Untold Pinoy Story No. 5
She was born on the day of hearts, February 14. But her parents did
not name her Valentina. Not even Venus or Aphrodite. They opted for
the holy-sounding Kristina Bernadette. But she did not turn out to
be a saint.
Being the youngest, Kristina Bernadette captured the heart of her
father. Father and daughter were inseparable. Until tragedy struck.
Kristina Bernadette's father was sent to prison. His heart ailment
grew worse there.
On February 14, 1974, Valentine's Day, Kristina Bernadette
celebrated her third birthday with her father in prison. On the same
day, a man was exchanging hearts with a southern belle in nearby San
Juan church.
Nine years later, on August 21, the man who got married in San Juan
church was celebrating his birthday with his basketball buddies. On
the same day, Kristina Bernadette's father was killed.
Kristina Bernadette and the married man never knew each other. They
lived very different lives. But in 1994, Kristina Bernadette and the
married man met at work. Their first meeting blossomed into deep
friendship. Some said that she longed for a father figure. But the
friendship blossomed into romance which went beyond control.
Kristina Bernadette used her heart, not her head. She decided to
live with the married man.
Kristina Bernadette's mother was furious at the relationship. How
could Kristina Bernadette's mother like a man who celebrates his
birthday every year on the death anniversary of her murdered
husband? But more than this was the fact that the man's heart
already belonged to someone else. In fact, he has a grown-up
daughter in New York who was nearly Kristina Bernadette's age.
Despite her religious mother's efforts to put an end to Kristina
Bernadette's adulterous affair with the man, Kristina Bernadette had
her way. It didn't matter to Kristina Bernadette that her decision
prevented her from receiving church communion because she was openly
living in sin.
It did not take long before Kristina Bernadette gave birth to her
love child who was the spitting image of her live-in partner. But
Kristina Bernadette's son was born with Attention Deficit Hyper-
Activity Disorder. Her son's birth softened the heart of Kristina
Bernadette's mother who announced that Kristina Bernadette's son was
her favorite grandson. When Kristina Bernadette first planned to
have a liposuction, her mother tried to stop her, warning Kristina
Bernadette that she (the mother) was too old to take care of
Kristina Bernadette's son if something happened to her during her
surgery. But as in the past, Kristina Bernadette had her way. She
went on with her liposuction.
But Kristina Bernadette's relationship with her live-in partner was
not meant to last. In her Ateneo accent, Kristina Bernadette would
always correct her live-in partner's grammatical lapses. Her live-in
partner also got annoyed whenever Kristina Bernadette would hand him
a stick of Milagrosa candle every time he used the bathroom.
According to Kristina Bernadette, the candle helped drive away the
stinking smell of her live-in partner's crap. Kristina Bernadette
confessed that she learned this trick from her mother. And when
Kristina Bernadette's live-in partner stopped pursuing his petition
for the annulment of his first marriage in San Juan church, Kristina
Bernadette began to express doubt about her live-in partner's
sincerity in marrying her. Kristina Bernadette's heart was hurt.
Their relationship turned for the worse.
Kristina Bernadette finally realized that her live-in partner could
never be her savior. She decided to leave the father of her son and
her live-in partner for many years: Philip Salvador.
Yes, Kristina Bernadette is the youngest daughter of President
Corazon (means heart in Spanish) Aquino and the late Senator Benigno
Aquino, Jr.
And yes, Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino is the full name of
Kris Aquino.
And everyone knows the heart of her story.
Untold Pinoy Story No. 6
East and West
The Story of the Muslim Princess
Suppose that there was a Muslim princess from the flood capital of
the Philippines , Malabon, who has just finished her degree in Mass
Communications from the University of the Philippines with Latin
honors (cum laude). Suppose that she decided to work for Discorama.
Remember the Saturday afternoon show on GMA Channel 7 with former
Senator Tito Sotto, his brother Vic Sotto and comedian Joey de Leon
as hosts? The Muslim princess was assigned to host the Tough Hits
segment of the show. As Tough Hits girl, she did the weekly
countdown of popular songs with bastardized lyrics to elicit cheap
laughs. Her mother, who was an executive at the Philippine National
Bank in Escolta, just shrugged her shoulders whenever her colleagues
would ask about her favorite daughter's TV show.
