Gov. Imee Marcos on Imeldific, Juan Luna, P-Noy, Vilma, Deng Xiaoping, Danding & Piolo Pascual

Ilocos Note Governor Maria Imelda “Imee” Romualdez Marcos has led an almost cinematic and topsy-turvy life — teenage years in Malacañang Palace as eldest presidential daughter; graduating with honors from British and California schools, America’s Princeton University and University of the Philippines’ College of Law; a political youth leader under the authoritarian regime of her parents President Ferdinand E. Marcos and First Lady Imelda R. Marcos; head of Experimental Cinema of the Philippines (ECP) behind such classics as Himala and Oro, Plata, Mata; exile after the 1986 EDSA uprising in Hawaii, Morocco, Europe and Singapore; eloping, raising kids as a single parent, remarrying; returning to become three-term congresswoman and now a dynamic governor.

Just before the La Virgen Milagrosa Festival on May 10 in the seaside sand dunes of Paoay, Ilocos Note, Governor Imee Marcos gave Philippine STAR this exclusive interview:  

PHILIPPINE STAR: Why is it Ilocos Norte province has so many heroes in history, like the revolutionary and Philippine Independent Church leader Gregorio Aglipay, the brothers General Antonio Luna and the painter Juan Luna?

GOVERNOR IMEE R. MARCOS: Ewan ko nga, gusto yata nila magpakamatay (laughs), may death wish yata, exage, OA nga kami (No idea, maybe they wanted to commit suicide — exaggeration, we’re maybe just overacting). We not only have many old heroes, but also new heroes like the overseas Filipino workers. Among our many heroes include the women’s suffrage advocate, Girls Scouts of the Philippines founder and World War II martyr Josefa Llanes Escoda of Dingras town in Ilocos Norte; there’s also the first Filipino Olympic medalist and World War II hero Teofilo Yldefonso of Piddig municipality in Ilocos Norte, he was known as the “Ilocano Shark,” winning bronze medals in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics in Amsterdam and Los Angeles…

You had a shark, in history you also had a viper — the nom-de-guerre of General Artemio Ricarte when he fought against colonialism by the Spaniards and the Americans…

Yes (smiles), El Vibora was the name used by General Ricarte… The rebel priest Gregorio Aglipay we heard people say he was also our relative, tsismis daw iyung anting-anting niya (the gossip said that his amulet) was passed on by him to our late father, that’s what the old ladies in Batac said. They’re all from Batac — Aglipay, General Ricarte and our dad President Marcos.

You Ilocanos are reputed to be hardy people?

Ang puhunan namin dito ay mga tao (People are our capital here). We have dead heroes and new heroes. Our land here is harsh, not many arable lands, and we have mountains in the Ilocano region — like the Cordillera, the Caraballo and Sierra Madre mountains. We need to struggle for survival. You know, our main products in the Ilocano region are not tobacco and rice, we produce presidents (laughs). Ang yabang ‘no? (This sounds like bragging, doesn’t it?) Kidding aside, how many Philippine presidents have there been with Ilocano roots? There’s Ramon Magsaysay, Elipidio Quirino, also Gloria Macapagal Arroyo…

Also your dad President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Yes, also FVR (Fidel V. Ramos). You have to consider that we Ilocanos are not so many, we’re only a small percentage of the whole Philippine population. We work harder, because of the harsh conditions of our land. Most of the farms here are small, we have no big haciendas here. The average size of each farm or landholding is only 0.7 hectares.

On the topic of presidents, your thoughts on your brother Senator Bongbong Marcos as a possible future president?

I don’t know with him… Actually, being president is destiny. Siyempre kailangang magsumipag ka at maghahanda ka (Of course, you need to be hardworking and to always be prepared), but at the end of the day, it’s ultimately destiny.

That’s what happened to Noynoy…

Yes, in fairness to P-Noy, hindi naman niya inambisyon, pero hindi na niya maiwasan (he didn’t have ambition for it, but he just couldn’t avoid it).

How do you objectively assess his presidency so far?

I think P-Noy is confronted with so many problems, and he’s trying to do the best he can… but we have to focus on the big picture of economic growth and social development, even if political and other problems appear urgent. It’s all about the need for more infrastructures, for example, and yet we’re not investing enough. Here in our own small way in Ilocos Norte, we have world-class roads, but they’re very old, almost 40 years already, since the time of our father pa.

Years ago, Senator Ed Angara once told me that your dad was the only guy in Philippine history who as a kid planned to be president and actually achieved his ambition.

