An Open Letter to the Cojuangco-Aquino Siblings

To President Noynoy Aquino, Ballsy, Pinky, Viel and Kris,

Congratulations!

Before anything else, I would like you to know – for whatever it’s worth – that our family has always been pro-Ninoy/Cory. My late father was among those who participated in the events that led to the People Power Revolution of 1986. On the other hand, I – as an OFW in Riyadh at that time – followed the news with great interest until your mother was installed as the 11th Philippine president.

When The Philippine Star held a “Ninoy Aquino Essay-Writing Contest” in August 1993 in commemoration of your father’s 10th death anniversary my entry was selected as one of the fifteen finalists. My essay about Ninoy must have been impassioned enough to catch the judges’ attention.

When your mother died I was among the thousands who braved the rains during her funeral procession.
I don’t know if President Noynoy remembers it but I was there right outside the van that you were all riding in (as it traversed the length of Roxas Boulevard) brandishing right in front of him your mom’s autographed picture and another showing her handing me the 1990 POEA Bagong Bayani award. For the complete set of photos I took, please visit this site - http://absolutescorpio.multiply.com/photos/album/203/Paalam_President_Cory_Album_1_of_2#

I would like to be honest with you President Aquino, I did not vote for you. Yes I believe you may have been the only one who possessed moral ascendancy over all the other presidentiables, but pardon me, no I don’t believe that was enough to make you a very good president. I would be happy, however, if time will prove me wrong.

Perhaps it would interest you to know that I had a certain connection to your family, at least the Cojuangco side of it. You see, right after graduation from college in 1981 I found employment in your family corporation, Jose Cojuangco & Sons Organizations (JCSO), as Staff Artist & Photographer of the Quedan newsletter, under the company’s Corporate Communications Department. Our boss was your Ate Marisse (Reyes then) who was one of the country’s excellent bowlers at that time.

I was very fortunate enough to work in her department because my job afforded me the opportunity to rub elbows, so to speak, with members of the Cojuangco clan. I remember meeting your uncles Pete and Peping as well as your aunts Josephine, Tere and Passy. Among them it was your Aunt Josephine whom I’ve had the wonderful opportunity of meeting up-close more often, she being my boss’ mother. One incident that I will never forget was during the 1981 company Christmas party at the Cojuangcos’ Forbes Park residence (if my memory serves me right). When it was time to go home, your Aunt Josephine who was with your Ate Marisse in their car offered to give me a ride. I was very thankful because I thought at least I’d get a lift up to EDSA where I can take the bus to Crossing (we live near Shaw Boulevard). But your Aunt Josephine instructed the driver to drop me right at our house. It was indeed very gracious of her to do that considering her status in society.

Your Aunt Tingting was also one of those whom I had the chance to meet up-close several times, mostly when I would cover events at Central Azucarera de Tarlac like visits by family members during special occasions. She was a photographer’s delight, always stylish and simply beautiful. After all, she was once named by Harper’s as one of the world’s most beautiful women. And my, am I lucky for having photographed her many times. One time I was even asked to go to their house to take pictures of her portrait.

And speaking of portraits, I was likewise asked once to go to your Uncle Danding’s UCPB office to take pictures of your Aunt Gretchen’s portrait.

I also had the pleasure of meeting your cousins. I still have with me photos I took of them when they were very young, taken mostly during company parties. I remember very well your cousins Liaa (who, if I remember right, at that time was a Pre-Med freshman at UST and was a pretty and very refined young lady) and her sisters Pin, Mikee, Mai and China (who was a very cute toddler then). I likewise remember your Teopaco cousins, the one I remember most is Rina.

Among your cousins that I somehow had interaction with were Joel Lopa (who would assist us during Quedan staff’s monthly visits to Hacienda Luisita; my colleagues did interviews for the newsletter while I took photos); Rocky Lopa and Gina Lopa. I also got to meet Whitey and LA (God bless his soul). My only regret then was not having met the Cory branch of the family as you were already in the USA then. I did hear a lot of stories about your family though.

As Quedan’s Staff Artist & Photographer my name was in each issue’s staffbox and little did I know that your family to which copies of Quedan were sent regularly paid attention to it, or at least Ballsy did. You see, during one of my annual vacations from Saudi Arabia (where I worked after my Cojuangco job) I returned to the JCSO Building for a visit. That was after your dad’s assassination. An exhibit about him was being held at the building’s ground floor. Anita de Guzman, a former office colleague, guided me through the exhibit and when we were about to leave we met you, Ballsy, and Anita introduced me to you by saying “Ma’am siya po yung dating Staff Artist at Photographer ng Quedan” to which you replied “Ah siya ba si Rhoel?” That certainly took me by surprise as I didn’t expect you to know the Quedan artist by name. Again it was something that may seem trivial but to me it meant so much.

