The healing and caring heart of Vi

MANILA, Philippines - There was no “healing” session but a lot of “hiling” (request) for photo ops with the Star for all Seasons, Vilma Santos-Recto, when she came to our radio station, DWBR, of the Bureau of Broadcast at Visayas Ave., Quezon City last July 31 at 11 a.m.

Fresh from the success of her new movie, The Healing, Vilma accepted our invitation to read love poems in my radio program, The Law of the Heart is Love, which will be aired on Saturday, Aug. 4, from 8 to 9 p.m. with replay on Sunday, Aug. 5, over DWBR, 104.3FM.

No less than her devoted husband, Sen. Ralph Recto, practically served as my “guest coordinator.” 

“Naku, Atty. Mac, before we slept last night, Ralph even reminded me about your program, kaya ganoon ka kalakas sa kanya. At siyempre, sa akin because I really liked the poems you requested me to read,” Vilma said.

Our recording studio was jampacked with employees of the Bureau of Broadcast who patiently waited until Vilma finished reading three poems and the casual interview I had with her. But I would admit that I was as excited as the others. I myself was so star-struck at nabulol nga ako in one part of the interview.

The one-on-one personal encounter I had with Vilma made me realize why she is so loved and admired by her millions of fans. Not only as a multi-awarded movie and TV actress but also as a public servant being the incumbent governor of the Province of Batangas and a former three-term mayor of Lipa City.

She warmly and wholeheartedly accommodated all those who came to witness the pre-taping of her episode in my radio show and even invited an employee to her side when she noticed “baligtad ang pagkuha ng photo on her cellphone.”

“Naku, baligtad ang camera mo. Halika ka na rito and let someone take our picture,” she said as she held the hand of her fan and brought her to her side while asking someone to take the shot.

Actually, because of the big number of fans who came to the studio, it was agreed that they would just have a “group picture” with Vilma as she had to rush to another urgent appointment. But after the “group photo,” she could not resist the request by the same people to have individual poses with her. Kaya lalong tumagal ang stay niya sa station.

I could feel her warmth and care for her fans as she affectionately gave in to their once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“Oh, itong isang ito, kanina pa, halika na baka maunahan ka pa ng iba,” she commented. And so, almost everybody got what they wanted — to have an individual photo souvenir with the Vilma Santos.

She read the prayerful poem, Faith in God, and a love poem Because of You, both written by James J. Metcalfe and a Tagalog love poem, Pag-Ibig, by Jose Corazon de Jesus. And you could really feel the meaning of each word of love as she read these poems.

Before Vilma left, she signed the news clippings about her, which I collected for the occasion. And one of these was Ricky Lo’s feature article on her 50th year in the showbiz industry, which appeared on the front page of the Entertainment Section of The Philippine STAR on July 22, including a newspaper ad of her movie, The Healing.

(About the author: Macalintal is an election lawyer who hosts the radio show, The Law of the Heart is Love, which airs every Saturday, 8 to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 9 to 10 p.m., over DWBR, where he plays love songs and reads love poems with celebrities as guest poem readers. The entire proceeds generated from advertisements of his sponsors directly go to the scholarship program of the Mission Guided By Mary Foundation, Inc., which is now supporting 450 poor elementary and high school students of various Catholic parishes nationwide.)