe stress. And then 10 months later, my dad died," he said

 

"I'm shocked for days because I can't even imagine losing my parents, especially my mom so soon. All I'm thinking about is how I can move on from that tragic moment," he added.

 

As if nothing happened

 

We cannot say how well or not Mel is doing but he says he tries to keep himself distracted from all the sorrow.

 

“As of now, I'm doing well. Though sometimes, my anxiety attacks me but thankfully, I can manage myself. I'm keeping myself busy so I can divert myself from thinking about those sad moments in my life,” he said.

 

"For now, I'm managing my business. Also doing part-time video editing for vloggers," he added.

 

This experience taught Mel that life is just like a roller coaster, all you need to know is how to ride it and be strong because it is going to be a tough ride.

 

The day will come back around, life goes on

 

For now Mel focuses on trying to fulfill his mother's lifelong wish, to expand business and to make Mila's Puto Bumbong bigger and famous.

 

"This year, I'm planning to expand the business my mother left me. Focusing to put physical and rolling stores in nearby cities. Also I'm planning to sell franchises of my business in the upcoming years," he said.

 

But that is not Mel's only plan, he also plans to try pursuing his vlogging career again and revive his persona as 'Papa Mel' from Papa Mel TV. This will help him save up and succeed in his future plans.

 

"Just trust the process. I do believe that all things happened for a reason. And don't be upset if you can't get your dreams or goals at one glance. It will all come at the right time. Maybe, it's just a preparation for you to become a successful person soon," he said.

 

We witnessed how strong Mel is. He teaches us how to stand alone, to continue pursuing dreams even though our life is full of challenges. It is hard to lose someone, how about Mel losing both parents? But Mel motivates us to do more and to be more. Like he said “ I do believe that all things happened for a reason” We need to be strong for ourselves and for the people who believe in us.