The 65 Most Influential People in Boots' life

She has won numerous awards, both in acting and in public service, but the best trophy of them all is, I daresay, Boots Anson-Roa herself, the paradigm of sweetness and light, the embodiment of sugar ‘n’ spice and everything nice.

She’s turning 65 but she doesn’t look it, does she? Boots is celebrating her special day tomorrow at the Mowelfund compound in Quezon City.

“My birthday is really incidental,” she told Funfare. “The celebration is a surefire venue for fund-raising for Mowelfund. Since the guests are going to give gifts anyway, in lieu of them, I am asking invitees to just donate to the Foundation.”

Fans (this one included) have a lot to thank Boots for. Besides giving us wholesome entertainment on the small and big screens, she and Willie Nepomuceno light up Sundays (2 to 4 p.m.) on their DZMM program Music & Memories which I and my friends (among them Chanda Romero, Richard Merk, Bong Osorio, Jose Mari Chan, Pete Lacaba and wife Marra Pl. Lanot et al) religiously tune in to.

To highlight Boots’ birthday, Funfare asked her to make a list of The 65 Most Influential People in her life.

According to Boots, “The list includes Deity, superhumans, humans, the eminent and the rich, the obscure and the poor, local or foreign, pati terrestrial at celestial, dead and very alive. By the way, other than my Wellsprings of Strength and Faith, my family and loved ones, the list hierarchy is not necessarily according to importance and degree of influence.”

1. God above all — in all Three Persons, God the Son (Christ) being omnipresent in my life;

2. Mama Mary — epitome of quiet strength and nurturing;

3. St. Therese of Lisieux — my everyday companion and friend

4. St. Padre Pio — who also touched Pete’s life as a stroke and cancer patient;

5. St. Paul the Apostle and St. Augustine of Hippo — I like converts;

6. Pete — 43 years of marriage and osmosis in character;

7. to 13. Our children and in-laws, Leah and Russell Cuevas, Joey, Chiqui and Cong. Robbie Puno, Ben and Michelle Frondoso — “The child is father to the man,” after all;

14. to 22. My grandchildren Katrina, Ryan, Jessica and Rachel Cuevas; Randy, Nic and Sabrina Puno; Ethan and Mia Roa;

23. to 24. My deceased parents Oscar “Moreno” Anson and Belen Cristobal;

25. to 26. My parents-in-law Federico and Andrea Roa;

27. to 28. My aunt and uncle Charlie and Leonie Villa-Real;

29. My Lola Loleng dela Sierra;

30. to 32. My siblings Nonoy, Monching and Vicky;

33. to 49. My teachers/mentors at Assumption Mother Rosario (fourth year), Mother Angela (second year), Fr. James Reuter, SJ (theater and retreat master) and Fr. Lorenzo Guerrero, SJ (retreat master); at UP, Dean Eva Gonzalez (Woman’s Club), President Carlos P. Romulo, Dr. Alejandro Casambre (Argumentation and Debate), Nestor Torre (radio and TV professor), Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (UP Dramatic Club), Leticia Tison (Speech and Drama), Jimmy Abad (UP Student Catholic Action), Johnny Ramos, Fr. Patricio Lim, Fr. Ben Villote and Lino Brocka (classmate/director); at Georgetown University, Patricia Barrios (Journalism); and Citizens Bank of Washington, David Russell (banking mentor);

50. to 61. Media colleagues Joseph Estrada, Fernando Poe Jr., Atty. Espiridion Laxa, Gloria Romero, Rosa Rosal, Susan Roces, Charo Santos, Pempe Rodrigo, Marichu Vera-Perez Maceda, director Eddie Romero, Bibsy Carballo and Willie Nepomuceno;

62. to 65. Spiritual counselors Fr. Sonny Ramirez, Fr. Larry Faraon, Fr. Jerry Orbos and Fr. Mario Sobrejuanite.

Mother Lily for Mar Roxas: Tuloy ang laban!

Regal Matriarch Mother Lily hosted a dinner-presscon for Sen./Vice Presidentiable Mar Roxas with the movie writers Wednesday night at the function room of her Imperial Palace Suites. Accompanied by brand-new wife Korina Sanchez, Mar was relaxed and engaging (read: showbiz na showbiz) unlike a few days earlier at the Senate when he lost his cool when a senior colleague showed bad manners by “inserting” malicious remarks against Mar. The offender promptly apologized in the form of a prayer — to Mar but not to Korina.

“Just the same,” said Korina, “I forgive him. Who am I naman not to forgive him?”

It is believed that those endorsed by Mother Lily finish winners 99 percent.

Here’s Mother Lily’s welcome speech which Mar said he would keep as a treasured souvenir after asking Mother Lily to autograph it:

Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming tonight.

I’m sure, Korina will not take this against me, but believe it or not, it was love at first sight for me with Mar Roxas.

When I first met Mar when he was still younger, he readily impressed me with his candid charm and brilliant mind. I know he comes from a reputable family. Both the Aranetas and the Roxases are highly regarded clans.

Mar’s father, Gerry Roxas, was a respected senator, while his grandfather, Manuel A. Roxas, was our first president, one of the most loved and best remembered. Their distinguished public service careers have greatly benefited our country.

I am very happy that Mar is continuing the legacy of his dad and lolo to serve the country. From the time Mar became a congressman, I never doubted his ability to lead and his genuine desire to serve the people.

I’ve followed Mar’s remarkable achievements through the years and I am convinced that the 20 million votes he got when he ran for senator were definitely not put to waste. He deserved every vote he got.

The people elected a fair, honest and selfless man to the Senate. I am confident they will again trust him with their votes, this time for him to become vice president. As Mar often said, he will not betray the trust of the people. I know he won’t.

I did not think twice about supporting Mar because I believe in his ideals, his decisions, his vision. He committed himself to education, trade and industry, consumer welfare, the media, giving jobs to the unemployed and many more.

I am aware that Mar has made personal sacrifices and commitments just to serve the country and improve the lives of Filipinos. Putting country above self, he continues what his lolo had taught him. He listens to the voices of the people, focuses on the pressing concerns and addresses the problems.

Even if he came from a wealthy family, Mar made sure there was no gap between him and the common people. That is one of his traits that I admire most.

I trust Mar to also continue supporting local showbiz, so we can uplift the status of Philippine entertainment industry.

I am proud to support Mar because I believe that he is a brilliant politician and a hardworking public servant. Together with Noynoy Aquino as president, I know they are out to make a difference for a clean, good and honest government.

I don’t expect Mar to do a miracle for our country. But I am sure he can effect change when he becomes the vice president to give us a brighter future. After all, he has the courage and competence to really become a national leader.

So let’s all support and vote for Mar. Tuloy ang laban!

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