(Smiles) Ibang level naman kasi iyon eh (It’s because he’s one of a kind).

How is it being a provincial governor, a position which your brother once also held?

My brother is working in the Senate, he was governor here for nine years. I’ve actually been avoiding the local government, because it’s very time-bound; it’s almost like McDonalds’s, 24 hours a day. Local government can also be mean-spirited and petty, but I’m also finding now that it’s also potentially creative, because you have to be creative to solve really age-old problems at the grassroots level, especially with our scarce resources.

I heard you’re envisioning Ilocos Norte as a major Philippine tourist destination. How?

Yes, Ilocos Norte has great tourism potential. Basically we’re now developing the seaside Paoay municipality, with our “Paoay Kumakaway” (Paoay waving our hands) tourism promotions campaign. We’re developing it with a master plan, according to the UNESCO world heritage designation for our old church. We’re doing the master plan with top architect Jun Palafox.

So you have an old church in Paoay, plus…?

Yes, the church, also the unique sand dunes here. We have 150 kilometers of coastline; this is not only unusual, it’s also the only one of its kind in Southeast Asia, except for some part of Vietnam but there it’s only kapiraso lang (only a small portion). Before the local folks would cry over these sand dunes, because they couldn’t farm there, but movie directors here and abroad love the sand dunes. Many movies were shot there, like Nora Aunor’s Himala, and Temptation Island. Every year before the late Fernando Poe, Jr. would shoot his Panday films here, even Senator Bong Revilla’s modern-day versions of Panday, too, were shot here. Cirio Santiago’s B-movie for the US entitled Striker was also shot here.

I heard foreign movies were also shot in these Paoay sand dunes?

Yes, Hollywood movies like Mel Gibson’s Mad Max, Tom Cruise’s Born on the Fourth of July, and some other Vietnam films. The second Temptation Island with Marian Rivera, Lovi Poe, Heart Evangelista and others was also shot here. Nowadays, various sports activities are being held there. When we were kids, it was like this place was sinumpa (cursed), because the local people couldn’t do farming there. Then I remember our dad started planting Mediterranean pines here called Balearic pines from the Mediterranean. People started doing sports there. Now they do 4 x 4 racing, sand boarding, sand kiting, zorb balls, ATV or all-terrain vehicles races and all sorts of other fun sports here. 

You’ve also made these sand dunes into a place for arts?

Yes, we’ve invited installation artists here because of its unusual landscape, like Leeroy New and also the Ilocano group of artists called Gerilya. Leeroy New is a top avant-garde artist, he’s well-known in Tokyo and Singapore. He likes the Paoay sand dunes. The galleon artwork he did here is also in honor of the La Virgen Milagrosa, patron saint of our province.

What about Paoay Lake?

For so long, Paoay Lake has not been activated. You know, when we were growing up, we were afraid of that place due to the legend we heard, that it was the Sodom and Gomorrah story of the Philippines, that it used to be a rich place, but excessive materialism caused God to send a big flood to drown the whole place. As kids, we heard old folks say that the fish in Paoay Lake had earrings and crowns, because they were the rich people who used to live in that area, and we were horrified. We heard that at the bottom of the lake, there were towers and palaces. We heard those tales as children, and we were afraid. There were only some courageous fishermen who would dare fish in the lake.  

Wow, that’s an exotic legend. What about its tourism potential?

Paoay Lake is now developing as a leisure place, with such sports as kayaking, paddle boating, etc. In fact, our friend Camarines Sur Governor L-Ray Villafuerte — who’s half-Ilocano, because his mom is Ilocano — would come here and we’d brag that his watersports complex was only four hectares and here we had 472 hectares. I would jokingly tell L-Ray: “Yours is man-made, ours here is God-given.” He would reply in good humor that it’s true, but we haven’t fully utilized the potential of Paoay Lake yet. In fact, it’s ironic that the first to really see the tourism potential of beautiful Paoay Lake are foreigners, the birdwatchers from Taiwan.

What kind of birds did they see there?

The great cormorants from Russia, it’s a duck bird. They come here during winter. From November to December when it’s very cold winter in Russia, the cormorants are black and big. From November to December, Paoay Lake looks almost all-white because of so many ducks and migratory birds. We’ve been adding fish to the lake, in order to prolong their stay there. Now, they stay from November to April, maybe it’s also partly due to climate change. They come not only from Russia, but also from as far as from Canada. We’re now segregating the Paoay Lake for bird watching. When I first saw the foreign birdwatchers, I thought they were preparing to go to war due to their apparel, their long and sophisticated equipment which turned out to be telescopes and special cameras.