Soon, a female newscaster of a major TV network introduced the
Muslim princess to her brother, a flight steward. After a whirlwind
courtship, the Muslim princess married the flight steward who used
to be a child actor whose only claim to fame was playing the role of
a toddler Bongbong Marcos in a Marcos bio-flick. After a couple of
months, the Muslim princess and the flight steward quietly
separated.
But career-wise, lady luck smiled at the Muslim princess when she
was given a big break by the major TV network. She bagged the plum
assignment of delivering the evening news while at the same time
hosting a successful TV magazine program which was pitted against a
similar program in a rival TV network hosted by her former UP
professor. However, the Muslim princess was such a perfectionist
that it was reportedly not uncommon to see objects flying whenever
she was unsatisfied with her TV staff's work.
Later, the Muslim princess got married again, this time to a well-
known local politician from a province south of Manila . The
namesake of her father, her politician husband had grown-up children
close to the Muslim princess' age and it was being talked about that
his first wife lived in the same condominium building where the
Muslim princess and her new husband occupied the penthouse. The
Muslim princess' husband also reportedly decided to become a Muslim
so that he could have more than one wife. They were blessed with two
sons.
The Muslim princess' husband soon retired from politics and became
contented with being a magician and a human toothpaste applier for
his Muslim princess' toothbrush. (Incidentally, the Muslim princess
once appeared in a Close-Up Toothpaste TV commercial.) Now, the
Muslim princess and her magician husband (He could make a big Coke
bottle disappear before your eyes.) are happily separated. Later,
the Muslim princess' husband was accused of being responsible for
the disappearance of his close friend.
The Story of the Black Nazarene Devotee Suppose that there was a
Black Nazarene devotee from the tamaraw capital of the Philippines
who claimed to have graduated with a business degree from the
University of the East despite his critics' contention that he just
bought his college diploma from the sidewalk of C. M. Recto Avenue .
He worked as a radio reporter for a major
radio and TV network. With perseverance, he was given a Sunday
morning radio show. Later, he would occasionally pinch-hit for
announcers whenever they would not show up for their radio program.
He also hosted a daily radio serialization of movies for a program
dubbed as Sineradyo.
His biggest TV break came when a TV network hired him for a top-
rated showbiz-oriented TV show called See-Tru. The show was hosted
by gossip queen, Lourdes Jimenez-Carvajal who was more popularly
known as Inday Badiday or Ate Luds to her legions of fans. The Black
Nazarene devotee's appearance was only through voice-over (and he
was never really seen by the TV audience) and it was always preceded
by his usual line: "Ate Luds, may phone-in question po tayo rito
galing kay...". Yes, his job involved reading TV audience's phone-in
questions to Inday Badiday's movie star guests. However, despite the
TV show's enormous popularity, it was immediately cancelled after
one
of the show's female guests hurled an ashtray at another female
guest.
Later, the Black Nazarene devotee married a lady executive of the
radio and TV network where he had moved up to become the host of its
early morning radio show. They adopted a girl and had a younger son
later.
Never The Twain Shall Meet
Suppose that the Muslim princess and the Black Nazarene devotee met
in the same office where they both work. Suppose also that the Black
Nazarene devotee personally chose the Muslim princess as one of the
principal sponsors for his adopted daughter's wedding to one of the
members of the staff of his widely popular TV program.
Suppose further that both the Muslim princess and the Black Nazarene
devotee became elected government officials and they both decided to
run for the same government office on the same year. They both run
for say, the presidency of the Philippines . No, that's being too
ambitious. Okay, suppose that they both run for the position of Vice
President under opposing political parties. Who would you vote for?
The Muslim princess or the Black Nazarene devotee?
If you would vote for the Muslim princess, you just wasted your
vote.
If you would vote for the Black Nazarene devotee, you are good at
spotting a winner (but it does not mean that you did not also waste
your vote).
Because the honorary Muslim princess is former Senator Loren Legarda
who lost her bid for the Vice Presidency of the Philippines in
the2002 national elections.
And yes, the Black Nazarene devotee who helps carry the replica of
the Black Nazarene image barefoot and wearing only a white
undershirt (sans bullet-proof vest) during the annual Quiapo
procession as part of his religious devotion (yes, he still does it
up to this day) is Noli de Castro, current Vice President of the
Philippines.
