DADDY GROOVY
by Terrie V. Gutierrez, Family Reader, June 2002

Senator Kiko on history, being a dad, and doing the grocery.

The year was 1987 and the Philippines was in a flux. The People Power Revolution had just triumphed over the Marcos regime, Cory Aquino qas president, a new consitution was in the works, rumoors of coups d' etat were rampant, and yellow was the color of the day.

In one of the dingy calssrooms of the State University, Fancis Pangilinan, student regent, and former chair of the UP Student Council, was speaking in front of a group of impressionable freshmen. If you're an iskolar ng bayan, as the typical UP student is called, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes in all seriousness, the topic should be familiar: The need for resonsible leadership starts with developing your sense of critical thinking. Typical activist-speak.

While it didn't take a genius to figure out that Kiko (as he was popularly known in campus) was headed for the national arena even then, I never figured on it being soon - the following year as it turned out. But the times call the man, it is said. And the times leading up to 1986 were certainly heady ones, and for his generation, quite an eye-opener.

"I was a young student leader just before and right after the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship, There was a lot of promise, a lot of hope... A lot of interest in doing things better. That was really the context of my exposure to politics." Individuals and sectors who were once marginalized found themselves participating in national development. Nongoverment organizations mushroomed and everyone was breathing democracy, some for the first time.

Maybe it was the prevailing mood nationwide, or his experience in the student sector. Whatever it was, Francis Pangilinan found himself contemplating public office. "It was a very interesting time in terms of public policy. The issues then were very clear: poverty, and [the need for] good governance. It can only affect you one way or the other. It affected me in the sense that, OK, so what do we do about it?" To him, the answer was clear: Join the fray. In 1988, during the first national elections in 16 years, he won a post in the Quezon City council. He was, in fact, the youngest.

A Larger Arena

Fourteen years later, Francis Pangilinan is still at it-this time, at the national level as a first-time senator. The issues he addresses in the Senate today are reminiscent of his days as an activist. Recently, the senator filed a resolution on pre-school education. "Some people have asked me to look into the standards of these schools and the costs [of pre-school, " he says. "But before we went ahead with the report 1 asked experts how important preschool is to the child. They said it was indispensable."

Considering that there's one preschool in practically every neighborhood these days, such a resolution is sure to have a huge impact on the community. "E ngayon, lima-singko na halos ang pre-schools... And we're talking, what, P40,000 to 1100,000 a year? Clearly, this is not accessible to a large part of the population."

These two factors-the costs of preschool and its importance merited a closer look at the sector. "If it's not accessible, kawawa naman ang ating mga kababayan. Hirap na nga sila, deprived pa sa development potential ang mga bata, pa'no na?"

Although the [Committee on Education[ report has already been drafted, it's not yet final. The salient points of the report, however, are as follows:

One, There's a need to make preschool accreditation a requirement so it would be easier to monitor them. "There are a lot of requirements in putting up a school: space, floor area, and of the fees, how much goes to teachers salaries, offices, equipment, etc. All these could be monitored if the school is registered. We could give schools a grace period [to conform to requirements] but definitely, they should be registered."

Two, the report also recommends the formulation of policy on whether or not the Department of Education should look into fees, although says the senator, "For me, it should be on a case to case basis."

He also brought up the need to be clear about the role of private pre-school in the public sector. As such, the Department of Education has to get in on the act. In this, Senator Pangilinan is emphatic. "The Department of l ducation has the mandate to provide basic education. And by definition, basic education includes pre-school education. It's really now a question of how far we can go given the limited funds at our disposal. Pero ang maliwanag dito, wala pa masyadong headway, and [the Senate committee on education] has asked the Dep Ed for recommendations." He makes it clear, however, that while pre-school is part of basic education, "There is as yet no policy of making pre-school a requisite to basic ed. That area is a bit gray."

And what have the pre-schools to say about this report? "Well, they expressed reservations, of course. Let market forces decide. But for me, there ought to be some sort of benchmark."

Other Worlds

But there's more to the man than his public persona. In the intervening years between student activist and senator; Francis Pangilinan finished law, was a popular face in news and current affairs programs of ABS-CBN, and he also met and married Sharon Cuneta - a marriage that could pretty well be symbolic of the blurring lines between their two worlds.

