Noynoy, girlfriend miss privacy

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said his girlfriend, Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad, is not used to being hounded by the media despite being a politician herself and now misses her privacy.

“Kawawa naman, parang may paparazzi na,” Noynoy told The STAR in jest in a telephone interview.

He also lamented that if he and Shalani are seen in public together these days, they would no longer have time to talk but would only grant interviews and entertain people.

“By the time we’re done, the night is through and we do not get to spend quality time together,” Noynoy said.

“My only wish is that we will have more time together. Where do we eat now to do that? In Laguna Lake or in Tawi-Tawi? The problem really now is that our lives have become a telenovela,” said Noynoy who also said he would like to keep his personal life private as much as possible.

Noynoy said Shalani told him about media requests for interview. He told Shalani it’s okay with him and it’s up to her to decide. But he warned her that once she grants an interview to one, she should grant an interview to all.

But Noynoy said he could understand why people are curious about his personal life, especially now that he’s being coaxed to run for president.

Noynoy admitted that he was having two big problems now – how to keep his love life private for the sake of Shalani and calls for him to run as president in next year’s elections.

Asked when they are getting married, Noynoy said: “How can we mature the relationship if we won’t have much time together being very public?”

He also said he would rather talk about national issues than delve into his personal life.

“There should be balance in life. We want to mature the relationship and so I think it would be better for me to talk about issues involving the nation rather than my personal life,” Noynoy said.

Attractive and intelligent

Pressed to describe his girlfriend, Noynoy said “Shalani is attractive and intelligent” and they get along very well since “she is a fellow politician.”

He said they bumped into each other last year at a restaurant in Tomas Morato in Quezon City, where Shalani was having a dinner-meeting with fellow officials in Valenzuela.

“I happened to be there because I had a meeting too. After that, we went to Starbucks (in front of the restaurant) and had coffee with friends. The rest is history,” he said.

Twenty-nine-year-old Shalani is 20 years younger than Noynoy. She was born on April 20, 1980 based on her profile posted on the Internet while Noynoy was born on Feb. 8, 1960.

Shalani is a native of Catanduanes and worked at UNTV as host of a morning show and also as executive staff of Sen. Panfilo Lacson. She finished Bachelor of Science in Human Resources Management at De La Salle University-College of St. Benilde.

She was elected councilor in 2004. Those who have met Shalani described her as “very quiet” and would rather keep a low profile.