SunStar couple shares secret to successful marriage

You never know when or where you’ll meet the love of your life. Some people meet them at a café or a high school reunion, but there are those who meet them at the workplace, which is what happened to Ronila Culleta and Amper Campaña in 1995 when they first met on the newsroom floor of SunStar Cebu.

They joined the SunStar team in the same year, with Ronila starting in July as a 26-year-old newsroom assistant and Amper starting in November as a 25-year-old photographer. However, the sparks didn’t fly until the summer of 1997, when Amper pulled out all the stops and actively began courting her.

It started with little gifts of food, usually fruits, chocolates and chicharon from Carcar. As a practical young woman, Ronila accepted these gifts gratefully and even shared these with her colleagues. Likewise, Ronila’s colleagues would also encourage her to knock on the darkroom door and give Amper some food.

But nothing was official until Ronila and Amper shared a taxi ride after watching a movie with their friends.

“He silently reached for my hand,” Ronila shared. “And I reached for his.” Funny enough, Amper thought this meant they were officially dating, and Ronila was quick to correct him: “You haven’t even asked me a question,” she’d said.

Humbled and nervous, Amper finally asked, “Will you be my girlfriend?” and Ronila gave him the answer everyone yearns for when they ask that question: “Yes.” The pair would later remember that day, July 20, 1997, as the day where it all began.

Despite having different days off—Amper on Wednesdays and Ronila on Saturdays—the young couple made it work. Sometimes, Amper would be unable to keep Ronila company on her days off because he had to rush to an event and work, but whenever that happened, Ronila would find a white rose on her table the next day; a silent apology from her loving boyfriend.

Eventually, Amper moved from Carcar to Mabolo and stayed in a boarding house near Ronila’s house so that he could easily accompany her on her way home from work. And as luck had it, Michelle So—then the managing editor of what was then called SunStar Daily—moved Amper’s day off from Wednesday to Saturday so that he and Ronila could spend more time together. Not long after that, the couple tied the knot through a civil marriage ceremony on Jan. 8, 1998, and they’ve been happily married since then.

Marriage came with its own ups and downs—“Every marriage does,” Amper said. “It’s only a matter of how big a role pride has in your life.” Amper continued explaining that one has to manage their pride when they are married; the higher one’s pride is, the more likely it is that an argument escalates and the issue remains unresolved.

Ronila believes in this and carries along on the same vein, with a playful acronym she borrowed from digital terminology: URL—Understanding, Respect and Love.

“Trust,” she said, “naturally comes in when you understand, respect, and love your partner.” And when it comes to Amper’s late nights working his beat as newsroom photographer, she never berates him for coming home late; instead, she stays up, waiting for him to return home safe and sound.

Likewise, Amper respects Ronila’s late hours at the office, especially when she’s dealing with sensitive matters for the company. He handles the housework when she’s not feeling up to the task and always insists she sleep in after a long night at work.

The pair also insist that maintaining an affectionate household is one of the keys to a successful marriage. Hugs, kisses, and saying “I love you” are common in the Culleta-Campaña household and their children grew up with two parents who never held back in providing love-filled affirmations—to the children and to each other.

Ironically, Ronila and Amper don’t actively celebrate Valentine’s Day because every day is Valentine’s Day for them. To the singles out there, Ronila has some advice: “Men who have no patience have no business being in your life. In all my years with Amper, he has never berated me for arriving late, whether it was for a date or coming home.”

Love is not just an emotion or a feeling that brings people together. It is found in the little gestures and glances; the practiced way a hand reaches out to touch the other’s; the food offered from one to another; the way one stays up to wait for the other to come home; the mutual understanding between partners as they acknowledge that their love is more important than pride.

It has been 25 years since Ronila and Amper got married, and tonight, just like every couple out on a date, Amper will be accompanying Ronila home from work—a gesture he performs every night without fail. S