Why P-Noy's US Secret Service agents 'dig' him

President Noynoy Aquino arrives today after a successful visit to the US, where he made an impression not only on investors and overseas Filipinos, but also on the Americans assigned to protect him.

By sticking to his core values, he made an impression not just by eating hotdogs on the streets of NYC, but also by refusing to eat — anywhere — if his Secret Service agents did not eat, too.

I asked one of his close-in assistants what she thought was most memorable about P-Noy’s first official trip to the US and she said, it was the Secret Service. Whether it was their looks or their efficiency, she didn’t elaborate.

But she added: “I think they dig Boss, too, because the President won’t eat unless they eat, too. They’re not used to it.”

P-Noy is being typically Pinoy by being considerate of those who work for him and are in his service. Filipinos are always mindful of those who assist them, especially drivers, and don’t want them to miss meals. Even if only out of courtesy, they will ask a person who chances upon them having a meal, even if that person is a subordinate, “Kumain ka na ba (Have you eaten)?” Perhaps, that is what made the hurly burly, usually unsmiling Secret Service agents, “dig” the Filipino President.

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I remember also that P-Noy’s mother, the late former President Cory Aquino, drew out the human side of the Secret Service detail assigned to her. During her first official visit to the US, she rehearsed her now legendary speech before Congress in a hotel room in DC with just a handful of people in attendance. After her rehearsal, she looked around the room and knew immediately that the speech would be a hit. For she saw her Secret Service agents wiping away their tears… (After delivering the speech the next day before the US Congress at the Capitol, she received a standing ovation. The Secret Service agents were spot-on.)

Being very feminine, Mrs. Aquino also did not hide her love for white chocolate mousse. She recalled to me once that during her state visit to the US, she would protest in jest to the Secret Service whenever she wasn’t able to finish her dessert because she had another pressing engagement to rush to.

At the end of her state visit, when she retired to her suite, guess what awaited her? A big bowl of white chocolate mousse.

Courtesy of the Secret Service.

Kob Khun Kha, Nivat!

When he landed in Manila after a business trip to Zurich, this airline executive immediately posted on Facebook that he was, “Home sweet home.” His profile photo on the same social networking site shows him side by side with Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao.

Nothing extraordinary about those details except that the airline executive is a Thai and his biological family is in Bangkok and his next posting would be in Zurich.

But to outgoing Thai Airways GM Khun Nivat Chantarachoti, Manila is “Home sweet home.” And it has been, on and off, for most of his life.

 His Philippine posting in 2007 was like a homecoming. After all, Nivat went to high school at the Colegio San Agustin in Dasmariñas Village in Makati and graduated college from De La Salle University with a degree in Computer Science. He even marched on EDSA in 1986, side by side his La Salle classmates. When former President Cory Aquino died in 2009, Nivat, by himself, went to La Salle Greenhills and joined the queue of tens of thousands that wanted to pay their respects.

No wonder Nivat is at home in the Philippines and has many Filipino friends — he long ago earned the right to be an adopted Pinoy.

Well-liked in many circles — from the travel industry, to the media, to the party circuit — Nivat has endeared himself to many with his Thai-ness, but also with his Filipino ways. His expressions include “Talaga?” and “Salamat.” He knows other “playful” expressions, too, but they best remain off the record. He relishes Pinoy food like adobo and kare-kare.

He has also endeared himself to his Pinoy friends by being sensitive to their values and traditions. For his friends, Nivat isn’t just there during the good times (read: parties). He is there when you need him. He rushed to a friend’s side when the former met an accident and needed moral support. He gave a send-off dinner for my sister Mae when she migrated to the US and he postponed by a day a trip to Bangkok last July in order to condole with my family during my father Frank’s wake in Makati. Last January, he drove two hours to Laguna to condole with the family of Allure assistant editor Büm Tenorio Jr. when his father died. Now, if you are Filipino, you know that the members of a bereaved family recall precisely every face that comes to condole with them, and has that face etched in their hearts. (To cheer up my mom Sonia after Dad’s funeral, he also hosted dinner for her, just like an old family friend.)

His friendly ways and his desire to be of help (without being intrusive) have also further cemented ties between the Philippines and Thailand, even if he has no official diplomatic title. The ties that bind, after all, are not just spun by diplomats. Nivat is a Thai that binds.

That comes as no surprise, really, for Nivat is the son of a diplomat. Nivat has also lived in Laos and the US aside from his hometown of Bangkok. After having seen half the world as a diplomat’s son, Nivat wanted to see the other half as well on his own. He joined Thai Airways after college as a flight attendant and never left the airline. Actually Nivat likes to fly to places near the sea: “Because one’s vision is endless when one looks out to the sea...” He has been to Boracay at least 15 times since being posted in Manila three years ago.

 His personal journey with Thai has taken him places, including to the top of the corporate ladder. He became the Thai Airways assistant GM in Sydney in 1995 and deputy GM in Paris in 1999. He became GM in Bali in 2001 and Dhaka in 2003. He is leaving for his Zurich posting very soon and will be replaced in his Manila post by Khun Sern Chupikulchai.

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Nivat has done a lot to boost the popularity of Thai Airways (which turned 50 this year) and Thailand itself by embodying the best of what is Thai, and of what is Filipino. It’s an unbeatable combination.

Many happy landings ahead, Nivat! You will be missed, kaibigan.

Kob Khun Kha!