JDV: Gina has exceeded me

Pink and purple balloons were a-flutter during Pangasinan Rep. Gina de Venecia’s 65th birthday celebration last Monday at the Gloria Maris restaurant in Greenhills.

And they complemented the other colors of the rainbow that made the Gloria Maris function room a virtually painter’s palette.

For Gina had succeeded in inviting women of various political colors to her party, and they all came to wish the Pangasinan solon a happy birthday. There were yellows and blues, greens and oranges and every other color combination that could result from them. (There were two presidential sisters, Ballsy Cruz and Viel Dee; two senators, Loren Legarda and Grace Poe, two former first ladies, Imelda Marcos and Dr. Loi Ejercito and several congresswomen.)

“I am the architect of the ‘Rainbow Coalition’,” said Gina’s husband, five-time Speaker of the House Jose de Venecia Jr., “but Gina has exceeded me for this is a greater coalition than I have ever put up.”

“If you notice, my guests are mostly, ladies. It’s because, at this stage in my life, I’d like to pay tribute to all the wonderful women, who helped make me the person I am, today,” Gina said in her birthday speech.

She started by thanking her mother Mama Nene “who nurtured me as I was growing up with all the life lessons that I needed to survive.”

To be sure, not all women present were on speaking terms, but they were one in their goal of supporting women’s causes — and were one in their love for Gina.

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Ballsy Cruz called Gina a “gifted” woman — because she never ran out of gifts for her friends, gifts from the heart and gifts from the store.

Gina said the late former President Cory Aquino was like a mother to her, while Ballsy said Manay Gina was like a mother to the Aquino siblings for the well-meaning advice she gave them.

Gina was also able to gather the “movie queens” of her late father Doc Perez’s Sampaguita Studios, and perhaps their presence in one table was unprecedented: Susan Roces, Amalia Fuentes, Liberty Ilagan from Sampaguita and Helen Gamboa from Tagalog Ilang-Ilang.

Susan remembered Gina as a pig-tailed tomboyish little girl who always worked hard for what she wanted.

“If Doc Perez were around now, he would be very proud of you, Gina,” Susan said.

Gina’s Assumption Convent classmate SM and BDO’s Tessie Coson said Gina, “represents all of us.”

Truly, each of the guests could see a part of herself in Gina, who looked strikingly beautiful in red, a colorful scarf draped over her right shoulder.

Ali Sotto, who co-founded the INA (Inang Naulila sa Anak) Foundation, recalled the reluctant bond between Gina and herself. “Reluctant” because they were brought together by the deaths of their children — Ali’s Miko and Gina’s KC.

According to Ali, Gina and the rest of the INA members are held together not just by their grief, but also by their urgency to help others.

“Because we believe tomorrow is never promised to us,” Ali said, a lesson the early deaths of their children taught them.

Loren Legarda said she would not have been in Fidel Ramos’ senatorial slate in 1998 if not for Joe’s prodding, and Gina’s prodding of Joe. That was her first foray into politics, and it was her destiny.

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JDV used to say Gina was the wind beneath his wings. Gina now says Joe is the wind beneath hers.

Joe pointed out that Gina has put up the haven for abused women, which now has 17 satellite centers nationwide; six centers for abused children, a home for the aged, and a home for grieving mothers.

Prior to this big celebration, Manay Gina spent her birthday week in Pangasinan.  From Feb. 11 to 14, she sponsored free medical and dental missions and distributed reading glasses to more than 30,000 beneficiaries in Dagupan City and the towns of Manaoag, San Fabian, Mangaldan and San Jacinto.

“These are the reasons I can’t stop loving her, this beautiful lady who has given me so much love,” JDV said of his wife.

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In her birthday speech, Gina also thanked her sisters, “who are my loyal and constant support, in good times and bad;” her colleagues in Congress; her sisters in the INA Foundation, “whose companionship and wonderful friendship help me make it through the most trying times;” her former associates at the Congressional Spouses Foundation; her classmates at Assumption; her friends in show business, “who remind me that there’s more to life than politics” and her friends in the media.

Despite the many people she reaches out to and the causes she espouses, Gina is first and foremost a wife and mother, and so she capped her speech by mentioning the most important people in her life: JDV’s children (Sandra, Joey, Leslie and Vivian); her children Carissa and Philip, and Christopher and KC de Venecia, and her grandchildren Bella and Gabby, “who are my sources of inspiration.”

“And most of all, my husband Joe — the wind beneath my wings, who makes my life, truly worth-living and a lot richer all these years.”

Gina’s birthday wish?

“At this point in my life, I have only gratitude in my heart for all the wonderful blessings that the Lord has given me. On my birthday, I wish that our country will be spared from catastrophic climatic events and all forms of strife. I also pray that the Philippines will achieve significant economic gain so that our people will enjoy the magnificence of living in a country that is both peaceful and prosperous. For my family, I wish that they will stay healthy and free from harm.”

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