femalenetwork.com

(First of two parts) 

Photo by Sharline Bareng

It’s that time of year when we pay tribute to women who would move heaven and earth for us—albeit often underappreciated. But Mother’s Day is not limited to celebrating women who bore children and raised them well. Every second Sunday of May, we also remember inspiring women who played mothering roles for us in the workplace or in the community.

If you ask GMA-7’s host of big stars who plays the mother figure for them in the industry, their answer would most definitely be Wilma Galvante, Senior Vice President of the Network's Entertainment TV Group.

We see a lot of Ms. Wilma in the news these days, what with her courtroom battle with another showbiz mother, Annabelle Rama. Much has been said about this strong-willed woman who led the Kapuso Network’s Entertainment arm to produce top-rating dramas, sitcoms, variety shows, and talent searches, to name a few. But what is this mother of four like at home? And how does she handle the three major mothering roles she plays in her life: to her own children, the Entertainment TV Group, and the Kapuso stars?

FemaleNetwork sat down for an exclusive interview with Ms. Wilma, and she shared with us insights on the mothering roles she plays, both at home and in the thriving television industry.

What does it take to be the mother figure to these celebrities?
(Chuckles) Mahirap din e, kasi marami [sila]. And like in any family, they will always need personal attention. Hindi din naman nawawala ‘yung may nagse-selos, or they feel hurt, neglected or not given the right push or support. We handle that one day at a time—one artist at a time, one show at a time (chuckles). But I’m not doing it by myself. It’s important that you have a good team working with you. That’s what I have.

[And so I am] also the mother figure of [my] team. I handle the Entertainment Television Group. I have a team of format specialists. It’s important that you have a strong team—I choose the people who will join the team. Of course the Network hires them, but it is with my recommendation. Most of them I’ve worked with before, or I’ve seen how they work or how they grew in the industry. As they produce each show, there would be problems there; [I] would [need to] troubleshoot, not only with the talents but also with all the aspects that go into production: the creative group, how the script is written, and the budget. [Even if] they know what they’re doing and they’re specialists in their respective formats, they still run to me: “So what do we do?”