I was a reporter in the Manila during those late 80's and 90's when there were coup rumors everyday and I have had my share of memorable (some hilarious) conversations with some of the people in charge.
I managed to talk with Ferdinand Marcos while he was on exile in Hawaii. How I managed this is another story-but I stole his number (along with some members of the then Defense Press Corps) and it was an aide that answered the phone. The aide asked me to identify myself and I said : “It's the Defense Press Corps, we want to talk to him.” Minutes later I recognized a familiar but friendly voice.
At that time, he was obviously sick. His voice was shaky but he did manage to say: “Tell the people to follow Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos… no, Cory Aquino is not the legal president, but we do not want bloodshed in the streets. I was never for that which is why I chose exile… Tell my supporters to support the Defense Minister and the Chief of Staff and that I give that girl (a model) Annie Ferrer my kisses!”
I loved this guy, imagine he's in exile and everyone hated him at that time and he manages to request me to give his follower, Annie Ferrer, his kisses?
If there was a sane-meter, one of the sanest I've talked with and even once had dinner with was Philippine President Fidel Ramos. This guy had some vision besides stopping the coup rumors and the real coups. He managed to put a halt to about 8 hours of blackouts (no electricity) and he was one of those few Presidents who managed to hurdle the Asian Economic crisis. Once we were eating at a restaurant called Annabelles and he said : “When you start a peace process, you don't start by talking about the things that you disagree about but rather the things you agree about.” Very sensible. Ironically, he was a general and yet was the only real democrat I can remember. He wasn't BIG on religion but he said that “every religion needs to be respected”. He was HOT about peace that he okayed a bill legalizing the Communist Party of the Philippines even if those blokes hated him.
The most presidential NICE thing about Ramos, however, is that he never blamed the media for anything. I used to be a columnist for two newspapers then and he would send me facsimile cut-out copies of my own work with this handwritten comments (in red ink) and most of them were complimentary.
Philippine President Erap Estrada is a nice bloke except that he has a penchant for looking and touching at asses. No kidding. Actually, I predicted on his third day in office that he would be deposed. This guy was a friend of mine until he was Vice President and he was drunk at some party at Club Filipino. He wanted to “talk” and I wasn't too fond of talking to drunks. I was with my friend Carol (Banzon) and told her : “You wanna have an affair with the next president? There he is. Do you want me to leave you with him?” She went: “No, no, no, hey, even if I don't have a house yet, he is not my type. He's old.”
Of course he was elected president despite the fact that he can't talk two straight sentences in the English languages and he's a rogue. Nevertheless, he always referred to the “masses” who obviously were conned by him anyway. Except that the masses weren't there when those who really mattered march by millions to demand his ouster. Oh, I recall, he even offered me a house once after staring at my ass and offering me some Arroz Caldo at the old Senate Lounge.
I also had the honor of meeting US President Clinton when he visited the MacArthur's Leyte Landing monument as guest of Philippine President Fidel Ramos. Clinton's face was sunburned red but he had a smile that was pleasant. He shook my hand and said “It's nice to meet you”. I could not talk. At that moment, I fell in love with him. Unfortunately, he didn't ask me to do him any “favors”.