It’s Mother’s Day today. How is it being a single mother?

Yes… I think there are all kinds of single mothers… I plan to talk to the DSWD and other local government officials to (explain) that we have to be more liberal in our descriptions of the family. With due respect to the conservative elements of our society, our notion of the Filipino family has evolved with such factors as the modern phenomenon of OFWs and migrant workers. Like here in Ilocos Norte, we feel the feminization of labor, with so many women going overseas to work as domestic helpers and nurses, or as teachers. If a mother is overseas and not present in the family, is it no longer a family because the heart and soul of the family is abroad?

Your grandfather Mariano Marcos served as governor of Davao in the pre-war era?

Yes, of old Davao and Cotabato. In the 1930s, he was deputado under President Quezon. He sent Ilocanos to help develop the agriculture in Mindanao. The Ilocanos who went there were so happy, because of the big arable lands, no typhoons there, and lots of water supplies. In Hawaii too, before, Japanese vegetable farmers worked with Ilocano migrant laborers. Ilocanos also went to Alaska for fishing. Do you know the pre-war expatriate Filipino novelist and poet Carlos Bulosan was also an Ilocano from Pangasinan?

When did Ilocanos start migrating overseas in a big way?

I think during the late 19th century, maybe more around 1910, there were already Ilocano migrant laborers — not overseas Filipino workers. Maybe other waves of Ilocanos going overseas were during the 1960s, also 1974 when the OFW Act was signed by my father.

Outside of Ilocos and the Philippines, where would you like to live ideally?

I’m now married to a Singaporean. Singapore is fun to visit, but I’m not sure if I want to live there, because it’s so mahal (expensive)! (Laughs) Do you know just the right to buy a car in Singapore, it’s actually more expensive than the price of a car?

What about Europe?

I used to live in Europe as a student, and also when I was in exile. It’s comfortable, but I haven’t visited there for a long time since.

How many years in exile there? I thought you lived in Morocco, instead of Europe?

Six years. Morocco is only two hours away from Europe, from Spain, etc. During my student years, I was in Europe, like, forever (smiles).

You speak French and some other European languages?

French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, etc. Maybe I forgot it all.

Are the rumors true that your mom Imelda wanted you to marry the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, or a scion of the Italian Agnelli business clan?

Hindi naman siguro (I don’t think so)… But of course, parents are always ambitious and want the best for their kids.

You, your brother Bongbong and sister Irene are all very smart and well-educated. Do you believe in what Lee Kuan Yew said about eugenics?

What did Lee Kuan Yew say?

Lee believes that well-educated and smart people marrying each other tend to produce kids or descendants with better genes or higher probability of being smart too.

(Laughs) Lahi kami ng mga school teachers. Di ba? (We’re descended from school teachers, isn’t it) in school, we usually have classmates who are very smart or studious whose parents are teachers? Our mom’s dad Vicente Orestes Lopez Romualdez was dean of the College of Law in Divine World College in Leyte. Our mother was herself a grade one teacher in a Chinese school in Tacloban, she had taught people like Jimmy Yaokasin and others.

Yes, on your Marcos side, President Marcos’s parents were teachers too?

Both our paternal grandfathers were public school teachers. In fact, our lola (grandma) Josefa was once a public school librarian in the school which is now called Araullo, I think. Our grandma had two master’s degrees, one in education and another in library science. In our home, our parents prioritized studying, arts, music, while politics had a near second place. We used to joke about the nine o’clock rule, because our dad didn’t like us to talk about politics after 9 p.m., he said he’d get bored.

What’s the secret behind your mom’s energy?

(Laughs) Hindi ko talaga alam, ibang level ‘yon (I really don’t know, she’s really one of a kind)! She’s really hyper-hyper manic. She’s so busy in Manila, she’s our congresswoman now.

Is it true that she sleeps only four hours per night, like Margaret Thatcher, Donald Trump, Napoleon, Churchill, Bill Clinton and Albert Einstein?

Two to four hours only of sleep per night, kaya niya (she could take it). But hindi naman insomnia (it’s not a case of insomnia), because if she has the time, she can actually sleep for one whole day like a snake. Nakakakaba nga, nakakatakot, kasi hindi siya kumikibo isang araw pag natulog, kung may time lang (It’s actually worrisome and we’d be afraid, because she wouldn’t move at all when she sleeps the whole day, if she only has the time) she’d do that.

