HOW JESSICA SOHO'S CHINESE ROOTS INFLUENCED HER PASSION FOR STORYTELLING

Jessica Soho, one of the country's most celebrated broadcast journalists, has spent her career not just covering the most pressing issues, but also telling the most fascinating and offbeat stories through her TV programs, particularly the top-rating "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho."

- By NATHALIE M. TOMADA

But at a recent event celebrating Philippine-Chinese ties, she opened up about her equally compelling family history, complete with colorful characters, a story that could very well be a plot of a movie.

"Many people don't know that I have Chinese blood," Jessica, who is "25-percent Chinese," said.

Her ancestry traces back to a small town in Guangdong province, where her paternal grandparents moved from nearly 90 years ago. They arrived here with little more than the clothes on their backs, she said.

"They didn't have much, they only had shirts in their bags. Somehow, they made it here and we had a big family," she recalled.

However, not all of her ancestors were able to revisit China.

"Unfortunately, they had all passed away, they weren't able to return to China, except for one. I also count myself lucky to have traced my roots in 2007 to that very small village outside of Guangzhou City."

She said that despite not achieving immense wealth, her ancestors left behind a legacy of perseverance and community.

"I like to say that my grandfathers didn't make it big time, but somehow, our family grew, and there are so many stories," she shared.

According to Jessica, one ancestor was an opium addict, a story she previously wrote about in The Philippine STAR. Another was a Shaolin monk who became a chef in their hometown in San Fernando, La Union before moving to Baguio.

The father of her dad, himself, established the first Chinese restaurant in their town, and their family home once served as a halfway house for Chinese coming from the mainland.