Rep. Lito a trendsetter in the ‘floral’ fashion

In case you haven’t noticed, the world is suddenly going floral, with A-List brands (like Givenchy, Valentino, Zara, UNIQLO, H&M, Mango, etc.) coming up with “flowery” dresses. Nobody is happier for it than Buhay Party-List Rep. Lito Atienza (full name: Jose Livioko Atienza Jr.) who can rightfully claim to be the real trendsetter. Since time immemorial, Lito has been wearing all sorts of floral shirts and that “fashion statement” became associated with him. When you see somebody, male or female, wearing a floral shirt, the first thing that comes to mind is he or she is “naka-Lito Atienza,” doesn’t it?

“Floral prints make the world brighter and more colorful,” said Lito who, true to form, was in a flaming-red floral shirt when he talked to The STAR. “It affects not only your mood but also your work ethic, your behavior and your well-being. We are in a tropical country and isn’t it the most fitting style for us?”

Lito mentioned that a bank in Japan required its employees to change their “drab” uniforms to floral attire and, according to Lito, “their efficiency greatly improved.”

When Lito (who served Manila first as vice mayor and then as mayor before he ran for Congress) was appointed head of the National Housing Authority (NHA) in 1986, first thing he did was tell NHA employees to change their uniform to floral attire.

…with good friend Sen. Manny Pacquiao during one of his early fi ghts. Lito will surely support Pacquiao when he fights with Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur on July 15…

“They got angry and they protested,” recalled Lito, “kasi para daw silang magmumukhang performers,” only to realize that their boss was right after all. “In the beginning,” added Lito, “people were laughing at me kasi pambabae daw ang taste ko but I just ignored them.” Now, everything is catching on.

Did you know that Lito’s fondness for floral shirts started when he was student?

“I would stop by department stores and watch the flowery shirts in display windows,” related Lito. “I would save part of my allowance so I could buy the short that I liked for P12. Malaki na ang amount na ‘yon at that time for a student.”

...with son Kuya Kim...

When he ran for a public office, Lito’s “flower power” proved to be an asset because it made him stand out in a crowd. Even his wife, Evelina “Beng” Ilagan-Atienza, has grown to love floral clothes, and so have their children (Kim, Arnold, Lani, Maile, Analei and Chi-Chi) and their 18 grandchildren. When Lito and Beng celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, the motif was, you guessed it, floral.

Asked how many floral shirts he keeps at home, Lito said, “I have lost count. Basta, marami.”

...on the set with the stars of his longrunning GMA show Maynila…

When Lito was interviewed for the defunct GMA show Powerhouse, host Mel Tiangco showed Lito’s two cabinets packed full of his floral collection and she was incredulous. Every time he goes abroad, Lito buys more of the same, whether in Hawaii (“Maraming ganoon doon!”) or in Bangkok. Some of the shirts were given to him as gifts.

“But now,” said Lito, “I buy the fabric (tela) in Divisoria and ask my tailor to make the shirts.” 

With hardly any more space in his two cabinets, Lito gives the shirts to friends (and barangay officers).

…checking a child at The House For Angels...

These days, green dominates the mixed colors of Lito’s shirt — green being the color of life.

“Our party is Pro-Life,” explained Lito who, in 1995, decided to build what he calls The House For Angels in Sta. Ana, Manila, which takes care of abandoned children.

“The House started with two babies,” disclosed Lito. “In the beginning, I was worried that I might not be able to live up to the challenge, so I talked to Bro. Mike (Velarde). I intimated to Bro. Mike, ‘Baka hindi ko kaya.’ But he encouraged me. ‘Go for it,’ he told me.”

...and swarmed by female fans.

Since then, the House has cared for hundreds of children, some of them enjoying a good life with their adoptive parents. At present, there are more than 500 remaining at the House.

“They are all my children,” said Lito. “They were babies when we got them and when they were baptized, they were surnamed Atienza. Beng and I have two adopted children, one of them visually-challenged. They are grown-up. Our (biological) children have families of their own and living away from us, kaya ‘yung dalawang ‘yon ang kasama namin sa bahay.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)