The administration Liberal Party is reportedly eyeing Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto to run in tandem with LP standard bearer Secretary Mar Roxas in next year’s polls. Although Governor Vi has time and again declared she is not interested, it remains to be seen if she can be prevailed upon by a supposed “universal clamor” for her to seek the vice presidency.
According to reports, tarpaulins have sprouted in the provincial capital Batangas City urging the popular governor to run for vice president. The tarps may be newly minted because during my visit to Batangas City on August 5 for the recent National Youth and Laboratory Cooperatives Congress, I didn’t see a single signage calling on Governor Vi to run for higher office.
In fact, during a chance interview with this corner, she was very emphatic that the post of VP is below her radar. As if to douse speculations about the Mar-Vi team up, Governor Santos-Recto said she will remain in her home province when her current third and last term of office as governor ends next year.
Everybody knows that Ate Vi, as her millions of movie fans call her, has embraced politics for the past 18 years—9 years as mayor of Lipa City; by next year, she will have completed 9 years of uninterrupted stint as Batangas governor.
Her staying power is awesome.
As she herself narrated in her speech before the National Youth Congress, she has been in the limelight since she was 5 years old. Her career took a detour when she married a Batangueño, Ralph Recto. How she conquered the macho culture of Batangas society speaks volumes about Ate Vi’s charms. In her speech, she attributed her political achievements to the mentoring of Senator Recto. I think she was talking to invisible pundits who believe that were it not for Ate Vi’s crowd-drawing power, the Rectos would have wallowed in political obscurity.
I was invited to deliver my advocacy to tell the cooperative story before co-op youth leaders and was scheduled to speak at two in the afternoon. The emcees Noel and Inday tipped me that I will be getting a heads up once Governor Vi is around the Capitol compound, which means I have to wrap up and make way for the much-awaited appearance of the popular movie-star-turned-politician.
The notice to end my presentation came 15 minutes later, after which the provincial auditorium was soaked in flash lights coming from phone cameras and iPads. Well, pandemonium didn’t really break loose, but in the sense that it’s been more than five decades since she became a household word for her artistry and dramatic prowess, the show of affection, or adulation if you will, is still very noteworthy.
I am not at all surprised that after the Mar-Grace tandem fell through, the LP is courting Governor Vi as Mar’s running mate. But to say that she brings only her popularity to the political realm is a gross misrepresentation.
In 2005, she was conferred the Gawad Plaridel Award by the University of the Philippines for her achievements both as an actor and public servant. She was honored again by the state university the following year as one of 4 laureates in UP’s first Diwata Awards. Eighteen years of public service, oftentimes going at odds with crime syndicates that used to stalk Lipa City, speak loud about her commitment and zeal to serve.
Without a doubt she is even more qualified than Sen. Grace Poe or any other presidentiable.
The opportunity to ambush-interview Governor Vi came when she got off the stage after she was swamped by requests for selfies and photo opportunities. Having done with the sector-related issues, I pressed her to answer reports that she is running for VP. She laughed and replied that the vice presidency is not part of her plans.
The laugh lines and the crow’s feet around the eyes are signs of fading physical beauty but hardly do they distract from Vilma Santos-Recto’s outstanding public service record. I wish to highlight her dogged efforts to empower co-ops in Batangas, through the Provincial Cooperative Development Office headed by Celia Atienza.
In 2014 the PCDO bagged the Cooperative Development Authority’s Gawad Parangal award as most outstanding local government cooperative development office. The lady governor emphasized that the PCDO mimics the functions of the CDA, thanks to the able direction of Celia Atienza.
As the cliché goes, only fools don’t change their minds, but I think Governor Vi will not succumb to political blandishments about her popularity and track record. For one thing, she can’t afford to be waging a national campaign and leave her political turf unattended in 2016. There are speculations she will opt to run for mayor of Lipa City, or vie for the Congress seat representing the 4th district of Batangas.
Since she has logged a solid track record in serving Lipa City as its first female mayor from 1998 up to 2007, I think this is where the “universal clamor” for Ate Vi really comes from — from the people of Lipa who want her to run again for city mayor.
If only she can be prodded to run for president. The scenario will be a real game changer.
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