In spite of, or maybe because of, his profession, Senator Kiko is an avowed homebody, prefering to stay home with the family in the rare instances when he doesn't have to work. It's my way of relaxing." Also not surprisingly, he reads a lot of books, albeit his list would not be everyone's easy reading:

"There's this book on the impact of stimulation on rats' brains. It savs that babies' brains are like rats' so depending how the rats' brains respond to stimulation, in theory, babies will respond in the same way. Then, Napoleon and the Art of War, interesting for those who like military stuff... history books, autobiographies..."

Then, of course, there's Frankie. "I like playing with my baby girl." Like any doting dad, the senator's face lights up when he talks about his daughter. "If I have time, I go home for lunch and play with her and put her to bed." A favorite pastime of this duo is reading. "She'll get a book and give it to me, and she'll sit on my lap." And Frankie's booklist? "Pat the Bunny... She likes Elmo, Miffy... books with real pictures, which she'll point to."

Asked how many kids he'd like, the senator laughs, "Sana two more... o tatlo para basketball team na sila."

Connecting with KC

Talk turns to his eldest, Kristina Cassandra, popularly known to the public as KC. Sentor Kiko says that even at the start, there was no friction between him and KC, Sharon's daughter by Gabby Concepcion. It helped that KC is such a level-headed girl.

"In the first place, KC's a very sweet girl. Hats off to Sharon for raising her the way she is." Also, "I've always loved kids. When I started dating: Sharon, I already had around 1 5 nephews and nieces. So when Sharon came along, it was great!" It also helped that he wanted the relationship to work. "I looked at it as a packaged deal. It's only going to work with Sharon if it works with KC, it's only going to work with KC if it works with Sharon. I had to work on two relationships-Sharon and KC. And I happen to be a hard worker. And by the grace of God, it worked! I didn't even have to tell her to call me Dad. A few days after we were married, she was already calling me Dad!"

So close have the two become that they make it a point to dine out once a month and also do the grocery, which has become a sort of ritual between father and daughter. A senator and one of the most popular young faces doing grocery? Hmmm... "Even when I was, single, I liked doing the grocery. And now, KC comes with me. If both of us are busy, we let the maid do it. But otherwise, we go." But don't people approach them? "Before there were a few instances but after awhile, they get used to you and leave you alone."

With KC now a teenager, parenting has become all the more challenging. "It was simpler when she was younger. When she became a teenager, she suddenly had her own thing. Dati wala. Our plans were her plans. Ngayon iba na. I always have to remind myslef that I was a teenager once so I should somehow understand where KC's coming from. When I relate to her, when it's time to lay down rules or guidance or reprimand, I always think, 'How was it like when I was a teenager?' I guess it's really part of being a parent."

He does say though that KC thinks he's stricter. "I don't know, maybe it's natural for dads to be stricter. According to Sharon, her dad was strict. My dad was also--especially with the girls. Maybe I'm just picking up on what I'm exposed to."

For this dad, what's important is being around for the kids. "I think it's really important to show your concern, to spend time. There's no substitute for teeing around in their lives. Not naman the in-your-face type of around. But being there."

Shooting For The Moon

The year is 2002. A woman is once again President. The world has come full circle. Francis Pangilinan has gone on to become a more seasoned policymaker; a path which was markedly different from the road chosen by some of his contemporaries.

"I don't think there is one exclusive path to the mountaintop, mountaintop being social change. As history unfolds, we will either be on the same side, on opposite sides, government, outside government, in the hills, in the streets. I just happen to be one of many shaping it by participating in the electoral process-of course, I don't know if I'm being effective [in my role]. I'd like to think I'm able to contribute somewhat," he says, laughing a little.

His rise in the political arena has produced the occasional snide comment about his plans. To this he can only shake his head. After all, thin is the guy who once dreamed of being an astronaut after watching the Apollo 11 land on the moon. "Experience has taught me that there are matters that are in your hands and matters that aren't. You just do what you can and see where it leads. I also believe that there are certain things that no matter what you do, if it's not yours, it's not yours. Just as there are things that even if you don't lift a finger, they fall on your lap. So I see no reason to focus on a particular plan." He pauses. "So how far will I ho? I don't know. Bahala na. Kung saan tayo abutin. Kung saan tayo dalhin." So maybe he didn't get to the moon, but Francis Pangilinan does something better to help change a world.