Are they really living-in? Does the congressman have a hand in Assunta’s movie career? Is marriage in the offing? Is Assunta ready to play step-mom to Jules’ two children? The couple will answer all these questions and more.
This interview was held before the kidnapping of Jules’ children, Julio Carlos Tomas, 5 and Cristina Julieta Victoria, 10.
Boy Abunda (BA): What is the harder battle? Politics or love?
Jules Ledesma (JL): Love
Why?
Because love is personal. Politics is also personal in the sense of the human touch. But in love, your own life and your own heart are at stake. That makes the difference. Sometimes, it clouds your reason, your judgement. Politics also gets personal, however, you are one stage removed, so to speak.
What is your political philosophy?
I believe in the philosophy of my father which is soc-dem. He’s a social democrat. That while we should live under democratic ideals, that there should be a sense of socialism. I remember something he said once – "It is pointless for us to be living within our walls like kings, when everybody outside those walls are living like slaves."
Your father was a politician, himself?
No. Amazingly, his only foray into politics was the 1972 Constitutional Convention.
What is your philosophy in love?
Follow your heart.
Always?
Always. Never compromise when it comes to your heart.
Even if it hurts?
Yes. If it doesn’t hurt, perhaps you are not loving enough. Or, it’s not the true love that you seek.
Childhood, what comes to mind first?
Bliss.
Can you be more specific? Let’s say Jules at 10 years old.
At 10 years old, Saturday afternoon, Saturday mornings rather, in my father’s office, listening to him conduct affairs of the corporation. He was running the shipping company then. But I would be there on the rug, playing with the model ships. And so even at that age, I was listening already to business-speak. Before I entered public service, I was for 16 years in the private sector. I am still CEO of our agri-business group which is quite a large corporation.
Were you more attached to your father than to your mother?
I was attached to my mother in the sense of the mothering. But in terms of the ideals, and the ambition, even at the age of 10 I already had life-goals.
What were these?
Where I wanted to study.
Where did you want to study?
I wanted to study my undergrad in the United States.
Why United States? Why not Ateneo? Why not La Salle?
Because I feel that I needed a new culture. I realized that going to other shores would....
Were you unhappy with your own culture?
No..no..
Why did you want to go to another culture?
I realized then, even at a very early age, that seeing lands....My grandfather was an Ambassador to the Vatican at that time. I was exposed to a wide range...
The name of your grandfather?
Vicente Arenas
So you were exposed to various cultures. You traveled at the age of eight?
I’ve been well-traveled. My grandmother brought me to a lot of museums. So I realized then that there was a whole world out there.
And you wanted to study in the United States?
Right. And then uncles and cousins of mine were studying in the United States.
You had a particular school in the States?
Yes. In fact, the school I graduated from, the University of Santa Clara.... Even at that age, I already wanted to study in the Bay area.
How wealthy are you?
Enough.
Tell me more about your family.
My grandfather, Julio Ledesma, was at one time the largest sugar planter in the Philippines. He and a group of sugar planters in the ‘30s were sick and tired of traveling to Negros from Iloilo by batel. Batel is a small boat. And they’d get rocked to and fro to travel so they started a ferry service. And that was the progenitor of Negros Navigation, which today is one of the largest shipping firms in the land.
Is there anything bad about being rich? About being wealthy as a child?
Well, yes. That’s true. Being wealthy in my case ... insulation.
Did you play in the streets?
No. Our playmates were our cousins. Mostly our cousins even during vacations because we lived in large residences.
You did not make friends with the children of the sakadas?
We did. But we only went to the province during summers.
You grew up in Manila?
I grew up in Manila and in Manila, we weren’t allowed to go to the parks or we hardly went to the park.
Why? Were you not allowed because it was not safe?
We had enough playmates among our cousins.
Did you have bodyguards?
No.
Were you on allowance? When you were in the elementary, how much money would you carry to school?
I never knew how wealthy my father was until after college.
Really?
I remember in grade school I was really embarrassed to ask him to buy me a pair of soccer shoes. I mean it’s funny later on when you think about it. I mean the wealth ... cause you see when you grew up to wealth, you don’t realize it. Cause when you open your eyes, like I told you before, I didn’t choose my station in life. It was there. (To be continued)