By the way, perhaps I should also add that Pinky was my brother-in-law’s colleague at Hewlett-Packard. I have always wanted to write you, Pinky, if only to convey through you a message to Kris whom I have met up-close in the six times that I have joined Game Ka Na Ba as contestant. But more on that later. Further, one of my cousins was President Noynoy’s batchmate in Ateneo.

My brief (16-month) stint at JCSO was quite an enjoyable and rewarding experience if only for the fact that I was given the opportunity to work for one of the country’s most prominent families, not to mention that it was my first job. If only I had met your family, then it would have been a much more memorable experience.

When your mom assumed the presidency, I learned that my former boss – your Ate Marisse – became the head of her Correspondence Office and that she brought her staff also to work in Malacanang. Sometimes I wondered, what if I had stayed on at JCSO? Perhaps I would have been one of your mom’s official photographers. That would have definitely been the greatest experience of my life. But obviously God had other plans for me.

In December 1990 I finally had the great honor of meeting and even shaking hands with your mother when she awarded me the POEA Bagong Bayani citation. I was actually tempted to whisper to her that I once worked for JCSO but I thought it would be inappropriate. The photograph of her shaking hands with me is one of my most treasured possessions.

Now that President Noynoy has been sworn into office, I would like to – not give unsolicited advice as I may not be in a position to do so – but simply share some words that I hope the President and you his sisters (especially Kris) would take to heart.

Mr. President, I pray to God that may you lead this country on the right path and bring it back to greatness and to its rightful place in the community of nations. But in order to do that you need to be just, not vindictive and strong-willed but kind.

It is quite disconcerting that right after your proclamation there have been signs that you have this tendency to become arrogant, vindictive, immature and negative. In order for this country to move on, get rid of such self-destructive traits.

Mr. President, I also hope and pray that you put individuals in your cabinet on basis of capability, credibility and competence, and not fire officials – especially if they’re fit for the job – just because they are identified with the Arroyo administration. Avoid creating another Kamag-anak Inc. Also, avoid giving positions to people only because they gave substantial support to your campaign. Be careful of “friends” who give advice. Be wary too of people “around” you, they could be the ones to bring you down.

As to Ballsy, Pinky and Viel, I have always admired you for being low profile and soft spoken, just as your cousins (at least those that I’ve come in very close contact with) are. In you I see humility, kind-heartedness, tranquility of spirit, strength of character. President Noynoy will do well to heed your advice which I know will always take the Filipino people into consideration, first and foremost.

Now a few words for Kris. I admire you for your intelligence, sophistication, eloquence and smartness, but I don’t appreciate your tactlessness, arrogance and your constant need of attention. I would like to see you temper frankness with sensitivity to other people’s feelings. By all means speak your heart out as you often do, but please spare us the details of your personal life, we’ve had enough of it.

Lastly, it’s good to see you doing charity work. I just hope you’re doing it with sincerity and genuine concern and not just for show nor just to put your brother in a good light. I say this because of one incident that somehow changed my impression of you.

You see, I was a contestant in Game Ka Na Ba six times. During one instance – on August 15, 2003 to be exact – I gave you a bracelet that I myself painstakingly made (I used to design, make and sell fashion accessories). I did it because I saw how much you loved accessorizing. When one of your staff handed it to you, with me just about three feet away, you reacted in a rather sarcastic way and asked in a condescending manner “bakit?” I was embarrassed to say the least. Pero dedma lang. That was not the worst part of it though.

Before I had the chance to give the bracelet to you, my mother (who was around 72 years old at that time) and I stood for about twenty minutes while awaiting the chance to be accommodated by you as you were being made up. You saw us and even gave us a scrutinizing look. Aside from us, there were only your make-up artist Bambi, someone who I learned later was the show’s producer, and one PA. I was hoping you would, or at least ask your staff to, offer my mother to sit but you didn’t. Bambi noticed it but only managed to give us a compassionate smile.

You struck me at first to be very respectful of old people, of mothers most especially, but your seeming lack of concern during that incident made me think that what you project to be on TV is way too different from what you really are up-close in person. I hope that old Kris has changed for the better. My point here is, now that you are into charity work I hope there really is sincerity in your heart as you undertake such noble tasks.

And please, Kris, for the President’s sake, don’t meddle – as you are wont to do – in his affairs, political or otherwise.

So to you the Aquino-Cojuangco siblings, may God continue to bless you and shower you with his blessings. May you continue to uphold the principles by which Ninoy and Cory, your parents, lived.

And to you, President Aquino, may Divine Providence be as kind to you as it was to your mother. May your term be indeed the start of a new Philippines.

Like I said, I did not vote for you. But I want to see you succeed.

Rhoel Raymundo Mendoza
Former Staff Artist & Photographer
Corporate Communications Dept.
Jose Cojuancgo & Sons Organizations (JCSO)