The first baby of actress and Quezon City Councilor Aiko Melendez and ramp and commercial model Martin Jickain, a daughter they named Marthena, got baptized last October 28, 2006, at the Christ the King Parish in Green Meadows, Quezon City.
Marthena, born on July 28, 2006, at St. Luke’s, was exactly three months old on the day of her baptism. It was her first public appearance. With her features more evident now, the cute Marthena wowed everyone with her eyes, which are anywhere from greenish-gray to bluish-gray.
Aiko’s mother, Elsie Blardony, who was deliberately absent during the baptismal rite because she’s a Jehovah’s Witness, later told YES!: “Sa side kasi nina Martin, German. Sa side naman ni Aiko, Spanish. Ang daddy niya [the late actor Jimmy Melendez], may pagka-Espanyol. ’Tapos ako, and daddy ko, Spanish din. Blardony is Spanish. Dito kay Marthena talaga lumabas.”
Mommy Elsie adds that Aiko is now slowly shifting Marthena to formula milk. “Kasi kokonti ang lumalabas kay Aiko.” Giggling, she adds: “Hindi naman puwede sa akin, baka kape ang lumabas.”