Keeping up with the Remullas
They are two of the brightest men in the daunting arena of Philippine politics. Seasoned by experience and perhaps primed to do their jobs by their prominent heritage, both blood brothers are now facing their most challenging task in public service because of the coronavirus crisis.
And while they have a lot of shared experiences gained growing up in their ancestral home in Imus and in serving their fellow Caviteños, the siblings are also unique in the leadership paths they have taken as public servants.
The older brother, Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, is Cavite’s 7th District Representative and Senior Deputy Majority Leader. He was Cavite Governor from 2016 to 2019, and Cavite 4th District Representative from 2004 to 2010.
In 1998, then President Joseph Estrada appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Presidential Management Staff.
“I stood by him until his last minutes of office in Malacañang. I wrote his letter as a lawyer, yung
kanyang leave of absence from the presidency which is found in Article 11 Section 7 of the Constitution,” said Rep. Remulla.
“Mahirap yung ganun na iniwan ka, noong kasagsagan ng iyong power maraming nakapaligid pero nung nawala na yung power mo, nawala na din sila. (It’s difficult when you’re abandoned, unlike when you were in power, you were surrounded by many people, but when you were out of power, they’re gone as well.) I thought of it as an important gesture not to leave the man who gave me the best job I ever had.”
The younger brother, tall (at 6’1”) and good-looking Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla Jr. is Governor of Cavite, a post he also held from 2010 to 2016. He also served as the province’s Vice Governor and was a member of Cavite’s
Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
They’ve had their differences, not a few made public by way of open letters, but as Daily
Tribune’s Pairfect interview has shown, the proverbial “blood is thicker than water” holds true especially when it comes to taking to her art the lessons their father Juanito Reyes Remulla — Cavite’s longest-serving governor — taught them about life, service and politics.
The brothers Remulla gamely let down their guard to answer some questions on Pairfect that members of the press don’t really get to ask during their more formal media conferences.
The brothers Remulla gamely let down their guard to answer some questions on Pairfect that the media don’t really get to ask.
Daily Tribune (DT): How have you been doing since the pandemic was declared, what new normal lifestyles have you incorporated and how did you fit these into your demanding workloads?
Gov. Jonvic Remulla (JR): Well I wake up very early. I wake up at 3 a.m. My first post on Facebook is 4 a.m. Then I’m in the gym by 4:35, out by 7, in the office by 9. I still go to work but I’m limiting my business there due to the pandemic. Everything is all about COVID-19 now.
DT: Wow, what discipline, Governor. 4 a.m.
Rep. Boying Remulla (BR): It runs in the family. I also wake up very early — before 4 a.m. I read first and do walking, about five kilometers every morning.
DT: Do you still go to Congress?
BR: Yes, we make sure that things are running well and somebody has to decide when there are no other leaders there. I have been going to work since the pandemic. Nothing much has changed. It’s really not being able to go to restaurants and public places.
DT: Perhaps more stringent health protocols?
JR: Yeah, politics is a contact sport and I miss going out with people. Usually, my visitors at home in the morning range from 50 to 100 people. Usually, in the office, it’s between 300 to 350 but all that has stopped. I also used to make my rounds, but that stopped, too. That’s what I miss the most, I miss interacting more. Everything is via these kinds of meetings — via Zoom or Facetime. That’s what I miss the most, I miss the people.
DT: But isn’t the action in Congress ongoing, except that social distancing is being practiced?
BR: It’s budget season so we are at work Monday to Friday. Every day, we work from morning to evening. We do not stop. With the pandemic, things have slowed down but we need to go to work because there are issues that we have to settle and there is constant pressure for us to continue working. So, we have to take up all the things — we have hearings here — tuloy-tuloy (ongoing). Even after budget hearings, we have hearings about telco companies, about water, electricity, the needs of our people so they can live better lives. DT: What have you been working on for Cavite? How has the pandemic affected the work you have been doing?
JR: We have initiated the free Wi-Fi project for the entire province. We’re about to roll it out on the first week of October and we expect that within a month, 95 percent of students in public schools in Cavite will be able to avail themselves of Wi-Fi.
But the service is limited. The free Wi-Fi is accessed through one’s student number and there are only a few programs one can use because it’s open. Bandwidth weakens because of multiple use. So, we concentrated
on the students.
BR:
Right now, we have the pandemic so all the budget has been switched to helping people. We didn’t expect as much as before, but in terms of legislation, we continue doing what we are doing. So, people just have to bear with the new normal. But the funds right now are focused on social services.
Infrastructure-wise, we cannot do the things we used to do, but in terms of public service, it’s ongoing and we are able to concentrate on the basic utility issues like electricity, telephone, Internet, and hopefully, this can continue so the people will be assured that government is there for everybody. That’s what we want to do, after all.
DT: Your father, Juanito Remulla, served Cavite for many years, from 1980 till 1995, as governor. Can you tell us what was it like growing up with your father in government, helping the public and serving the people of Cavite? Do you think those years prepared you for politics?
JR: I was very young, 11 years old, when he became a governor. Growing up, he was always in Cavite. He will be home late and go to work very early. He let our mother take care of us. Boying was the father figure of the family because he was much older. He was 16 when our father became a Governor. So, madalas siya ang sumusubaybay sa amin. (Often, he looked after us). But he married early so we had to learn to fend for ourselves. BR: Oo, maaga (Yes, early). Actually, I had a very busy life during my school days. I was engaged in many activities — theater, sports, whatever was available.
I joined… because when we went home, there was nothing to do. And besides, we were a big family (seven siblings), so home was crowded.
Mas maganda sa labas.
