MANILA, Philippines - The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men — from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms. — Oliver Wendell Holmes
All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother. — Abraham Lincoln
The hope for a better Philippine future lies in leaders now on the threshold of power, candidates whose moral values, work ethic, worldview and dreams have been largely shaped by their first teachers — their remarkable mothers. If they succeed, honor goes to their great mothers, but if they fail, it’s their own fault for failing their moms’ lofty expectations.
A mother is the most important influence on the lives of her children, infinitely more so than fathers. She affects not just the future of her children, but also her family’s long-term destiny.
Of course, the most famous mother of all national-election candidates is the late President Cory C. Aquino, the icon of democracy, whose death last year single-handedly catapulted her only son into the presidential race. More than even Senator Ninoy Aquino, it was the selflessness and moral courage of Cory hat became the main credentials of Noynoy in his pledge to be the antithesis of the allegedly corrupt and Machiavellian President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
I consider the late President Cory Aquino an idol to many, including myself, and my Philippine STAR interview with her a few years ago was said to be among her most candid and certainly unforgettable for me. I regret that I did not take her up on her invitation for me to tour the Aquino Center in Tarlac, with her personally touring me through history. I had also suggested to her that she should write her memoirs for a global release and she said she would do so, covering the time up to the 1986 Edsa uprising, but apparently she didn’t have the time to write the book.
It is mainly her goodwill and my respect for her that are the main reasons I’m favorably predisposed towards her kids — the controversial but smart Kris Aquino and the quiet Noynoy.
As a mother, Cory spoiled Kris and that only son Noynoy was probably her real favorite though he was an underperformer and a late bloomer.
The biggest challenge of Noynoy Aquino is to live up to his late mother’s reputation.
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What about the other remarkable mothers of other candidates? Recently, at a lunch in Annabelle’s resto with senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, herself a widow and single mom to four kids, I asked her about the mothers of the various top election candidates. She told me that her own mother, Teresita “Chit” Navarro-Hontiveros, used to be executive secretary to Senator Raul Manglapus and she once competed in the Miss Caltex beauty pageant.
Though not in the same political camp, Risa said of Nacionalista Party presidentiable Manny Villar’s 86-year-old seafood vendor mother Curita “Nanay Curing” Bamba Villar: “A mother cannot be wrong about her own child and his past. Parang she recently relived her past hardships in defense of her son. I am a mother, I understand her passion in defending her son. All of us who are mothers would do that for our kids. We politicians should never criticize mothers — that should be a ‘No Fly Zone’ in political debates. I respect Nanay Curing in the same way I respect all mothers. I myself am a mother.”
Curita “Curing” Bamba traces her roots to Sasmuan, Pampanga, and transferred to the coastal town of Orani, Bataan. After World War II, she helped her parents to ride sailboats to Manila’s North Harbor to peddle seafood, then the earnings she would use to buy products from Manila to bring home and resale in Orani. It was at the fish port of Tondo where she would meet future husband Manuel “Maning” Villar Sr., a fish inspector of the Bureau of Fisheries. Villar was originally from the fish port of Tanza and also from Dumanggas, both in Iloilo.
After marriage, the couple lived in a tenement dwelling in the Moriones part of Tondo, Manila. This place was eventually bought three years ago by self-made realty tycoon Manny Villar from the family of Concorcia Duzon, whose niece Lerio Duzon Bautista was the late wife of Justice Raul Victorino.
Aling Curing was an enterprising seafood vendor in nearby Divisoria, where son Manny used to assist her. It was no doubt Aling Curing who inspired her son to become an entrepreneur, a dreamer and a future leader. Imbibing the discipline and hard work of his mother, Villar studied at University of the Philippines to become an accountant and later on took up master’s in business administration (MBA), also at UP. Up to this day, Aling Curing still tends to her own sari-sari store despite the wealth of her son as a top real estate billionaire.
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Another remarkable mother who has given the Philippines one of our brightest political leaders is Lakas presidentiable Gilbert “Gibo” Cojuangco Teodoro’s ex-lawmaker mother Mercedes “Ditas” Cojuangco-Teodoro. I had the privilege to meet a few weeks ago at their family’s topnotch Kimpura resto in Greenhills, San Juan.
While having lunch and hearing the brilliant Gibo’s ideas on the state of the nation, his mother opened the door to peek and I asked her how she managed to raise such a fine son whose whole life exemplifies excellence.
Gibo shyly said with a smile: “My mom will not answer that.”
But she did. The proud mother shared that her son has always been a very good filial son, a naturally intelligent person with moral courage.
Less well-known than her brother, San Miguel Corp. chairman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., or her first cousin ex-President Cory Cojuangco Aquino, Ditas is herself a brilliant lawyer and from whom Gibo must have inherited a lot of his intellectual gifts.
Ditas is a lawyer, a summa cum laude graduate from the University of Santo Tomas and a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Southern California. She married a smart, respected and good executive in the late SSS Administrator Gilberto Teodoro, who was formerly with the World Bank in charge of the Philippine desk.
Gibo is multi-lingual. He is fluent in Tagalog, Ilocano and others, and also studied Mandarin. A friend of Ditas said her unica hijo (only son) Gibo used to be a happy-go-lucky type of kid, but he became serious upon studying at the University of the Philippines where he was top of his class and won the “Dean’s Medal of Academic Excellence,” and later also topped the bar. He also excelled at Harvard Law School where he studied his masters of law.
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Another presidentiable whose late mother was remarkable and whom I had the privilege to meet was Bagumbayan Party presidentiable Richard “Dick” Gordon.
His late mother Amelita Juico Gordon was an extraordinary woman with passion and a strong personality. Her husband was a victim of a bloody political assassination and she was a strong woman who raised a distinguished family. It must have been his mother who inspired Dick to excel as an Ateneo student leader, lawyer, Olongapo Mayor and dynamic administrator of Subic.
Indeed, the mother of Dick was also a mayor of Olongapo City, she was a very talented entrepreneur who was in diverse businesses, and she championed socio-civic causes. I can’t forget that when I had the chance to chat with her at the early part of the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration, she unhesitatingly commented: “Former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos looked perfect in the butterfly-sleeved terno, but not Gloria M. Arroyo, it doesn’t look good on her due to her lack of height. I wouldn’t recommend her wearing that.”
Senatorial bet Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel said: “The mother of Dick Gordon was a long-time widow. Up to the end of her life, she was an active leader and a philanthropist. My impressions of her? Ang ganda ganda niya. (She was very beautiful).”
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