The Sterm first lady

Only a few were considered part of Mrs. Macapagal’s trusted circle

Of the stern and no-nonsense Eva Macapagal, one would always think that the women around her were of the same temperament and character.

Conchita Sunico was one of those no-nonsense women. It is not surprising that Conchita would become the czarina of tourism toward the end of the Macapagal administration ---- that late because it took time for Eva, ever cautious and conscious of the old world value known as delicadeza, to ask Dadong to sign her friend Conching’s appointment papers.

It took more than a decade later, of course, before Conching (or Tita Conching to most of us) would receive an appointment from either of the Marcoses, although she helped advance tourism much earlier by sending the Karilagan girls on promotional missions under the auspices of Tourism Minister Joe Aspiras. In 1978, she became the executive director of the Manila Metropolitan Theater.

Expectedly such undertakings in the time of the Marcoses did not get in the way of Conching’s friendship with the Macapagals. This, Gloria, as a President, would tell me and Conchita Sunico’s niece, Chinggay. The comadres, Eva and Conching, were always meeting at either of their homes or the dining places of Manila.

While many women helped Mrs. Macapagal in her many projects, including the beautification of Rizal Park and the raising of funds for the celebration of the quadricentennial of Christianity in the Philippines, only a few were considered part of Mrs. Macapagal’s trusted circle.

First in the list was daughter Gloria who, young as she was, was doing her bit for the administration, even representing her parents in international events including the World’s Fair in New York City. Irenea Cruz vda. de Macaraeg, Mrs. Macapagal’s mother, was very close to her daughter Eva, and as a grandmother, she brought Gloria to Assumption in the morning and picked her up in the afternoon. When the First Couple were away, she slept in the Palace with her grandchildren.

Both grandmother and granddaughter, with Diosdado Jr., would also travel to various parts of the world together, in some instances with the First Lady herself and Conching, the lady of substance of the era.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FAMILY COLLECTION TITA Conching, the ‘hostess with the mostest’ of post-war Manila’s 400.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MALACANANG MUSEUM EVA Macapagal was a no-nonsense First Lady.