The congressman’s constant companion

Should Rep. Nonoy Libanan decide to take a break from politics, he could be a full-time musician. Nonoy as I fondly call him is an excellent guitarist.

Nonoy fell in love with stringed musical instruments at age seven back in Taft, Eastern, Samar where he was born and raised. During Christmas season, Nonoy gathers kids from his neighborhood and leads them in raucous caroling expeditions where he appoints himself official gitarista.

"I, of course, didn’t know any chords then and was faking it by strumming away and imagining my play guitar for a ukulele," he says. "But it was fun and I knew it was the seed from which my interest in music sprang."

At 10, Nonoy’s father gifted him his first real guitar. But since the future congressman lived in the barrio where few knew how to play the instrument and fewer read musical notes, he eventually took it upon himself to find his very first tutors.

"I offered the use of my guitar to young gentlemen out to serenade their prospects. In turn, I got to observe and memorize how they held and played the guitar. At home, relying merely on ear for guide, I would play my guitar."

His interest in the guitar intensified in high school when he entered the Seminario de Jesus Nazareno (also my alma mater). Nonoy honed his tricks on the strings when accompanied the seminary choir at Mass and whenever he was tasked to learn new songs. He got so good at it that during summer, he was sent to different barrios to play the guitar for the different choirs.

Good guitar playing proved to have metamorphosed into great – brilliant even – when after coming out of the seminary, Nonoy qualified and won in the Classical Guitar Solo B Category in the 10th National Music Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA). What made his victory even more awesome was even at this point, he still couldn’t read a single musical note!

"People were in disbelief that they even asked me to perform live for them so they could see how I did it," he declares. "They had a hard time believing that I not only played rhythm, lead and strumming in my classical pieces but I have also memorized every single note."

Right after the competition, fate stepped in and redirected Nonoy to his other calling. An uncle, seemingly alarmed at Nonoy’s musical passion, sat the teenager down to once and for all decide what he wanted to pursue.

"My uncle said, ‘What do you really want, law or playing the guitar? You can’t do them at the same time," Nonoy recalls. "It was then that the guitar took a back seat."

Save for one more achievement: winning the heart of his wife, Elda, that is. When other suitors would dazzle Nonoy’s wife with things like good looks and money, Nonoy would gently win that competition with his prized guitar.

"It’s proof that music can never be underestimated," he says. "Music, even without lyrics, has a way of speaking to hearts, especially if imbued with emotion. To this day, I won’t pick up the guitar and play before an audience if I am not in the right mind-set; if I’m not emotionally motivated. Musicians are like actors who need to internalize so we can convey the message of music effectively."

Later, Nonoy would also use this skill in his campaign sorties where he played the guitar to potential voters who have elected him thrice in the House of Congress. President Arroyo even harnessed this talent accordingly when she recently asked Nonoy to convince Japan to allow the legitimate Filipino entertainers to continue working in the Land of The Rising Sun.

"Perhaps the President noticed that as a musician myself, I could best speak on behalf of those I share the same inclination with," he muses.

Therefore, recording and releasing Music From The Heart has a higher purpose. Let’s face it: Nonoy need not do it. Only, he wanted to for nobler reason.

"When I learned Samar was the 39th most depressed province in the country, I knew I had to do something," he says. "And I thought that maybe that something had to do with the human spirit. Maybe if people would come to appreciate arts and culture by making quality music available to them, they would think of beautiful things like bettering their lives."

On the more practical side, Nonoy says he’s been listening to the radio and thinks people need a relaxing musical alternative. "You’re always hot-headed and your mind is unsettled when you always hear noise," he says. "That’s why every track in this album is soothing. My wife calls it pang-spa."

Some of the classical and pop music he takes on in the Music From The Heart CD are Hatinggabi, Cavatina, Vera’s Theme, To Love You More, The Prayer, How Could An Angel Break My Heart and Looking Through The Eyes Of Love.

Asked to connect his love for music with his being a public servant, Nonoy says perhaps theory in harmony should give public servants an idea of how to manage their duties. "People need leaders who can harmonize things. In music, when notes blend well, good sound is produced. Perhaps if public servants can harmonize diverse sectors, life can be better."