AT A GLANCE
“I advocate now for new beginnings and betterment, as well as the redemption of persons deprived of liberty. Likewise, I also visit different prisons to give them hope as much as possible. I show my gratefulness to God that he has given me a second life by paying it forward to those that are still inside and needing inspiration. I recall many times when some individuals visit us behind bars, and I would be extremely energized and inspired, especially if they were also in prison before."
Karen Bordador
Now that the Philippines’ judicial courts have released the verdict that television host Karen Bordador is innocent, the sexy YouTuber has a new purpose in life after living with persons denied of liberty (PDL) for over five years.
“I advocate now for new beginnings and betterment, as well as the redemption of persons deprived of liberty. Likewise, I also visit different prisons to give them hope as much as possible. I show my gratefulness to God that he has given me a second life by paying it forward to those that are still inside and needing inspiration. I recall many times when some individuals visit us behind bars, and I would be extremely energized and inspired, especially if they were also in prison before.
"And now that they’re doing so well in life, I manifested behind bars that I want to be that person who enters a depressed facility and brings people back to life. Now that I am that person I manifested five years ago, I empower our PDLs by letting them know that they have a future waiting for them; that they should know their purpose and follow the lessons learned inside.
"To do this, I do a lot of low-key visitations to jails as long as I have a budget and also donations. I try to do this constantly. Sometimes I get to vlog it and it’s for the reason that I want to send a message out to everyone that people in jail must be given the same tender, loving care as they would.
"For any other human being who has made a mistake in life, we should not judge or condemn anyone in bars but rather give them a means and the way to reform and become better people. Through education, new skills, and a different perspective I do believe those that are incarcerated can come out as good citizens that can be role models in the outside world.
"I do my best to convey this message on my Vlog, Karen Bordador, YouTube channel. I also do a lot of interviews for people that have lost their way. I vlog their struggles inside so people can be sympathetic to the crisis of others," said Karen.
It was the year 2016 when Karen's life paused like the ones we see in the movies and for five years she was in prison waiting for the courts of the Philippines to release the verdict that she was innocent. The sexy influencer tells us her story.
“Before being in bars, my career was blooming. I was actually a well-known model who graced a lot of magazine centerfolds. I was also quite known as a radio DJ on monster radio RX93.1 and I just got out of a reality TV show on ABS-CBN so I was transitioning from radio waves to local TV likewise I was getting a lot of movie and TV offers.
"Basically my life was great before I lost everything. My life stopped on August 13, 2016. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Supposedly, I was being asked to join to answer a couple of questions, but they included me in the case, because my name was known, and it seemed very sensational.
"It was a judgment by the media. I was in bars for nearly five years, but to be specific four years and 10 months. The first month was extremely overwhelming. It was so noisy. The news brutalized my name which affected my family, their businesses, and of course their mental health.
"It was very difficult for them as they were the ones defending me from the outside. While in bars, I was adjusting to the new life of sleeping on the floor and taking a bath in the bathroom that had no door and no hot water. I rely on food sent to me by my family instead of me buying my own food.
"Losing my career and having a lot of people judge me was devastating. My name trended for nearly three months with nothing but judgment. Eventually, I found my peace for people did not understand what I was going through. I did not expect to be put in bars where I have done nothing wrong, but being known can implicate you.
"It was extremely overwhelming and as I look back, I’m honestly proud of myself for overcoming that part of my life. I’m so proud of my family for being able to move forward despite such a horrific experience.”
Karen and I graduated from the same high school. All of us share the same accent so I asked her how she survived inside the prison with that accent.
“Studying in an exclusive girls' school, we have grown up with an accent, and of course, great English skills, so Tagalog was not my number one language. It was a bit challenging because people in bars were speaking in a different way, and I wanted to get along with everyone so I had to adjust with that. I opened myself to street talk and very interesting words that were only created in bars.
"All of which were very insightful to me. However, with our education, I was able to teach them English so I left with a cell that speaks better English than the other cells. I’m quite proud of that.
"Luckily, I am a very versatile person. I have changeable standards, and I work with what I had inside bars from a queen size bed, I had to sleep on a yoga mat. We all sleep together on the floor so I would have women squishing me in the middle while sleeping.
"I had to start sharing food with random people because that’s how it is inside, I had to sit and sleep in one spot and I couldn’t really roam around because that’s not allowed. So instead I did activities in my one sport and read hundreds of books.
"I started to learn how to sketch and color. I wrote in my diary every single day, and eventually, I learned how to dance Zumba with the girls inside. Since there was no quality food, I sadly had to eat instant noodles and everything instant. I am so grateful my mom sent me food from time to time from my home, but aside from that, we only had junk food and I didn’t have the means to earn so I relied on an allowance for my parents.
"Waiting for my case to progress for five years, I started to head the livelihood program, and I designed bags and wallets which were sold to fellow prisoners for them, and their families, which brought in compensation for me and for everyone else. Also, I was a leader inside, so I had to discipline the chaotic lawlessness that would happen from time to time.”
I asked Karen why it took a long five years before the Philippine judicial courts released the verdict that she was not guilty, “ The hearings lengthen, because a hearing would only happen once in two months, or maybe twice in a month, but they would be canceled because of unforeseen reasons that I felt were not all valid, but I couldn’t do anything. Then the pandemic happened so all the hearings stopped for a very long time. My judge passed away, and that prolonged more delays. CCTV showed my innocence, and even if it was shown from the very beginning of the case, pre-judgment by media just didn’t allow it to be valid but eventually in the last few months, the CCTV was finally given light and it was proven that I was innocent.”
I asked the Star Magic host if she believed in the saying that you are placed in darkness for you to see the light. “I often question God before why He put me in such a horrific place knowing that I was a peaceful, kind-hearted loving person. I have always enjoyed empowering my friends and the people around me, especially those that are listening to me on the radio, so why me? And after a long period of being inside, I just felt a purpose that made me realize maybe that is why God brought me to a place where nobody will ever speak out for them. There’s nothing glamorous in advocating the rehabilitation of PDL but it’s a calling I felt God needed me to do. And I do feel the light when I am in action. My time inside has also given me so much wisdom and learning. I do not have the same shallow mindset as I did before. Now I value service to others, and I feel like empowering others is a duty and a calling. So yes, there’s always a light in the dark, and anyone in the dark must find it to unlock them to their new beginning.”
At present Karen is happy to share that she is back in the entertainment world. ABS CBN has given her a platform to share her story through PBB, Celebrities, Season 10; and also in Charo Santos’ Maalaala Mo Kaya (MMK). Karen has now been able to reestablish herself as a TV talk show host, and she also has a radio show. “Most of the projects I am doing now are sharing my learnings, my story, and also giving advice. I am also finally involving myself in our family business so I am juggling a corporate life and an entertainment life. For now, I am in my happiest state. Many establishments are opening their arms to me. I have been working with a lot of different brands as I have learned the world of being an influencer and content creator. I am extremely grateful to be working with so many of them. Hopefully, when I am more established, I can help the aftercare of the newly released persons deprived of liberty, so that they too can have a second chance in life so they will not go back to their old ways.”
Watch out for Karen’s upcoming dating show and a risk disaster show that she will be hosting. It will be on RD Y Pinas (Ready Pinas). Do check her out on her Facebook, TikTok especially her YouTube channel Karen Bordadror.
