Kris Aquino shakes off quake fears, talks of Sara, Noynoy and why vote for Bam
Credit to Author: TESSA MAURICIO-ARRIOLA| Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2019 12:32:54 +0000
SHE didn’t drop a bomb this time but the earth shook anyway.
Multi-media star Kris Aquino was in the middle of an interview on Monday when the magnitude 6.1 earthquake jolted Luzon and parts of Metro Manila. Blunt and bubbly as ever despite her stark weight loss, the 48-year-old political scion and showbiz personality cut herself mid-sentence as she felt the ground begin to rock.
“May lindol… and nawalan na ng kuryente,” she finally said after a few seconds as a hush gripped the tight huddle. “Umuwi na tayo. I want to go home… My sons! Because nasa Faultline kami… check si Bimb at si Kuya [Josh]!”
Moving slowly to steady herself while asking her staff for vertigo meds, Aquino then blurted out, “It’s the end of the world na, I’m telling you! Buti nalang binili ko na lahat ng Chanel na gusto kong bilin so at least na-experience ko na siya.”
Yes. It was a classic Kris Aquino quip so there’s no need to make an issue out of the woman’s intentional frivolity. For if anything, she was merely easing her nerves and by doing so everyone else’s in the tense-filled room. She laughed at herself along with the rest of them, unfreezing news crews stiffened up by the earthquake.
In other words, love her or hate her, Kris Aquino will always have that unexplainably fascinating effect on people, bewildering at times, and providing a momentary distraction from a heavy-going reality.
It is surreal but it is the truth. So today, amid all the saddening, maddening and worrying news about earthquakes near and far, let Kris Aquino worked her surreal magic on the Filipino even just for the rest of this article.
Rewinding to pre-earthquake Q&A…
In support of Bam
Aquino, who hardly makes public appearances nowadays, held a media conference on Monday to declare her support for first cousin Bam (Benigno Aquino 4th) Aquino who is running for reelection to the Senate. It was the senator’s wife Timi Aquino who sat beside Kris, however, since a good number of the celebrity’s endorsement contracts stipulate that she cannot campaign for any candidate.
“I can’t even say the word ‘vote.’ I am obeying several contracts that say bawal but my lawyers checked for me kung ano pwede kong gawin. This is the closest that I could come and I could say of course the No 9 [Bam’s number on the ballot]. At the end of the day, I think ang pinakaimportante is to exercise your right to vote. Wag ka mag-complain na di nabigyan ng tamang SSS yung contribution mo when you were trying to get your benefits, or hindi mo nakuha or pin-romise sa ‘yo na libreng edukasyon kung ‘di ka naman bumoto.
“Kaya nandito ako ngayon kasi paraan ko magamit yung boses ko na ipaalam sa lahat why Timi who is a top executive gave everything when she married Bam because it’s a reflection of how much she believes sa pinaglalaban ni Bam and his report card at the Senate will show all that he has achieved for the Filipinos.
“Bitbit ni Bam ang apelyido namin. Kailangan tumayo ka sa kapamilya o kadugo mo, hindi dahil kapamilya o kadugo mo siya pero dahil meron siyang katangian na dapat mo talagang ipagtanggol.”
Kris vs Sara
But of course, no matter how many times Aquino tried to shine the spotlight on her cousin-in-law and Sen. Bam’s candidacy, the majority of questions were still all about her, and Kris being Kris, she didn’t shy away from any of them.
“Would you ever run against Sara Duterte?”
First explaining she doesn’t see herself running for government in general due to her health issues [among them a form of lupus and chronic spontaneous urticaria] as it would be a disservice to the public to do so, she said of the President’s daughter, “Ayoko, uupakan niya ko.”
“Sorry ha, ito yung honest lang. I don’t see myself in a position going against her because I find the narrative so wrong. Maling mali na kami yung pinag-aaway kasi walang ugat. Kung tinanong niyo ‘ko kung tatakbo ako kung Marcos ang tatakbo, bahala na si Batman. Yes, isusugal ko ang lahat kung yun ang kalaban. Pero kung Duterte ang tatakbo, sa kanila na yun kasi wala kaming malalim na ugat, sugat at hindi namin sila kaaway.
“Honestly, ang feeling ko lang talaga, gusto kami pagawayin para makalimutan kung sino na talaga ang matagal na ang away. It boggles the mind na nagawan kami ng issue with the Dutertes because wala talagang dahilan. And realistic ako, why go against someone with 76 percent approval? You don’t go against a tsunami, but what you do is you try to work with that tsunami towards a common goal.”
Reunited with Noy
Asked by The Manila Times if her depression was behind her—an announcement she made shortly before Holy Week where she expressed her need to heal and thereby shun all negativity, including a short-lived break from social media—Aquino admitted that one of her medications “affects [her] emotions.”
“Hirap na hirap talaga ako sa gamot na ‘yun,” she stressed. “Nasabi ko yun [depression] kasi it was a bad day in particular, because I was already in my happy place—my favorite place in the world—and yet malungkot ako. It’s an ongoing thing for me.”
“But in saying that you need to heal and stay away from anything negative, didn’t you think of staying away from politics too rather than returning to social media because of it?” The Manila Times followed up.
[To back track, Aquino returned to Instagram after deleting the app from her personal smart phones in reaction to a statement made by Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, who manages Mar (Manuel 2nd) Roxas’ senatorial bid. Erice was quoted as saying that they made a mistake during his senatorial bid to wear the color yellow—generally associated with the Aquinos—since it made Roxas “Robin” to former President Noynoy (Benigno 3rd) Aquino’s “Batman,” which is why their current campaign color has switched to blue. On her widely followed Instagram account, Aquino retorted, “So pati pagkatalo sa 2010 kasalanan din ni Noy?”]
The daughter and sister of former presidents replied, “You don’t think about yourself pag ganun eh. This is a character trait instilled in us by my mom. My brother will never talk and I know that had we been in speaking terms at that time, napagalitan din ako to the highest heavens na, ‘Don’t be my spokesperson!’
“Gaganun yun pero hindi mo [ako] [ako]i>maawat eh, ipagtatanggol mo yung dugo. Nung nabasa ko yun parang dynamite, yung I’ll take a bullet for him. That’s what I said na kung siya si Batwoman, Kris is ready to be Catwoman. Willing ako kung ako na yung maging kontrabida sa lahat because that’s the truth na things had to be said, and if it had to be said in all of those words, I’d do it all over again because that’s what you do for family.”
The most controversial Aquino, hands down, finally said that she looked well and free from depression that day because on Easter Sunday, she had finally reunited with her brother with whom she had not been on speaking terms for a year.
“If you ask me kung anong nagpasaya sa akin, it was to see the face of Kuya Josh that happened, na ang saya-saya niya to see us all together again, that makes me happy. If my sons are happy I will be happy.”
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