Wonder women: How SolGen Darlene Berberabe shaped karate champ Jamie Lim

Filipina karateka Jamie Lim is a prime example of an athlete who thrives beyond sports. 

The daughter of late PBA legend Samboy Lim has matched her father with two Southeast Asian Games gold medals while also being an academic achiever, graduating summa cum laude with a Mathematics degree from the University of the Philippines and making the dean’s list when she earned her graduate degree in business analytics from the prestigious Imperial College London.

On top of those feats, Lim wears many hats as she juggles her day job as a data intelligence head for a real estate developer with being a content creator and a courtside reporter.

While it seems she has a lot on her plate, Lim is no stranger to such balancing acts, having witnessed her own mother, Darlene Berberabe, take on various roles, from an academic, to a lawyer, and now the Philippines’ Solicitor General.

“Mom — in all her fields and all her jobs — she does her best. It’s not that she only tells me to do it, but I see it in her actions. That’s why it’s not hard to follow because that’s all I see at home,” Lim told Rappler.

Berberabe’s credentials speak for her brilliance. 

Like her daughter, Berberabe graduated summa cum laude and class valedictorian when she obtained her Philosophy degree from UP in 1989. She later became the first female Philosophy instructor of the university, where she also earned her Masters in Philosophy in 1995.

Berberabe gave birth to Lim in 1997, then two years later, graduated from the UP College of Law as class salutatorian in 1999. 

In between stints in the private sector, Berberabe served as chief executive officer of the Pag-IBIG Fund under the administration of the late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. 

Berberabe then became only the third female dean of the UP College of Law in 2023 and now serves as just the second female Solicitor General after Agnes Devanadera following her appointment in 2025.

Mother knows best

A go-getter all her life, Berberabe wanted to also see her child excel, although Lim showed little interest in school or sports early on. 

Berberabe recalled Lim having “average” grades in elementary and even telling her father Samboy that she no longer wanted to pursue karate.

“She said she was getting hurt and she was having a hard time training. I asked what are we supposed to do? Just sleep and watch TV?” said Berberabe. 

“I think my attitude back then was if you expose your child to a pattern or a habit of trying to always do your best, focusing on a target, and then doing the hard work, there is nowhere else it can lead except that you’ll be able to hone your skills and you’ll be better than yesterday.” 

Then it clicked for Lim. 

“Jamie, at every stage, would be really exhibiting a lot of focus, a lot of hard work, dedication, and the results were excellent even if it took some time. She was like a diesel engine — her improvement was not instant,” said Berberabe. 

“Three years training in karate, and then when she won the gold medal, she never lost again here in the Philippines. And then she competed at the international level. In academics, she was Best in Sports in elementary, then she graduated with honors in high school, and then she was summa cum laude in college. It was a gradual progress.” 

FAMILY. Late PBA great Samboy Lim with wife Darlene and daughter Jamie.

Skywalker’s wonder women

When Lim was preparing for college, tragedy struck the family as Samboy suffered a cardiac arrest in an exhibition game then fell into a coma in 2014. He was able to regain consciousness, but the incident left the icon known as the “Skywalker” unable to speak, walk, and perform basic functions until his death in 2023. 

Although Berberabe and Samboy were already separated for years, with their marriage annulled in 2008, she took over the medical care of the PBA great despite already having her hands full as she was then serving as Pag-IBIG Fund CEO while guiding her teenage daughter in navigating college life. 

Lim never felt neglected. 

“She makes me feel that she’s there. It’s not the end of the world because she’s there. The managing of it all was the most difficult because she had no help. I was 17, I was young,” said Lim. 

“It’s a lot of juggling and it’s hard because it’s easy to let one thing go. She could have ignored me because she had so many other things to do. She could have said that she was doing it all for the family — that she had to earn money, do her job well in government, and take care of dad. She could have chosen to pay me no attention. But she didn’t do that. Everything she was doing, she still did it all well. I don’t know how she managed all of it.” 

“She was able to do all that as well as keep herself together, and maybe that’s why I’m strong, it’s because of how she was.” 

Through it all, Lim was emotionally steady and hopeful at a young age, Berberabe said.

After Lim set karate aside for four years to focus on college, a decision that bore fruit as she stood as UP College of Science valedictorian in 2019, she returned to the sport and won her first SEA Games gold medal in the same year when the Philippines hosted the regional showpiece.

CHAMPION. Filipina karateka Jamie Lim with mother Darlene Berberabe after she won a gold medal in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.

She won her second SEA Games title after ruling the 2023 edition in Cambodia. 

“Jamie went through a lot, and to have accomplished what she has accomplished, knowing the challenges she faced, it wasn’t easy. She didn’t have a father figure when others were being spoiled by their fathers. And then of course, the two of us had the responsibility of taking care of things,” said Berberabe. 

Unwavering support

Berberabe’s love and constant encouragement have allowed Lim to step out of her comfort zone and go for her dreams, notwithstanding the possibility of failure. 

Lim is now a courtside reporter in the same league that used to be her father’s stomping ground. 

“It means a lot that she knows that you love her when she wins, and even more so when she loses. I think if you have that cushion in your life, if you have that kind of support in your life, then one person will not be afraid of trying,” said Berberabe. 

Being the driven and ambitious woman she is today, Lim credits it all to her mother. 

“She outdoes herself every time and she’s not slowing down anytime soon. And she does her work really well and very diligently. She doesn’t want shortcuts,” said Lim.

“After she wakes up, she’ll exercise in the morning before she goes to work. Then when she comes up, she’s going to cook dinner for us and then she’ll go back to work up to 11 pm and then sleep. She does her work really well and the country is very lucky to have her.” 

“I have to add that she’s also the best mother on top of all of that. She really has a really great understanding of how to be a mother, of me as her child, what the best words to say are during a win and during a loss especially. She just knows how to navigate it.” 

And for Berberabe, who holds one of the most important positions in the government, nothing still beats being a mother.

“I tell her that it doesn’t matter that you’re pretty, you’re tall, you’re intelligent, and you’re successful if you’re not a good person, if you’re selfish, if you’re unfair to other people, and if you look down on others,” said Berberabe. 

“But she’s kindhearted. She’s family-oriented. She had the opportunity not to return to the Philippines. She was in London, one year living there. But she decided she wanted to stay in the Philippines, live in the Philippines, excel here among Filipinos, give back to the nation.” 

“Jamie is Godsent to me and Samboy. We’re very, very proud of Jamie. I have many roles, but being her mother is really the greatest honor and privilege for me as a person.” – Rappler.com