KIKO READY FOR HIS MEGA CAMPAIGN FOR 2001
by Leah Salterio, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 24, 2000

ATTORNEY Francis ''Kiko'' Pangilinan, who lost a bid for a seat in Congress in 1995, is ready, willing and able to run again in 2001. This time, he is running for senator, although he doesn't have a party yet.

More confident this time, although still very idealistic, he also wields a sure-fire campaign weapon - his wife, Megastar Sharon Cuneta.

"It's so easy to say no, I will not bank on Sharon's popularity," Pangilinan said during a recent dinner with the Inquirer. "That would be trying to impress and be different. People can say what they want to say, but I know my intentions and my motivation. I will do what I will do. In the end, people will judge you by your performance."

But before the proper campaign season begins, Pangilinan is getting ready for another big event in his life: fatherhood. This early, he and his wife sing songs to their forthcoming baby. Don't look now, but the lawyer is also an award-winning "singer."

He is also ready for the "dirty" part of politics.

Even when he was still courting Sharon, he was already an expert in living with cruel remarks about him and the big movie star.

"On the first week, I was accused of not being good-looking," he recalls. "A tabloid carried the headline, 'Ayaw na ng guwapo ni Mega (Mega doesn't like goodlooking men anymore).' On the second week, I was labeled a user, because people speculated I would only use her for my political venture.

"On the third week, since I was sharing an apartment with David Celdran in Loyola Heights, I was branded as gay. What's funnier is that even my siblings doubted my sexual preference."

He has also become accustomed to people, even complete strangers, asking him about his wife. "I have no ego. But when I'm with lawyers, we talk about our profession. They never ask me about Sharon."

The idealistic 37-year-old Pangilinan would rather look at people's negative talk from a positive viewpoint. "There's no denying that Sharon is popular," he says. "I've been blessed with a wife who has tremendous popularity. It will really help."

But he points out that "winning is one thing. Being able to do something about your victory in terms of making an impact on the lives of others is another.

"Winning is crucial and essential. The younger generation does not take kindly to our politicians today. I don't want to turn 60 and have young people saying, 'Walanghiya kayo, 'yung generation niyo walang nagawa (You're shameful, your generation didn't do anything).'"

If he wins in 2001, he will be joining the Senate's "ABS-CBN team," now composed of Loren Legarda, Rene Cayetano. The team may also later include other ABS-CBN figures as Dong Puno, Noli de Castro, Alfredo Lim and even Richard Gomez.

Pangilinan is so passionate about political change that there is no stopping him when he talks about it, even when it's long past midnight.

"I think change can happen overnight," he maintains. "Nobody expected the Berlin Wall to fall so quickly. Nobody expected the Soviet Union to collapse. And our very own People Power is a testament to change.

"Many people are saying change will not happen in our lifetime, or it will take forever for us to change. But I believe it can happen. Somebody's got to do it."

Success or failure is beside the point, he says. "We have to do what we have to do if we want to change the country. Moses didn't reach the Promised Land, but he inspired his people to move. If we reached our goal, that's good. If we didn't, at least we started it."

His own goal: public accountability and an active citizenship.

He recently started a TV program, "Barangay Dos," which promotes the barangay justice system. The show is apparently in preparation for his political career. Pangilinan himself had proposed the show to ABS-CBN management when he returned to the country in 1998 after obtaining his master's degree in public administration at the Harvard University-John F. Kennedy School of Government in Boston.

Before the campaign even starts to heat up, Pangilinan is now very thrilled about his impending fatherhood. Sharon is due to give birth in December.

"I've acted as dad to KC (Sharon's daughter by actor Gabby Concepcion) for years now, but with this baby, I'm sure it will be a lot different. I can't wait to hold her in my arms."

An early ultrasound test indicated a girl, according to the father.

"I already felt the baby kick and the feeling is unexplainable," he says. "I started talking to her. I would often say, 'baby, this is your daddy,' or 'baby, this is your mama. She's the one with the higher voice. I'm the one with the lower voice.'

He also sings?

"I used to sing this song, 'Sa Ilalim ng Puno ng Saging,' with my brothers Anthony, Joseph and John. It's an award-winning organization song and we sang it when I was still with Aisec in 1983. There was a contest with all organizations presenting song-and-dance numbers about the harana (serenade). And that was our entry. We won first place.

"My father would always insist that we sing, even when were very young. Even when we were all working already, whenever we had guests, my dad would make us sing. My brothers and I decided to adopt that same song, which we sing with four voices.

"The contest was in 1983," he points out, "so we have been singing it for almost 20 years."

Will he also sing during his campaign?

"My wife is a better singer," he says. She's also his biggest campaign comeon.