Who are the five people you admire the most?

A few years back, author Mitch Albom posed the literary question, “Who are the five people you would meet in heaven?” This week, as we approach Christmas, I’d like to extend that question to the earthly plain as well, and so I’ve asked a group of esteemed individuals from various vocations to tell me who the five people they admire the most — living or dead — are and what made them such great influences on their lives.

VIVIAN YUCHENGCO, investment banker

I admire Alan Greenspan for his economics and foresight, Lee Kuan Yew for turning Singapore into the disciplined and developed nation it is today, my ex-father-in-law Teodoro Locsin Sr. for never bending over backwards for anyone and leaving a legacy of integrity and strength, Winston Garcia for his guts in cleaning up and modernizing GSIS and my sister Connie Gonzalez for being the super-wife, mother, sister and woman that I never became.

MIRIAM QUIAMBAO, former Bb. Pilipinas, TV host

1. Oprah Winfrey. I admire that she uses her wisdom, power and influence to make a difference in people’s lives.

2. Angelina Jolie. I admire her beauty and her intense talent. I also like that she uses her celebrity power as a UN ambassador. I wouldn’t mind having a baby and living with Brad Pitt either.

Former Senator VICENTE “TITO” SOTTO

1. John Bellizzi, for his passion in fighting illegal drugs.

2. Jacques de Molay for being the best example of bravery and moral uprightness

3. Charlie Chaplin for being a genius in music and comedy.

4. Earl Woods for introducing and honing the best golfer in the world

5. Paul McCartney for his immense talent in composing songs.

Senate President MANNY VILLAR

I highly regard Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh for his breadth of vision and pioneering efforts at economic reforms; Deng Xiaoping for remaking China, which has helped lift millions of peasants out of poverty; and Russian President Vladimir Putin for restoring the pride of his people.

Former Senator SERGE OSMENA

1. Saint Thomas More: scholar, author and statesman. He refused the King’s command to renounce his faith.

2. Nelson Mandela. He transcended the bitterness of 27 years in prison and led the successful transition to freedom and equality for blacks and whites in his native South Africa.

3. Abraham Lincoln. Abolished slavery yet preserved the union of states. He took great risks for the greater good.

4. Winston Churchill. A man of many parts: author, historian, orator, strategist, soldier, statesman.

5. Mahatma Gandhi. The spiritual and political leader of the Indian nation.

Runners-up: Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa.

MARICHU MACEDA, movie prooducer

1. The late Fernando Poe Jr. Since he had no political debts on his shoulders, the political landscape would have radically changed if he’d become president.

2. Socorro Ramos of National Book Store. She built her whole life and that of her family around books, making them available and affordable to Filipino children. What better legacy to leave? 

3. My father, Jose. R. Perez, for his unusual creativity in plucking out faces that he built into stars whose value has multiplied many times over and they are still around, respected and admired.

4. My mother, Azucena Vera Perez, for her strength and her wisdom, and her nurturing of our Sampaguita stars that ensured the longevity they have until today.

5. Former President Ferdinand Marcos. For his kindness, extreme kindness, and concern for his staff, security and household in Hawaii during his years in exile.

GINA LOPEZ, managing director, ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.

1. Sen. Antonio Trillanes. He is quixotic and impractical but the guy has guts. And, seeing him on TV, my sense is that he is sincere. It is unfortunate that he has inconvenienced so many, but his “do or die” sincerity moves me.

2. ABS-CBN news and public affairs. My heart swells with pride knowing that I am in the company of individuals who are ready to risk their lives and face danger just to do their duty and deliver news to the public.

3. Samuel Sagan. My meditation teacher. He is actually way up there on the list. The techniques I have learned from him have and continue to alter my life immeasurably.

4. US Senator Barak Obama. When I heard him declare his candidacy on YouTube, tears welled up in my eyes. Listening to the Democratic debates, he brought a fresh breath of sincerity, intelligence and compassion to the scene.

5. The Filipino. We are a race like no other. Our unique brand of heart, warmth, innocence and simplicity, plus our brilliance, our creativity, our musicality, our spirituality — and even our irrepressible humor — is an image I have before me as I continue, no holds barred, in the fulfilling task of service to this country.

Senator MIRIAM DEFENSOR SANTIAGO

1.  Marie Curie, for her legendary achievements in science, including the discovery of radium, and her two Nobel prizes in physics and chemistry.

2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for his unequalled musicality and genius, a precocious pianist at three years old, an intensely productive composer, and an irredeemable loss to civilization when he died at 35 years old.

3.  Aldous Huxley, for his great wit and the stunning intellect of his writings, particularly The Perennial Philosophy, which he defines as “the metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality substantial to the world of things and lives and minds.”

4.  Keith Ward, Regis professor of divinity at Oxford University, for his unique authoritative approach to the compatibility of a scientific worldview and the existence of a creator God, expressed in a renowned series of books on modern theology.

5. Margaret Thatcher, for her tenacity and passion for change, for radically changing Britain and its place in the world, and for always charging like a world-class battleship at full steam ahead.

6. Lee Kuan Yew, for his brilliant, incisive intellect, and for transforming Singapore from Third World to First.

BEN CHAN, Bench owner

1. Jaime Zobel De Ayala. Architect, diplomat, businessman and artist. A formidable force behind the great Ayala empire, he is also a renaissance man whose stature and eminence has not hindered his constant quest for self-expression as an artist. He is truly an icon in both business and the arts.

2. Henry Sy. The Dean of Philippine retail. From his birthplace in Jinjiang, near Xiamen, he was brought to Manila at age 12 to assist in his father’s fledgling sari-sari store business. As a young man, he was in the shoe business in Carriedo from which grew the SM Group that has since diversified into retail, real estate and banking. Henry Sy proved that with a lot of luck, hard work, determination and vision, there is no limit to what one can achieve.

3. Oscar Niemeyer. Celebrating his 100th birthday on Dec. 15, one of the titans of modern architecture is still active in his profession and has lost none of his zest for life.

4. Rei Kawakubo. Founder and creative force of the iconic fashion brand Comme des Garcons. Educated in the fine arts and literature and without any formal training in fashion, she founded her own fashion house in 1973 which has developed its own cult following from its deconstructivist, minimalist and austere style. An influence on such designers as Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester and Helmut Lang, Kawakubo proved that to succeed in fashion, one need not go with the flow.

5. Gilda Cordero Fernando. Writer, book publisher, book editor, antiques dealer, visual artist, art curator, wife, mother and grandmother. Her one driving passion is for Filipinos to appreciate their being Filipino. At 76, she is as hip and youthful as ever. As she wrote in one of her recent articles: “Enjoy, be Pinoy; bahala na si Batman!”

Senator MIGUEL ZUBIRI

1. My parents, because they taught me the value of serving the people and for teaching me how to survive adversity and live life to the fullest.

2. John F. Kennedy. In the short time he served as president of the United States, he was both well loved and respected by people around the world.

3. Al Gore. We both share the passion for environmental protection but the difference is he was preaching the message ever since I was a toddler. 

4. Tony Meloto, for believing that if we put our hearts and minds together, we can build every Filipino a home.

5. Jesus Christ. He was the son of God who came to earth as a mere mortal. He suffered and sacrificed himself for our sins. He truly is the hero of my life.