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The wives of many senatorial candidates of Team Unity
have been taking over the campaign chores in many sorties—and how!
Mrs. Gloria Manalang Angara,
wife of three-term Sen. Edgardo Angara, appears delicate and tender,
which betrays her being a hard worker in the hustings. She has
already pinch hit for him whenever his speaking engagements in
graduation rites conflicted with the campaign sortie schedule.
Campaigning is nothing new for Mrs. Angara, called “Baby” by
friends. She undertook the rigorous campaign for her husband in 1987
when he suffered a mild stroke for playing tennis after a campaign
that lasted through the early morning.
GMA, as she is called by his and
her staff, had to wake up early as if she were the candidate,
whenever she had to appear in his stead. Incidentally, when I felt
amused that she is called “the original GMA,” she smiled and
quipped: “That merely means that I am older than the President.”
Like the senator, she is a
stickler for punctuality, so the frequent adjustments in the
schedule should have irritated her. The senator’s operations
chief, lawyer Gerpy Erguiza, however, immediately cautioned her that
schedules are seldom followed, and she had been able to adapt
herself to the “alien” political culture. Incidentally, she said
that she had never expected herself to be the wife of a politician.
“The senator belongs to a family of politicians in Baler, so when
he was courting me, I made him promise that he would not enter
politics,” she recalled.
Angara first entered politics in
1972 when he ran for and won as delegate to the Constitutional
Convention. She said she understood his desire to help the country
so she helped him as best as she could. “The downside is the
lessening of privacy even in our house, but I also understood
why,” she added.
She is an art connoisseur and was
once chair of the National Commission on the Culture and Arts and of
the Philippine Cultural Center. When asked if she had ever
influenced the senator in his interest in the arts and in writing
laws that enhance the arts and culture, she said this was not so.
“Ed had always been interested in the arts,” she stressed.
Another candidate’s wife who
often joins the campaign is Mrs. Audrey Zubiri, the young wife of
the equally young senatorial candidate Rep. Migz Zubiri of Bukidnon.
She is a former model, and she lights up the place with her energy
and animated way of talking.
Audrey has had her share of
mishaps in taking the place of Migz in provincial campaigns. Her car
once got involved in a car accident in Leyte. She came out of it as
if nothing happened. Her main concern was to reach the pulong sulong
locale as soon as possible. Her most serious “mishap,” however,
took place in Legazpi City, Albay when she was introduced by the
campaign emcee as the wife of Sec. Mike Defensor. She immediately
protested before further damage could be inflicted. Mike, himself,
was the victim of the emcee earlier when he was introduced as
“Mike Defensor Santiago.”
Like GMA, Audrey is a walking
encyclopedia of the achievements of Migz, called the “Most
Productive Congressman of the Thirteenth Congress.” She proudly
cites his authorship of the Biofuels Act and enumerates its various
benefits to the country.
“I always enjoy looking at Migz’
face because he is very handsome. I am saying this not because I
love him but because this is true,” she said.
The wife of a candidate has not
attended any campaign, but she is an invisible presence in the
hustings. She is the actress Vilma Santos, wife of reelectionist
Sen. Ralph Recto. “I will bring projects to your province if you
will vote 12-0 for Team Unity,” Recto told officials in Bohol, and
there was mild applause.
“I will bring Vilma Santos here
if you will vote 12-0,” he said next, and there was thunderous
applause. Now, could you blame him if he invokes the name of Vilma
Santos now and then?
Incidentally, one senatorial
candidate has not yet brought his wife along in the campaign, but he
was spotted once in the company of a cute young thing. The cutie,
who is a teener, is an actress, so she was immediately recognized by
a nosy reporter covering the Team Unity campaign.
efrendanao2003@yahoo.com
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