Carol Masibay-Garcia has lived a colourful life. As the muse of the late, great Filipino designer Jose “Pitoy” Moreno, this former beauty queen and model was a mainstay of many a fashion show and social gala in what is regarded as the “Golden Age” of Philippine fashion.
Through her work, Carol was able to travel the world from a young age. Eventually, she settled down and started a family that lived in beautiful residences both here and in the US. While she looks back on these experiences and the different places she has called home with great fondness, anyone speaking to her today gets a sense that her current abode holds a special place in her heart.
Now a gorgeous grandmother of three—(“With one more on the way!” she is keen to add)—Carol has moved into a three-storey townhouse tucked in a quiet suburb in Makati. One could say that moving into a smaller home after years of living in larger spaces was a bold choice. In truth, however, it was just what Carol needed.
Prior to her most recent move, Carol lived by herself in a premier loft in the Central Business District. With her children’s help, however, she opted to return to a more traditional living set-up closer to the people she loved. Thus, when it came to a location, the village where her son lived was on top of everyone’s minds.
It was an easy decision to make for the doting grandmother, who couldn’t resist the prospect of living closer to her grandchildren. “My children said, ‘Don’t you want to move there? There’s security, and you’ll have a garden and everything.’ ‘I don’t mind,’ I said. ‘I love living near my apos [grandchildren],’” recalls Carol. “I couldn’t live in Alabang, for example, as it’s so far away from my kids and grandchildren who are all in Makati. It’s not only my granddaughter who lives in the same village as I do, but also my two other grandkids who live in the neighbourhood across ours.”