MANILA, Philippines - Getting these photos – and the stories behind the photos – was not easy, as STAR chief photographer Val Rodriguez has been about the most wanted man this past week. Having been President Cory Aquino’s close-in – and favorite – photographer, he had the best shots, and everyone – in The STAR editorial office as well as those from corporations and organizations who were preparing tributes – wanted photos of President Cory.
The situation was déjà vu for us, for it was as difficult over two decades ago, trying to get photos from the Malacañang photo office, specifically from “Sir Val.” But one day, our requests were suddenly being attended to pronto; only much later did we find out that President Cory had told Val to “give Betty Belmonte whatever photos she wanted.” Val later admits that his reaction had been, “At sino naman itong Betty Belmonte na ito?” Little could he have imagined that these two women – whom he would come to call Tita Cory and Tita Betty – would chart the course of his career and touch his life in very special ways.
We want to tell this story because Val in a way typified the special relationship The STAR had with President Cory. It all started, of course, with The STAR’s founder, Betty Go-Belmonte (BGB), who not only bore an uncanny physical similarity with President Cory, but they were in many ways alike – both were women of profound faith, which faith in turn gave them the courage to stand up for what they believed, the strength to do what was right and speak out against what was wrong, and the innate goodness to bring out the good in others.
This was certainly true of Val, who was – and perhaps still is – as grouchy as he is talented, gruff like the archetypal photojournalist. One instance we cannot forget: BGB urgently needed a particular photo of President Cory, so we called the Palace photo office, only to be told that Sir Val was taking a nap. We said to wake him up, but his staff were horrified at the suggestion, and insisted that they could not do that, because “pinagbilin ni Sir Val na huwag siyang gisingin.” But we knew the magic words: “Betty Belmonte.” What growls and roars came out of the lion’s den at the photo office we can only imagine, but an hour or so later, we got the photo.
Not too long ago, Val finally – grudgingly but with a smile – admitted, “Itong dati kong kaaway, friend ko na.” So perhaps he finally forgave us for rousing him from his nap, and for all our other “sins.”
Val first covered President Cory when she returned from Boston after Ninoy was assassinated; he was then working with the Associated Press (AP). He covered her through the rallies and protests, and the campaign for the snap election, then the people power revolution and her assumption to the presidency.
When she went to the US in September 1986 for that historic visit, President Cory asked Val to go on the trip. He and AP Manila bureau chief David Briscoe covered the visit, which included that momentuous speech before the joint session of the US Congress. However, differences over ownership of the negatives led Val to resign from AP; he shares that President Cory offered to speak to the head of AP on his behalf, but he declined. Out of a job, he got an offer he could not refuse: President Cory asked him to be her photographer. Then as now, Val maintains, “It’s an honor to work for you.”
He stayed on throughout her term, through trials and triumphs, good times and bad, watched her children mature and her grandchildren grow, witnessed her turn over the presidency – voluntarily, peacefully, and joyfully – to her successor elected in the first free elections in almost three decades. Throughout the years, Tita Betty was there beside Tita Cory. There were many, many occasions when we needed photos from Malacañang, and always, the magic words were, “Betty Belmonte.”
It was therefore inevitable that, sooner or later, Val would find his star. On Feb. 13, 1994, Val officially joined The STAR. His last assignment as Malacañang photographer and his first assignment as STAR photographer was a very sad one: the death of Tita Betty. And now, 15 years later, as we write this, Val is perched in some vantage point at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque, waiting to bury his former boss, his Tita Cory. – Doreen G. Yu