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SHALANI SOLEDAD: SIMPLY SHALANI
[PEOPLE ASIA COVER PHOTO - SHALANI SOLEDAD]
MANILA, OCTOBER 10, 2010 (STAR) PEOPLE ASIA - By Büm D. Tenorio Jr. - Euphoric was the scene one Saturday morning of April 2010 at the public market of Cabuyao, Laguna when Shalani Soledad, clad in jeans and yellow collared shirt, campaigned for her boyfriend then Sen. Noynoy Aquino.
She shook hands with the toothy and toothless fish vendors in the market. She flashed a smile at the mataderos (butchers) who lined up to have a photograph taken with her. An excited vendor carrying kangkong clustered in a pail filled with water excitedly got up from her mono-block chair and accidentally spurted water at Shalani's arm. In the thick of the crowd, Shalani did not notice the little splash of water dripping down her hand. No one seemed to notice as well. After all, that spurt of water just mixed well with the sweat running through Shalani's system that time. She didn't mind the almost asphyxiating heat. The warm reception of Cabuyeños was more than enough to cool her down.
"Kayo na po ang bahala kay Noy. Huwag niyo po sana syang pababayaan," she told a burly man whose upper body was clothed only with a bloodied apron. The man just flashed a "Laban" sign and smiled. He wanted to shake Shalani's hand but he was conscious of his hands reeking with the smell of a butchered pig. Still, Shalani extended her right hand. "Huwag na po, Ma'am. Mabaho po ang kamay ko," the man said. Shalani was firm, then the man finally shook hands with her and said: "Sige ho, Ma'am, kami na po ang bahala dito kay Noynoy."
In just 15 minutes, Shalani finished her sortie in Cabuyao market and left the people in a trance. This scene would happen repetitively in all the towns and provinces where Shalani helped campaign for now President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.
There is no way to discuss the story of Shalani Soledad, a topnotch third-term councilor of Valenzuela City, without mentioning the name of President Aquino. After all, Shalani and P-Noy have carried on an amorous relationship since Sept. 5, 2008. Circumstances around their relationship are fodder for Page-One news, or a sure attention-grabbing entry in the table of contents of glossies and fanzines.
Many people are interested in their love story that sounds almost like a fairy tale. Boy meets girl in Alfredo's restaurant on Tomas Morato in Quezon City on July 28, 2008, around 9 p.m. They exchange numbers. The following day, he sends her a text message asking if he can call her. Because she is eating dinner with her family at the time, she asks him to call after a while. He finally calls her and they spend three long hours on the phone. Ever since then, romance between the two has slowly unfolded — over several dinners, over several phone calls, inside the Baclaran Church where boy and girl hear the Wednesday Mass regularly. They think of sealing their relationship sometime in August 2008 but both believe it is a ghost month. They wait a little more until they become officially "on" on Sept. 5. Yes, they seal their romantic deal over dinner. Boy and girl love to eat. Pork adobo for her. Steak or Hungarian sausage for him. In fact, in the course of their relationship, they both agree that food is better than flowers.
And the killer line of boy to girl: "Kaya pala ako milagrong nabuhay para makilala ka 20 years later," apparently referring to his life-threatening experience in 1987 when he was seriously wounded by rebel soldiers in a failed coup attempt during his mother's presidency. In fact, a bullet is still embedded in his neck.
"Noy is very supportive of what I want. He is very supportive of my career," says Shalani, 30, whose real name is Shalani Carla San Ramon Soledad. The name "Shalani," according to the baby book where her name was culled from, means "big and beautiful baby girl."
Shalani is beautiful. No doubt about that. She says she has the mestiza features of her great grandmother. At her height of 5'4", she is big in stature because of her big heart. Her pet project as the prime councilor of Valenzuela City is early childhood care development. Everything that concerns the life of children is of much concern, too, in Shalani's brand of public service.
"I love helping people. I get fulfillment by serving my constituents. Helping them gives me more reason to live," Shalani says, as if to indicate how she landed in politics in 2004. The first time she ran for public office, she landed as the No. 5 councilor. Though she associates "5" as her lucky number, she proved "luckier" when she became the No. 1 councilor upon her reelection in 2007. And need I say more how she fared in the last May 2010 election? As for her political plans after 2013, Shalani is not talking. She just wants to concentrate on delivering honest-to-goodness service to her constituents.
Her constituents are her prime concern as a public servant because early in life her parents taught her "not to take anyone or anything for granted." Her father is a banker while her mother used to be the F&B director in Malacañang until she resigned two years ago. Shalani says she is very close to her older brother Carlo. She and her brother shared a very happy childhood playing patintero in their neighborhood in BF Parañaque. She also grew up close to her cousins — all boys — and remembers playing basketball with them. From her family, she learned how to celebrate life and how not to disappoint people.
"When people give you their trust, you cannot let them down," she says.
She proudly says that Noynoy's brand of politics — "sincere intentions to serve" — is also her source of inspiration to further her career in public service.
"Noy will make a good President because he has a good heart. He really has good intentions for the country," she beams.
