In the Seat of Power
Those expecting the seat of power — i. e. President Aquino’s private office — to be grand and stately are in for a big surprise.
It’s a simple, no-frills office. The wood-paneled room is lit up by overhead ceiling lights (they looked octagonal) instead of chandeliers; no standout works of art except for a painting by his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino and another by Juvenal Sansó; no fancy furniture except that which came with the historic building.
It is certainly less opulent than a king’s office, and less stately than a bank president’s inner sanctum.
There are no pictures of P-Noy, except a painting of him when he was a grade schooler — sitting on a rice field with three of his sisters. “I don’t even remember posing for that painting,” he laughs. His desk is the very same one his mother Cory used when she was President. There is a paperback copy of the Constitution — his third copy as the previous two have been worn out by constant reading — on his desk. Behind it are a photo of his mother praying the rosary, the iconic photo of his father with his hand on his chin, the framed original copy of his (P-Noy’s) oath of office signed by then Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, and the family Bible on which both he and his mother swore on at their inauguration (she at Club Filipino, he at the Quirino Grandstand).
His desk is neat and organized. Because of the many papers he has to read, he has a wooden documents holder similar to a Bible holder — the better to prop up all his papers, my dear.
On a tiny coffee table in front of his desk is a bowl full of Hershey’s and Nestlé Crunch mini-bars. Ours for the taking. There is a seating area in the same office with bulky comfortable leather chairs. On a square coffee table in this area are at least four hardbound books: a souvenir of his inauguration, two books on the history of Malacañang Palace and a book entitled
Noynoy’s Sisters.
*** Six of us women in media were invited by the President into his inner sanctum after the state luncheon he tendered for Prince Albert II of Monaco. Both heads of state enjoyed the lunch (catered by Cibo) and the cultural presentation that followed: Radha, who sang Diamonds; Bamboo, who sang Noypi; Angeline Quinto, who sang Somewhere Over the
Rainbow; Arthur Manuntag, who sang a medley of Frank Sinatra songs with Radha and Bamboo. The entire ensemble crooned All of Me and Stand By Me — said to be the prince’s favorites — for the finale. Malacañang’s Rizal Hall was spruced by Social Secretary
Susan Reyes and her team with floral arrangements that reflected the colors of the Monégasque flag: a combination of red orchids and white blooms.
On the tables were topiaries of similar colors, making the ballroom look fresh, yet elegant.
Because his guest was happy, the host was in a good mood himself. When one journalist asked him about Kidapawan, he invited all of us — Deedee Siytangco of the Bulletin, Domini
Torrevillas of The STAR, Rina David of the Inquirer, Jullie Yap Daza of the Bulletin, Thelma San Juan of the Inquirer, and myself — to his office.
He led us through a maze of corridors and on hardwood floors with planks a foot wide till we entered a high- ceilinged room that was once President Ferdinand Marcos’ bedroom. Not particularly superstitious, P-Noy has no qualms or reservations about working in the room where Marcos’ hospital bed once was. To him, it has easy access to the offices of his staff and to the function rooms where he holds meetings and receives visitors — unlike in the Premiere Guesthouse (where Cory held office and where he also held office at the start of his term), from where he has to cross the lawn to hold Cabinet meetings in the State Dining Room in the main Palace.
Since his parents’ photos are prominently displayed in the console table behind his swivel chair, he was asked if he constantly prayed to them for guidance.
“Yes,” he replied. “I pray to five people — God, my parents, my paternal grandmother (Doña Aurora Aquino) and my maternal grandfather (Don Jose Cojuangco).”
His Lola Au ror a , he says , wa s the epitome of “unconditional love.”
His mom Cory always used to say that having Doña Aurora as a mother-in-law was one of her life’s “greatest blessings.”
His Lolo Pepe, on the other hand, was such a kind person that if you disappointed him, it would be you — more than the old man — who would feel terrible.
The President said his Lolo Pepe offered to be incarcerated in place of Ninoy so that Ninoy would be set free and allowed to go on exile. He offered this deal to Marcos through his nephew
Danding Cojuangco, who reportedly told his Tio Pepe that this would not be necessary. His Lolo Pepe died on Aug. 21, 1976.
*** Waxing nostalgic at some points during our two- hour conversation, the President said we are shaped by people who made an effort to make a difference in our lives. He recalled that in college, his Economics professor Fr.
Michael McPhelin, an American Jesuit, would make him stay after a class three times a week for a 15-minute one- on- one session. He wasn’t lagging behind, but neither was he No. 1 in his class. But the Jesuit priest, who happened to be an adviser of Marcos, took a special interest in his education.
It wasn’t till much, much later that he learned why: the priest was an admirer of Ninoy Aquino. And he probably foresaw that someone in the Aquino family, if not Ninoy himself, was going to make a big difference in the Philippines. Unfor t unately, the priest passed away before P-Noy became President, but a lot of what he learned from the priest’s classes and tutorials he put to good use.
Up close and personal, President Aquino is a sentimental person. He confided that when he visited the home the family lived in for three years in Boston, “I couldn’t get past the first floor. The memories were just too much.”
That’s the reason he had the Times street house that he inherited from his parents renovated. “If I looked to the end of the corridor, I would see my parents’ room. Beside it, my mom’s art studio. If I looked at the dining room, I would remember all the happy conversations we had in the dining room. If I entered
the sala, I would remember that it was where my dad’s wake was. Too many memories.”
So as he begins a new chapter of his life on July 1, 2016, Noynoy Aquino is looking forward to a fresh start.
( You may e-mail me at joanneraeramirez@yahoo.com.)