You once mentioned to me that your mother told you that she always dresses up very well for the public, more so when she visited the smallest rural barrios because it’s possible she’d be the only national leader to have ever visited there. Are you the same?

Yes, she’s like that, but I’m not a good example. (Laughs) Look, here I am wearing only shorts and T-shirt, but it’s because I just came from distributing pigs to rural barangays. But our mother, she’s not… she makes no concessions. I couldn’t forget many years ago after a typhoon, she rode a helicopter to visit the School for the Arts in Mount Makiling, I still have old photos of her wearing a trench coat amidst the muds. She looked perfect, as if she just stepped out of Vogue.

Is it true that China’s legendary reformist leader Deng Xiaoping was once your mom’s tour guide when she visited Beijing?

Not just a tour guide, Deng Xiaoping was our driver. He asked our parents during our state if they would like to see Beijing at night, he wanted to personally drive us around. I remember our dad jokingly asking him if he really knows how to drive. Deng laughed and replied that the last time he was “re-educated” — that term was used in the “Cultural Revolution” to refer to having been punished or purged) — he worked as a truck driver. When dad heard that, he was laughing and laughing… Deng Xiaoping was punished and purged three times.

Wow, Deng Xiaoping — whom statesmen from Lee Kuan Yew to Western politicos and historians consider one of the world’s great leaders — was really your driver?

Not only him, Cuba’s President Fidel Castro also drove my mom and I. We still have a picture of that. Sayang (What a waste), we don’t have pictures of Deng Xiaoping driving us. (Laughs) I remembered our dad asking Deng that night: “What’s the plan?” Deng replied: “I’ll show you.” Of course, Beijing now is a great city, it’s barely recognizable from what it used to be then in the 1970s when we visited. There’s a real human side to all these great leaders of history.

A Shanghai tycoon once told me he was a kid when he and others in China were shocked to see their godlike leader Mao Zedong kissing the hand of your mom Madame Imelda Marcos, it was unprecedented daw. Do you remember that?

Yes, our mom’s very spontaneous. It’s Filipino style, expressing respect for elders with mano po or kissing of the hand. I think Chairman Mao was kind of embarrassed and totally caught off guard by her gesture, so he also took our mom’s hand and kissed it, that was shown on TV, they were so shocked. That was not calculated, our mother is always spontaneous. She explained that Chairman Mao looked grandfatherly, of course she just had to make the mano po gesture.

If you didn’t go into politics, where would you want to be?

I’m sure in arts, production, in film. I’m interested in all creative media, in film, graphic arts. Nowadays, I’m realizing that local government requires you to be creative, that local governance is really changing.

I heard one of your projects to promote arts last year was dubbed “Looking for Johnny Moon,” referring to Ilocano artist Juan Luna?

(Laughs) Yes, Johnny Moon is the digital tag of Juan Luna, the first global Filipino artist. His mustache is also part of our tourism promotion symbol.

What do you exactly mean by running local government being different now?

It’s no longer just providing the “RRS” of roads, rice and schools like in the old days, during our father’s time. Before, it was already okay if local leaders built roads, ensured sufficient rice and built schools, but local governments are now expected to do more to achieve economic growth — hyper growth of five percent per year or more, like that of our other Asian neighbors. As governor, I had to take crash courses in tourism, real estate development, master-planning, etc. We also need to establish consensus and hold public consultations, because people by nature are change-phobic, natatakot at nagagalit sa pagbabago (afraid of and angry at change). 

The challenges of local governments are very different now?

Our biggest concern now is generating jobs. Ilocos Norte is small, but we’re a first-class province. The burning concern is how to create more jobs. The question is: Where are the jobs? You know, Ilocos Norte now has a smaller population than it was during our father’s time. Walang benta dito ang RH Bill (The RH Bill won’t sell here). We need more jobs, not just always sending people overseas. There are limits to migrating and to the OFW model, and those have very high social costs.

Why are you unlike most of our politicians, who often gloat as though OFW remittances are the be-all, end-all solution to our Philippine economic needs?

We’re now overly dependent on dollar remittances by OFWs, in fact, we’ve become remittance addicts. I’m saddened that our Ilocano traditional values are being forgotten, old values like hard work and frugality, because OFWs keep sending money. People just send text messages asking for money or for pass-a-loads, they just go to bank ATMs. It has really become a curse for some families, with generation after generation just thinking of nothing but sending people to work overseas. We have to create more local jobs here to save our families. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being an OFW, but I believe we need to make mindful choices. I hope that our people wouldn’t see being an OFW like a kapit sa patalim (holding on to the blade of a knife) situation.

