Still up on his toes

I try very hard (as in really, really hard!) to be on time for my appointments. As my father-in-law Justice Emilio Gancayco is the head of the much-respected organization O.R.A.S. with its motto, "Filipino Time is on Time," he would not approve of a daughter-in-law being tagged as a "latecomer" – a big no-no in his vocabulary. And since I love my husband so much (although I am not quite sure if the feeling is mutual, ha, ha, ha!), I try my very best to be good in the eyes of all his relations.

And so for my meeting with Freddie Aguilar at 7:30 p.m. last Wednesday at the Boulvar Lounge of the Manila Pavilion Hotel, I promised myself to be at least 15 minutes earlier than the appointed time, leaving my Congress office at 6 p.m. to be safely ahead of Freddie. Even with the traffic at that time, especially in the Quiapo area, I used all my skills in driving, trying my very best, to stick to the MMDA rules, with all those red lights that confusingly mean "go" (only in the Philippines), just to be there 15 minutes ahead of this world-renowned singer.

Of course, with my will power, superior driving skills and expertise at running with my four-inch animal printed stiletto shoes, I made it by 7:15 p.m. But to my extreme surprise, there he was already – there looming before me was the image of the Mr. Freddie Aguilar – together with my Ateneo co-parent, Mike Zee, and his friend, Jean Lee, waiting for me. No, no, no no, no – please God, let it not be Mr. Freddie Aguilar. Oh no, no, no, no! It is him! the great Mr. Freddie Aguilar with his trademark hat and long, flowing, silky hair.

Seeing the look of surprise on my face, Freddie (yes, the world-renowned Freddie Aguilar) explained punctuality is a virtue he practices. He does not want people waiting for him and he would rather be early than late. He respects other people’s time. And he always allocates time for the traffic. Wow! This really hit me long and hard! An icon in the world music industry not minding being ahead of lesser mortals like me?!?

"Shouldn’t you be the super-mega star who will always be excused for being late?", I ask. He simply shrugs, "No. I don’t believe in the culture of being late. Being popular or famous is no excuse for tardiness." Aaaah...

Born in Sto. Tomas, Isabela, Freddie hasn’t always been the disciplined artist he is now. At 18, he left his school and family to the great disappointment of his father who wanted his son to be a lawyer. Freddie, instead, went meandering to faraway places with only his guitar (if I were his mother, I would have gone crazy like Sisa, missing her sons, Crispin and Basilio, in Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere). With no one to guide and discipline him, Freddie got himself into this vice called "gambling." Five years later, realizing and regretting his mistakes, he composed Anak – apologizing to his parents the best way he knew how. In the same year, at 23, the prodigal son went back, asked for forgiveness and his parents welcomed him with open arms. After reading the lyrics of Anak, father became closer to son more than ever. The homecoming proved timely as soon thereafter, Freddie’s father passed away. Anak was really about Freddie Aguilar, his story and his life.

And as the saying goes, the rest is history. Anak, after becoming a finalist in the First MetroPop Festival, went on to become so popular here and abroad it gave Freddie the distinction of being the only Asian artist to achieve worldwide fame. Anak generated a hundred cover versions, released in 56 countries in 26 languages and sold 30 million copies. It was such a big hit that Billboard Magazine reported it as a No. 2 in its Top 100 Hits of the World in the ’80s!

Today, it remains the highest-selling record in the history of Philippine music. Aside from Anak, Freddie is also best known for his other soulful masterpieces: Magdalena (about prostitutes he met in Olongapo), Ipaglalaban Ko, Luzviminda (for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao), and of course, his version of Bayan Ko, which became the anthem of the People Power Revolution in 1986.

As he was telling us his story about how Cardinal Sin asked him to sing Bayan Ko a cappella when he went to visit the remains of Ninoy Aquino right after his death, at the Aquino residence at Times St., and how he felt something different and inexplicable happening to him, my hair stood and I had goose pimples all over. Yes, I remember it very well now. Freddie’s voice and his significant presence during those rallies. I was there, too. But unlike Freddie, I was a mere speck in that revolution.

Now that he has had more than 25 glorious years in the music industry with his home and office displaying more than a dozen platinum awards, plus a score of gold albums, and all the other local and international awards he has received, Freddie remains the professional artist that he is. He will never accept more than one show a night to earn more money ("as for sure, the other show will suffer"). He will never accept a show where he can’t give his 100 percent as an artist or where his principles will be compromised; and, of course, he repeats, he will never, ever be late for any show, always making sure he is at the venue one and a half hours before it is scheduled to start.

Mr. Freddie Aguilar, I take my hat off to you! You should not only be admired by the younger crop of artists for your musicality. They should also revere and emulate you for your professionalism as an artist. Mr. Freddie Aguilar, may your tribe, and that of my father-in-law Justice Emilio Gancayco, increase! I hope the two of you, both principled and committed to your causes, meet up soon, hopefully through me. In that meeting, I will make it a point to appear 30 minutes earlier. And that’s a promise!

(E-mail me at [email protected].)