TV host Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan stands by his brother-in-law, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan’s decision to forego his candidacy in next year’s election.

It can be recalled that Sen. Kiko was planning to run for Vice-President until he downgraded his plans by opting to act as official spokesperson to the Liberal Party’s standard bearers, Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas.

“I believe in who he (Sen. Kiko) believes in. I will personally support whom Kiko will support,” said Maricel during a press conference tendered by Skycable Select on Oct. 12 which she hosted.

The actress-turned-parenting guru added that Kiko who went through continual prayers, advice-seeking and reflection to come up with a decision, is “consistent with his nature, of what he really stands for.”

Asked if she herself is interested in joining politics, Maricel gave a firm “No.”

“It’s not my expertise. I am a mother and a wife. I will take care of my family so that they will be assets to society. That’s my focus, parenting.”

True to her word, Maricel dutifully watches over her four kids - Ella, Donnie, Hannah, and Benjamin - particularly their media consumption habits.
 
According to the actress, her kids’ can only watch two TV shows and use the computer for 30 minutes a day.  “And they have to choose which shows they’re going to watch and agree among themselves about it,” said she.

In going online, the actress shared that they keep a logbook in which they record the sites visited by whom and at what time.

Maricel said she empowers her children at an early age by giving them freedom of choice albeit with parental supervision. “We have a mini-contract of guidelines with them. Our kids themselves drafted the guidelines,” she said.

She emphasized the importance of parental involvement in molding their children’s media consumption habits.

“The more you tell them na ‘bawal yan,’ the more they wanna watch it. But the more you are involved [in watching TV with kids], the easier it is to impart certain values to them because you can enforce these with what, say,  Spongebob himself teaches,” said she.

Placing the TV at a strategic place is also important, Maricel advised.

“You put your TV where you can monitor what they’re watching so you don’t need to keep asking them about it,” said she.

Devoted mothers like her now have a partner in guiding their children’s TV viewing with Skycable Digibox.

This budget-friendly cable innovation, attached to the TV set, allows moms to customize their cable TV lineup and stay attuned with the complete schedule (synopses included) of the shows airing during the week.

Parents can even activate a child-lock feature to control the shows their children can view.

“I’m excited about Digibox and I’m glad I’m able to choose the channels and know the time they’re gonna be coming out,” said she.

According to the Skycable Select press release, “Cable subscription can now be customized based on the customer's viewing needs and budget. This one-of-a-kind subscription flexibility is made possible by Skycable’s Digibox - an equipment attached to your TV set that serves as your TV’s intelligence center, enabling unique functionalities for your TV.

"Start with the Skycable Starter at only P280/month which is packaged with more than 20 essential cable channels, then add as many channels as you want and can afford.”

Further, the Digibox also offers Skycable customers with 6 new channels. These are History Channel, Biography Channel, Basketball TV, Euronews, FX and CNBC.

For inquiries, call the Skycable 24-hour Customer Service Hotline at 631-0000 or send a text message to (0917) 631-0000 and (0918) 863-1000.

To find out more info, log on to www.mysky.com.ph.