The political upheavals in Thailand of recent years, do they remind you of our political history, since your dad coincidentally used the color red also used by the controversial Thai strongman Thaksin Shinawatra, while the Thai opposition also used the yellow color of Cory Aquino?

(Laughs) Nakakatawa nga (It’s really funny). Yes, our dad used the color red and Thaksin also used red, they’re both also from the northern and agricultural regions, while the opposition forces used yellow color in both Thailand and the Philippines, and with support coming mainly from Bangkok and Metro Manila. When I watch the TV news from Thailand, I thought: Nang-iinis ba sila? Ginagaya ba nila ang Pilipinas? Ano ba ‘yan, replay ba ito? Sobrang funny (Are they annoying us? Are they copying us? What is all that about, is this a replay? Super funny)! (Laughs)

And I think the yellows there had their Thai king allegedly supporting them, and coincidentally the late Jaime Cardinal Sin of the Catholic Church at EDSA 1986 was also almost similar in terms of moral suasion?

(Laughs) Ikaw nagsabi niyan ah, hindi ako (You’re the one who said that, not me)!

What happened to the late President Marcos’s Malacañang of the North in Paoay?

That’s one think we thank P-Noy for, the national government had turned over the Malacañang of the North to our province in November 2010 under then Tourism Secretary Bertie Lim. Now it’s a tourist destination, and can also be used for functions.

How much of you is your mom Imelda, how much is your dad?

(Laughs) I’m more generous than my dad, because I’m only half Ilocano… The Ilocano people here say I’m the same as my father for being overly strict, especially here in the provincial capitol. It’s because I expect everyone to really work very hard and to provide genuine public service. I’m a bit of a slave driver, and I apply the law strictly… In Manila, they speak of transparency, here in Ilocos Norte my governance is openness, the capitol is totally open, not just figuratively but also literally. I’ve taken out all the fences around the provincial capitol.

What about your own grandma, the mother of your dad, Doña Josefa Edralin Marcos?

Actually I’m one of her favorite grandkids, because I was nerdy. She’s the typical Dep-Ed kind of person, an educator, so she liked me because I was always reading and had honors. Our grandma, she was the paragon of the single parent. When our grandfather lived in Mindanao, she was the one who raised her children alone in Ilocos and then in Ermita. Our dad went to Ermita public school. Then after the war, her husband — our lolo — was killed. 

Was the late President Marcos close to her mother? I read he once promised her “for every tear a victory.”

Yes, he was close to his mother. He always lived next to her, before in San Juan, then later in Malacañang. She used to live across the river, in that one-story place called Pangarap.

Is that the same place that’s now the bachelor’s pad of Noynoy? Did your dad start that place?

I don’t know if it was our dad, or maybe President Macapagal.

Any unforgettable advice from your grandma?

Yes, our grandma taught me a lesson that a lot of modern-day women need to know. She would advise me when I was still young: “Save money.” I asked whether she was referring to frugality, and she’d say: “No, you have to save money on your own. When someday you get married, you have to have your own secret drop-dead bank account.” I would ask: “What do you mean?” My grandma would reply: “What if something happens to your husband? What if he suddenly leaves?” She was teaching the importance of economic independence for women. I thought then that she’s like loka-loka (nuts), I was still young, I didn’t know then what she was talking about.

That’s a smart idea for a woman of her time; maybe lack of economic means prevented many wives from leaving their philandering husbands before?

Actually during the 1935 Nalundasan case, when our dad was a law student and accused of allegedly murdering a local politician, his mother — my grandma — paid for everything, his expenses such as looking for all the witnesses. She was remarkable.

By the way, when actor Piolo Pascual was co-star of the ABS-CBN 2 TV series Lobo with Angel Locsin, I remember he told me during a dinner that his ultimate dream movie role was to play Ferdinand E. Marcos. Your reaction?

I don’t really know Piolo Pascual, but I’m really a fan of his accomplishments as an actor, as a singer and also his work as an indie film producer. He’s great. He has really made films that are entertaining, really indie in spirit and with commercial success. Bongga siya (He’s cool)!

Any advice to Piolo on that controversy or old and perhaps unfair rumors?

Always be true to yourself, because at the end of the day, people will simply have to accept you, and those who don’t, they never had anything good to say anyway.

You were the most famous and sometimes controversial presidential daughter, until Kris Aquino came along. How do you compare with her?

