She is the OG “Tita of Manila.”
She loves to lunch out, her best friends like Judy Araneta-Roxas and the late Bessie Bautista-Legarda come from the perfumed set, she has always been a “Tita” to all.
But former Antique Gov. Sally Zaldivar Perez is a political dynamo as well as a political strategist, adviser, fund-raiser, campaigner.
“I am like all-purpose flour,” was how she described herself during her 86th birthday party at the Manila Polo Club, tendered by Sen. Loren Legarda.
“I am an unabashed social climber,” laughs Tita Sally, her honesty disarming. “I have perfected the art and offer no apologies for it! I love meeting new people.”
“She’s a political mentor, she is not just a Tita,” Loren says of Tita Sally, who is her mother’s cousin. “Tita Sally and my late mother were similar in their attitude towards life. Masayahin sa buhay. They know how to deal with life’s challenges and issues and they just know how to enjoy life. So, even if my mom passed away in 1996 and because Tita Sally has been there in my life, it’s like my mother has a replica who is alive.”
“On a dreary day, she is giggling and on problematic days, she is smiling. When there are challenges, she says, ‘Let’s go home,’ and ‘It’s OK.’ When there are so many things to do, she takes care of people. She’s my (GRO) ‘Guest Relations Officer’ in my office,” continues Loren.
Tita Sally says the secret to her youthfulness and good health is indeed her attitude towards life: “I accept people for what they are, for all their warts. I am not judgmental, pati sa kalaban ko.”
This attitude is affirmed by Loren.
“Minsan, galit na galit, pero pag nakita ko, the next minute, nagbeso-beso at nagtatawanan na sila. So sa kanya, she’ll just say it, but actually there is no one that she does not like. She is probably the most likable person. So, I wish I could have her spark and energy.”
Loren says Tita Sally’s success goes beyond her attitude.
“It’s also her wisdom. Her wisdom for being in government for so long, knowing local politics, understanding the nuances, and teaching me to be patient. Kay Tita Sally, walang masamang tinapay,” adds Loren, the most senior senator (with regard to the number of terms she has served in the Senate, because she started her first term at age 37). In 1998, Loren became the youngest senator in the Philippines. She is the longest-serving female senator in the history of the Senate, and the only female in the Philippines to top two senatorial elections: 1998 and 2007.
“To work with Loren is to love her,” Tita Sally says of Loren, whom she convinced to run as Antique congressman in 2019 despite the fact that she already had the DSWD post for the taking during the Duterte administration. “She is the best thing that has happened to Antique.”
“She can be stern, she can be strict — but all those who have worked for her and with her are loyal to her. She doesn’t bear grudges,” says Tita Sally of her alaga.
Another of Tita Sally’s palanggas is Sen. Sonny Angara, son of her former boss Sen. Ed Angara. “Sonny is as good as his late father and I think he will surpass his dad’s achievements because he is still peaking. And I don’t think his dad will mind my saying that.”
Among the many VIPs who attended the sumptuous birthday lunch were Rustan’s chairman Nedy Tantoco, who worked with Tita Sally in the Philippine Philharmonic Opera Society; lawyer Gibo Teodoro; Energy Secretary Popo Lotilla; Antique Rep. Antonio Legarda; NBI director Menardo de Lemos, SBMA chair and CEO Jonathan Tan, chairman Leah Armamento of the National Amnesty Commission; Brig. Gen. Ronie Petinglay of the Philippine Air Force; Brig. Gen. Anthony Maghari of the Philippine National Police; Comelec chairman George Garcia; Batangas Gov. Dodo Mandanas; Dulce Romualdez and Cecile Leido.
Aside from having many loyal friends, Tita Sally lets us in on other ingredients of her potion of youth: “I read a lot, and I laugh a lot!” *
(You may e-mail me at joanneraeramirez@yahoo.com. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.)