Big Billy's Big Day

He isn’t called your “Chair Wrecker” for nothing, for once upon a time, STAR columnist Billy McGregor Esposo could really wreck a chair.

Today, Billy, upon his doctor’s orders, has lost weight but not might.

He can wreck lies and anomalies into pieces in his well-read STAR column As I Wreck this Chair, but he can also build hopes and dreams when he trains the light of his writings into a cause he believes in, whether religious (he is a Focolare member) or political.

The late STAR founding chairman Betty Go-Belmonte used to call him “Partner,” because her Christian name was “Billie Mary” and so they had the same first names. I think he is the only friend and business associate she ever addressed as, “Partner.”

Tita Betty and Billy were two of the first Cory Aquino “yellow-yalists.” Billy set up the Cory Aquino Media Bureau at the J. Cojuangco Building in Makati during the Snap Elections campaign of 1985-86 and Isaac Belmonte, Betty and Sonny Belmonte’s firstborn, helped him set it up.

Isaac then recruited me to be one of the bureau’s writers and so you could say that Billy was my first big boss in the Cory years.

He always used to encourage me during those trying but euphoric campaign months with these words: “Our small group has taken on the entire machinery of Marcos’ propaganda machine  the NMPC, the PIA and Malacañang  and we looked them in the eye and they blinked.”

Well, our ragtag group of volunteers led by Billy succeeded in rebutting every piece of disinformation churned out by the dictatorship during the campaign, and we did get candidate Cory’s message out.

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When Billy was hospitalized some time during the Aquino presidency, President Cory came to his hospital room to visit him and pray with him. She knew how big a role he played in the country’s quest for democracy.

Billy, just like many of us who were active in the Cory campaign, finds himself privileged to be able to witness a second Aquino presidency, 25 years after EDSA.

The hard work and risks we all took for democracy 25 years ago has borne fruit with the presidency of someone we know is its vigilant steward.

Billy, again, threw his weight behind this steward of democracy’s presidential campaign.

It was no surprise then that President Noynoy Aquino, his three sisters Ballsy, Pinky and Viel and his brothers-in-law Eldon Cruz and Manolo Abellada (Dodo Dee was on a business trip to Thailand) were all present at Billy’s recent 63rd birthday celebration at the Gloria Maris restaurant in Pasay City. Speaker Sonny Belmonte and his son DBP director Kevin Belmonte were also among the 50 select guests.

The President’s arrival was preceded by the playing of bagpipes, a time-honored tradition in the Scottish side of Billy’s family.

“It was a celebration to remember, what with P-Noy, his sisters and two brothers-in-law with us,” said Billy, who earlier confided a nephew once joked he wouldn’t live beyond 43!

It was the most amazing lauriat I had ever partaken of, and it consisted of the freshest seafood and vegetables. The dishes, including baked lobster with superior sauce, noodles sauteed with fresh scallops and Canadian clams with French beans in XO sauce, black mushroom dried scallop bamboo fungus soup, Australian abalone with broccoli flower, steamed blue dotted Lapu-lapu and King Crabs, were chosen by Chinese food connoisseur Joseph Claros.

Joseph personally supervised each dish’s preparation. Many of the dishes that we were served are not in the Gloria Maris menu. That steamed dotted Lapu-lapu was done to perfection. If it stayed longer in the steamer it would have lost its flavor and the meat would have been tougher.

The President had another dinner schedule, which was why he left after an hour (last year he spent four hours at Billy’s dinner, also at Gloria Maris). He was supposed to eat lightly at Billy’s dinner but loved the appetizers, especially the lobster. When he left, he said to Billy: “Papaano ko na ngayon sasabihin doon sa isa pang ka-dinner ko na gutom na gutom ako?”

“I doubly appreciate his joining us because normally, the President would only attend one dinner  but he made it a point to make my day truly special,” said the celebrator.

Billy’s dinner was hosted by his Ateneo classmate, fishing magnate Bobby del Rosario. (He was the one who sold his yacht to Manny Pacquiao).

“Bobby and I were good friends since high school  the ties that are never forgotten. I would no longer throw these bacchanalian feasts but Bobby insisted that we celebrate my 63rd birthday on his account, just as he took care of my 62nd birthday dinner at the same venue. My Ilocano and Scottish blood  both races known for being frugal - would easily agree with such an arrangement,” quipped Billy.

Happy Birthday Billy! In my eyes, you really are a giant!

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)