(Laughs) Kris, she’s different, she’s a movie and TV star, I’m a governor. Maybe you’d like to compare me someday to Ate Vi (Vilma Santos)! (Laughs) Kris seems to be quiet these days.

How do you assess Governor Vilma Santos-Recto?

Ate Vi has done a good job as governor of Batangas province. Pang Famas ang kanyang pagiging governor (Her stint as governor deserves a Famas award)! Look at Lipa City when she was its mayor, they had many investors, nagmamayagpag si Ate Vi (Ate Vi is doing great). Here in Ilocos Norte, modesty aside, last year after the typhoon, we registered economic growth of 8.4 percent. After Holy Week this year, we had 11 percent economic growth, that’s a mini-boom compared to the laggardly national economic growth rate of 3.2 percent. Ilocos Norte is a good place to invest, we’re pro-business and we want to create jobs. I think we’re again on the business map.

Why are people investing here? I heard Save More of SM and Puregold are already here?

We don’t have a very big population, but investors are discovering that Ilocanos have money and they do spend even if we only wear slippers and dress simply. Ilocanos have big bank accounts, even dollar accounts. About five or six out of 10 Ilocanos can buy consumer goods. We have 42 banks here between Laoag and Batac, including not so well-known banks like Maybank. What’s sad is we’re not investing, because Ilocanos are not entrepreneurial. When I go by plane to Manila for meetings, I see bags of cash from Ilocos Norte banks being unloaded into armed trucks… I want to encourage Ilocanos and our OFWs to invest more in businesses, instead of building big houses which we call “wedding cake houses” or “Barbie Doll houses” built with remittances. We’d like to discourage conspicuous consumption, invest more.

Your family friend ex-President Erap Estrada, do you think he’s running for Manila mayor?

Oo naman (Yes, I think so), why leave your residence if you’re not running? Manila Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno, we love that guy, I got to know him due to Kuya Germs (German Moreno) before.

Who do you think should be National Artist first, Nora, Dolphy or Vilma?

Dolphy, unahin na, sobrang fans kami (him first, we’re his super fans).

The late Fernando Poe, Jr. and his wife Susan Roces were loyal to your parents?

Our father was their wedding godfather. I went to their wedding, it was Christmas, Dec. 25, but we, the kids, were just at the back in the car. Our dad was in barong Tagalog and he told us to just wait for him. I remember it was a simple wedding, not a big celebrity wedding. It was a tanan (elopement) wedding. I think they made tanan yata (elopement probably).

Who were the close friends of your dad?

My father had few very close friends, mostly from high school and his anti-Japanese guerrilla days. He went to UP High School.

Who were these few close friends?

Men like Bobby Benedicto.

What about Danding Cojuangco, why was he so close to your dad?

My father was like a surrogate father to him.

Why, did Danding lose his father?

I think Danding’s father died early, when he was still young. Our dad played surrogate father to several people, like Danding, Johnny Ponce Enrile and General Fabian Ver.

Enrile, maybe because he had no father figure since he was born out of wedlock to a fisherman’s daughter in Cagayan province, but was Ver also illegitimate or orphaned?

Yes, General Ver had no father, he was also born out of wedlock.

Your dad’s former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile is now doing so well as presiding officer of the Impeachment Trial at age 88. Your comments?

Ang galing ’no (He’s very good, right)? Tito Johnny has always been very intelligent. Our dad appointed the best people to serve his government. In choosing cabinet officials, it wasn’t only intellect, people also had to have character. Even for the technocrats, one had to also have character, because government service is so fraught with a lot of crises.

After Enrile’s alleged failed coup in 1986 leading to EDSA, how’s your family with him since?

I think Tito Johnny, he’s become very close to the family again.

Your dad had the best brains and talent in his cabinet, I remember Bobby Ongpin telling me how your dad recruited him to government without even knowing him personally but based on talent search only.

Yes, dad recruited the best leaders, the likes of Abad Santos, Ongpin, Ronnie Velasco, Cesar Virata, Bong Tanco, Joe Aspiras, Peping Roño, Blas Ople, Carlos Romulo, Sicat, even Ali Dimpaporo, Johnny Remulla of Cavite, Turing Tolentino, plus others. They had great minds, so he had extraordinary people skills.

Your parents and their era are still considered politically controversial or contentious, but for the sake of posterity, shouldn’t your family commission scholars to write your version of what happened just for the record and to guide future historians?

Yes, but there’s a real danger of having revisionist history. What is important is the truth should come out. There should not be one single predominating bias, just let truth out — whether the red truth or the yellow truth, or all the oranges in between. (Laughs)

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