Curtain-raisers:
• It’s confirmed: Usher is coming for a concert on July 9, with Renen de Guia and Fearless Productions (run by Jomari Yllana and the Singson brothers Ronald and Ryan) as producer. Watch for a follow-up story.
• Condolence to the Yllanas (Anjo, Jomari and Ryan) whose brother Robbie died of cardiac arrest the other day. His remains are at The Heritage in Taguig City.
• Starting today, Robin Padilla will act as host for two weeks of Wowowee from which main host Willie Revillame has been missing.
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The first thing that reelected Batangas Gov. Vilma “Ate Vi” Santos did when she learned that she won by a landslide in the last May 10 elections was heave a big sigh of relief.
“It was the hardest campaign that I ever survived,” Vi told Funfare in an exclusive interview. “Sa lahat ng laban ko, ito ang pinaka-mahirap. Three parties joined forces against me, so my team and I had to work harder. Ang daming issues na ibinato sa akin but fortunately, as the election results showed, my constituents didn’t believe them.”
Her husband Ralph Recto, who ran again for senator, is among the Top 12 in the race as shown by the still incomplete returns.
“Until the end of the campaign,” added Vi, “I never resorted to mud-slinging or character-assassinating. I maintained the positive thrust of my campaign.”
Vi sufficiently answered the three issues hurled against her, to wit:
• She’s an absentee governor
“I’m a 24/7 public servant, 24/7 wife, 24/7 mother and 24/7 daughter to my 84-year-old mother (Milagros Santos). If they don’t see you in the office, they conclude that you are absent. But you can ask all the mayors of the 31 towns and three cities in Batangas and they will tell you that I regularly visit them and confer with them about their concerns...budget, etc.”
• She’s an “over-priced” official
“The records, which are intact at the Capitol Building, will bear me out. Malinis ang record ko.”
• She’s not doing anything
“On record din kung ano ang mga proyektong nagawa ko. I don’t have enough time to enumerate them.”
When her opponent, Armando Sanchez, died (replaced by his wife), Vi deliberately didn’t attend the wake as it might be turned into a political issue. She stopped campaigning in deference to the departed and his family. “But I prayed for him.”
Vi finished three terms as mayor of Lipa City before she ran for governor in 2007. On this her second term, she will continue her projects according to her HEART Program — H for Health, E for Education and Environment, A for Agriculture, R for Roads/Infrastructure and T for Tourism.
In the past seven years, Vi did only one movie, Star Cinema’s In My Life which has won her Best Actress awards.
Any follow-up?
“There are offers but I haven’t accepted any of them. I want to rest first and focus on my work in Batangas.”
After serving as governor, what?
“I don’t aspire for a higher position,” she insisted. “Tama na ‘yung hanggang governor,” adding, “Tapos na ang eleksyon. We should all work as a team in building (for the Batangueños) our province and (for everybody) our country.”
(Postscript: Gov. Vilma Santos wants to extend her “taos-pusong pasasalamat” to the Batangueños for trusting her, to her volunteers, watchers [especially the teachers] and to those who voted for her husband, Ralph Recto, “my mentor.”)
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“I was ready to be a congressman’s wife,” Lucy told Funfare in an exclusive interview, “and I ended up the congresswoman.”
It was destiny. The only member of the Torres clan who ever ventured into politics was Lucy’s grandfather who served as mayor of Ormoc City.
“It wasn’t hard for me to convince Lucy to run,” recalled Richard.
“At first, my reaction was, ‘Oh no!’,” said Lucy. “But then, I believe in Richard’s dream and I wanted to pursue it. I also want to vindicate Richard na masyado na talagang aping-api.”
Winning by a landslide (“Even if we spent very little compared to what our opponent spent on the campaign,” said Richard), Lucy shares the honor of being the first (two) actresses to be a congresswoman with Lani Mercado (wife of reelected Bong Revilla who’s leading in the senatorial race), who won in Cavite.
The Congress is star-studded, with outgoing Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former First Lady Imelda Marcos and Manny Pacquiao added to the honor roll.
“We beat a dynasty,” said Richard, “and that made our victory even sweeter.”
Prayer helped, according to Lucy.
“It was The One Above who guided me in making a decision,” said Lucy who will work for Richard’s programs covering employment, livelihood and tourism.
Her work in Congress won’t get in the way of Lucy’s showbiz career which she describes as “very light,” since it includes hosting only two shows, Sweet Life on Q11 and PO5 on TV5.
The couple has a child, Juliana, who’s turning 10 on Sept. 8 (Feast of Our Lady of Nativity; Lucy is a Marian devotee).
So are they putting on hold their plan to have another child?
“No,” they chorused. “We are working hard at it.”
Even during the gruelling 45-day campaign, Richard and Lucy took time out to spend private moments.
“Hindi tumigil ang labing-labing,” revealed Richard.
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)