(It was better to be out of the house).
DT: Did you ever think you will be in government young as you were during that time?
BR: Yes, I really thought I would be in government. But I wanted to be a lawyer first and foremost. It happened in 1988 when I got the results of the bar exam (he placed 17th in the 1987 Philippine Bar Examinations with a grade of 85.05).
JR: I never thought I would be here kasi lahat ng mga kapatid ko matatalino, ako yung pinaka bobo sa ’min, eh. Yung grades ko pinakamababa lagi, tamad ako. (All my siblings were smart, I was the slow one. My grades were the lowest among
them, I was lazy). Parang ako yung last person who you will figure would go into government service. But as I grew up, as I matured, I had an inkling
for it. In-encourage ako ng father ko. So, at 27, I got into public service as a Provincial Board Member. But amongst the family — seven kids, I was the least likely to enter politics.
DT: You were associated with sports. Are you really into that?
JR: No, not at all. I was clumsy plus I was uncoordinated — I was not gifted with anything.
DT: What are your memories of your father? The lessons he would often advice you?
JR: I remember he started public service at a young age. He told me,
“Maraming bagay sa ginagawa natin na kailangang gawin na hindi
kailangang ipagmayabang. (There are a lot of things that we do that you don’t need to brag about). It struck me. It’s not about me, it’s not about you, it’s not about anything else. It’s always about the people. That’s what he always said.
“Be careful when you make decisions.
Marami diyan, hindi mo kailangang sabihin kung paano o ano desisyon mo pero kailangang magawa yung desisyon. (Many of these decisions, you don’t need to explain or what your decision is, but the decision has to be made). Those things struck me. DT: How about between you as brothers, especially since you entered politics? Even Gilbert was also a congressman at some point. Do you talk about your work, do you give each other advice? What kinds of conversations do you have? BR: We share insights about work. About the things behind what’s happening. We share insights that are important and juicy. Of course, kami mismo, nag-chichismisan kami, tapos kung anong nangyayari sa amin. (We ourselves gossip, and how thing are in the family). We share stories with our brothers and sisters.
JR: Kasi Boying has always been the technocrat, eh. He’s the intellectual in the family. I have always been a politician. DT: We wonder what kind of conversations you have at home. JR: From the sublime to the ridiculous. DT: When you have those family dinners, what’s on the table? What do you enjoy eating while having those sublime to the ridiculous topics? BR: Wala kaming staple eh. Very simple lang na pagkain (We don’t have staple fare. Our food is always very simple).
DT: But you do Sunday family dinner traditions?
BR: Wala kaming ganoon (We don’t have those). Only occasional — birthdays, Christmases — yan meron kaming kainan nang kaunti (For special occasions, we do have some celebrations).
DT: How are you as family men? As fathers and husbands, how would you describe yourself?
BR: I got married when I was 21… I am a homebody… That’s why, the pandemic — there’s nothing new to me. If I have to work from home, it was nothing new. Of course, with my job now in Congress, I have to leave a lot. During the pandemic, I only stayed at home for 10 days.
JR: I have five children. One is in Sweden taking up her masters in Physics, one is in law school, one is in fine arts — all at the University of the Philippines. I have a 15-year-old in high school and a 12-year-old. I always make it a point that they are at home before 6 p.m. because 6 p.m. is our family dinner time. We end at 7 p.m. By 8 or 8:30 p.m., tulog na, tapos gising
na ng (I am asleep, then up by) 3:30 a.m. But dinner is the family time. DT: What kind of women is the “Remulla kind of women”?
BR: Steady and loving.
JR: Graceful and elegant.
DT: As siblings you have had your disagreements, and the latest one came with an open letter. So how do you resolve these disagreements?
JR: We both like writing. With matters of public importance, I guess it is important that people hear our views, the way we talk, the way we converse because people don’t keep up with things of national importance. They have to know how we think — how we communicate, how we express, and I think it’s important in public discourse that these matters are in public so that’s why we both choose Facebook to air these and I think it is fair that people know how we respond to issues.
BR: That’s the correct answer on how we resolve issues.
DT: What makes you different from each other? You’re fraternity brothers, blood brothers and you’re both in politics. Obviously, you’re very different but there’s also something similar at the core.
BR: I’m the serious one. Mas
seryoso ako kaysa kay Jonvic in more ways. (I’m more serious than Jonvic). I’m as serious as a heart attack. Akala nila suplado ako.
(People think I’m a snob). But that’s because I think a lot Jonvic is more lighthearted. JR: Ako puro kalokohan nasa isip
ko ever since I was a kid. I had lunch with my mom last Saturday and sabi niya, ‘Anak ‘di bale nang hindi ka katalinuhan, ‘di bali nang hindi ka kagalingan pero naging governor ka naman. (I was naughty as a kid… My mom told me, ‘Never mind if you’re not so bright, but you became governor).
DT: How do you keep yourself fit even when stuck at home?
JR: I’m very lucky because eight years ago nagtayo na ako ng sarili
kong gym sa bahay. (I put up my own gym at home). I have no problems keeping fit kasi it’s part of my lifestyle for the last 35 years — playing basketball, working out lifting weights, I do all those because I have a home gym, it’s not a problem.
DT: It’s a big thing to keep fit because we need all the energy that we can get to able to work.
BR: I play golf once or twice a week. Wala naming masyadong sports ngayon kasi lockdown. (We don’t do much sports these days due to the lockdown). I think people underestimate the value of their life. Masarap talaga sa ilalim ng araw, kung may panahon ka, dapat gawin mo. (It’s really good to have some sun, if you have time, do it).