Now that her boyfriend is the president of the Republic of the Philippines, Shalani, a Human Resource major from St. Benilde College, says she will continue to provide a strong back-up support for her boyfriend who is "generally cool and sweet."
Because she, by nature, is simple and sincere, she does not call attention to herself. It is seemingly primed in her mind that, because she and the President are an item, anything she does now will be magnified. In fact, if media people want to interview or do a pictorial with her, she first considers what her boyfriend will say.
A classic example was when People Asia wanted to shoot her for the cover. Shalani told me, "Please make me paalam to Noy. Love ka naman non, eh." So, I texted the President about the request and got the biggest surprise of my life when he really answered me in a few minutes after I sent him my message. P-Noy's text to me: "That has to be her decision, Büm. Please get in touch with her directly."
It is now becoming very clear why many people love Shalani. She has a pure heart. In fact, there is a fan page on Facebook that solicits the "vote" of people for her and P-Noy to get married already. Shalani did not know anything about this fan page when People Asia asked her opinion about it. She is not giving her comment yet. But she giggles at the idea created by some people at that social networking site.
Shalani says she always prays for guidance. Faith is intrinsic in her growth; it also defines her character. She begins and ends her day with a prayer. As always, she asks God to make her an instrument to be of help to the people.
Meanwhile, Shalani remains true to her virtues — simplicity and sincerity. Shalani knows by heart that these virtues will help her realize more her fidelity to duty both as a woman and a public servant.
(Editor's Note by Joanne Rae Ramirez: A Lady First
She does not have to be First Lady, now or ever, to make a mark (though the thought of her being First Lady tickles a lot of romantic hearts).
With her patrician beauty and the royal way she handled her almost instant celebrity, Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad, girlfriend of President Benigno "Noynoy" III, is already a standout. In fact, former Makati Rep. Teddyboy Locsin, noticing Shalani's absence at President Aquino's State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 26, commented: "She is the stateliest woman I have ever seen."
Listening to her respond to questions in media interviews (including my own), I have found her to be articulate, but deliberate and careful with her pronouncements. Soft spoken, she is fluent in both English and Tagalog, and seems to be both smart and street smart.
She may be biased, but why does she think Noynoy will make a good President? "He is sincere, very sincere. He has no front, no facade. And regardless of any given situation, he will do what he thinks is right. He will not bend over to accommodate something wrong. Kahit kaibigan ka niya, kahit kamag-anak ka niya (Even if you are a friend, even if you are a relative). His values are really set."
During the interview, held at the Soledad family compound in Valenzuela, I asked her a hypothetical question. If she were First Lady, would she be the traditional, supportive wife or a modern wife with her own career?
"All of the above," answered Shalani. "You would want to be the backup support system of your husband and number two, you would prioritize the welfare of your family, your kids. You would also want to be consulted on many things."
Shalani decided to run for councilor in 2004 when her uncle Mon Soledad said he was getting too old for politics. Shalani readily agreed to run in his place. She had always been a people person and was not keen on accepting offers from talent agents to appear in TV commercials. She was not interested in going to auditions and VTRs. "Not my cup of tea," she says.
Politics was — is — her cup of tea. After her election as councilor in 2004, she was all the more convinced of it. "It was then that I realized this was what I wanted. It's the sense of being able to help the people. When they say, 'Thank you, you have helped us,' that's what makes my day!"
She first met Noynoy in 2005 when she interviewed him for UNTV before the SONA. He remembered her because her question was not related to the SONA. After a second chance encounter at the Alfredo's Steakhouse in 2008, their romance blossomed.
Wasn't the 20-year age gap ever a problem?
"No!" she giggles, "because Noy is very bagets!" They share the same simplicity in their manner of dressing. She reveals the President prefers that she be "not so made up." During his Proclamation by Congress as the 15th President of the Philippines, Shalani wore a simple black sheath dress. For his Inauguration at the Quirino Grandstand, she wore a yellow terno by Rajo Laurel that was embellished only above the waist.
* * *
During the 2010 campaign, she barnstormed for Noynoy all over the country, visiting Marinduque, Cagayan de Oro, Marawi, Iligan, Zamboanga and Davao,
When his victory was near certain, Shalani told Noynoy: "So many people are pinning their hopes on you — balut vendors, the middle class… Some of them come up to me, telling me how much they support you. I hope you will really be able to make a difference in their lives."
When Noynoy replied, "How can you even ask me that?" she assured him: "No, I am not doubting you. I just want you to know that a lot of people have so much hope in you."
So what role does she dream for herself in the near future?
"If you had asked me that a couple of years ago, I would have told you that I would want to see myself pursuing higher office. But each and everyone of us has her own destiny. Even if you plan, or even if you don't plan, if God really wants you to be there, if that's your purpose in life, you would be surprised, you are already in that situation."
If and when she gets married, will she keep her career?
"I hope so because it is something that I love. But you would also have to prioritize your family because once you enter into a commitment, into a marriage, your focus should be on your family, on the children you are going to have."
So that's the kind of wife and mother Shalani hopes to be if it is her destiny to be so, and if, in her own words, "God really wants you to be there, if that's your purpose in life,"
In the meantime, she's being a lady… first.)
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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