A day with Lolo Johnny

we spent three hours with him, during which he told stories and jokes and shared his wisdom and ideals. They were three hours that completely changed how I saw things.

Now 88 years old, Enrile still has so much life and happiness in him. It takes little to make him happy. He is calm, level-headed and rational in spite of all the pressure he constantly faces. He lives to serve, and he finds joy in service. He is religious, loving, funny and truly wise.

When the interview finished, I realized that, if I lived to be his age, I would want to be just like him—dedicated, persevering and firm, someone who does not stop just because life goes wrong, someone who can make a difference and never forgets who he is even when he reaches the top.

It is not wrong to dream. That is what JPE did, and look where he is now.

Jamie B. Gutierrez “MR. PRESIDENT…” that is how the people in the Senate address him, but we knew little about how “The Juan in Charge,” as one of the magazines put it, earned respect and his position.

Through the INQUIRER’s My Dream Interview contest, I had the chance to meet and interview Manong Johnny, as the masses call him.

Inside his office you see the mace with the seal of the Senate, the Philippine flag, papers. What caught my attention was the portrait of his wife and daughter.

Manong Johnny gave us a huge smile and joked, “Just don’t ask me how many wives I have.”

Although he had to work to continue his studies and had to stop every now and then for financial reasons, Manong Johnny, was a good student, often finishing with honors.

While today’s youth will probably give up and give in to their problems, Manong Johnny is living proof we can still have a bright future no matter what or how hard the problem is as long as you have faith and the will to succeed.

Riane Mitzi B. Manuel AS WE entered the rather regal, bluecarpeted room, we were astonished by the sight of the man we usually just saw on television.

The serious, no-nonsense and stern man on screen was a kind, forgiving and happy soul in front of us.

As he talked, I realized the man who appeared as a strong man during the Edsa Revolution was now breaking down in front of me. His story truly moved my heart.

The rest of his story told me this man was toughened by the things he went through.

Manong Johnny told us how, while studying in Harvard, he was strongly tempted to go with the women he loved to their own countries. But he resisted the temptation, truly a Filipino, in and out of his country.

We asked him about his philosophy in life and he quoted a long line from the poem “Invictus.” He said, though we might think we were individuals, there was always a force that brought us together and that was God.

Juan was always a simple man with simple pleasures. He quoted the “Desiderata”: “With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”

The Senate president taught me life was hard but we must learn from it, that life should be happy and we should strive to attain that.

Joseph Remde la Cruz PHYSICAL appearance can tell you some thing about a person.

But there is always something more than meets the eye.

This became really clear to me the day I met Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

For someone my age, I knew things about politics but did not have such a great interest in them. All I saw were powerful men and women, deciding great and important things for the nation. I could never imagine just sitting down around a table, having some snacks and chatting with them like they were my aunts or uncles or even grandparents. It would be unusual, knowing how busy and influential they are compared to me, just an average student. It would be impossible for that to happen.

Funnily enough, that was exactly how my encounter with JPE went. I expected that we’d be done with the interview in 30 minutes or an hour at most, but I was wrong. I had three hours with him, three hours of his stories, wisdom, jokes and ideals, three hours which changed how I saw things completely.

There was so much he told us, but some things stuck in my mind. He was born poor, an illegitimate child who was called a bastard by his classmates. But he was not ashamed to be poor.

“You have to suffer to know what it’s like to truly live,” he told us.

Suffering an injustice when he was in high school, he decided he was going to take up law to work for equality for all Filipinos.

Katherine Anne M. Favino