Road trip de-stresses Sen. JV

The unfortunate incident caused by a Xiamen plane turned out to be a great equalizer. Among the thousands stranded at airports around the country due to cancellation of flights were tourists, OFWs, ordinary travelers and public figures like Sen. JV Ejercito and Lani Misalucha who waited for hours at the Davao airport for their re-scheduled flights back to Manila.

“I stayed at the airport for 20 hours,” related JV over lunch with the movie media at Annabel’s. “The experience has strengthened my advocacy to build better airports and railway system. It might take some time but there was already a ground-breaking for a railway from Manila to Malolos (Bulacan). That’s a good start. My dream is to have a railway built all the way up to Matnog (Sorsogon) that is connected to the Samar and Leyte provinces by ferry.”

That’s why JV will run for a second term in the May 2019 elections so that his efforts will not amount to naught.

“I am the only one in the Senate pursuing an advocacy for a railway system and infrastructure,” said JV.

If JV is familiar with the landscape around the country, it’s because he and his friends have been taking road trips on motorbikes.

…with his mom, San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez, wife Cindy Lotuaco, and sons Emilio (beside JV) and Julio.

“It’s my way to de-stress myself,” said JV who has traveled up North with friends (among them Raymart Santiago) to Baguio, Banaue and Sagada in the Mountain Province where he got a tattoo by Whang-od, touted to be a National Living Treasure, and down South to Albay and Sorsogon. “It gives me a wonderful feeling. Nakaka-relax. You enjoy the countryside scenery and the fresh air.”

JV owns five motorbikes (two of them Ducatis), an interest in “anything with engine” that dates back to his childhood when he collected toys that included cars, ships, planes, trucks and the like, including a train system he now plays with his son Julio with his wife Cindy Lotuaco who has quit as Cathay Pacific flight attendant after 14 years to devote her time to the family. JV has another son, Emilio, with ex-girlfriend, former Bb. Pilipinas-International Patty Betita.

“My sons are close,” said JV. “It’s good that malaki ang age gap nila so Emilio really feels and acts like a kuya to Julio. Emilio is good-looking, guapong-guapo, parang Daniel (Padilla), pero mahiyain. That’s why he can’t be in showbiz.”

Like Emilio, JV was also shy when he was younger and he sort of came out of his shell only after college and when he joined the Jaycees.

“I did appear in one movie, Mamang Sorbetero, which was produced by my dad (Former Pres./Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada),” JV said. “I was eight years old at that time. I was an extra in the scene where I bought sorbetes. My talent fee was a bicycle. After that, wala na. In fact, I was even torpe when it came to courting girls. I had a big crush on Chinchin Gutierrez and Alice Dixson pero hanggang crush lang ‘yon.”

He must be the only torpe who won the hearts of two beauty queens (Cindy was a Mutya ng Pilipinas titlist).

When he’s free from his duties in the Senate, JV travels with his family. Last year, he toured Europe with his mom, San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez, wife Cindy and their two sons.

“It was my Mom’s 75th birthday and she didn’t want to host a party,” said JV. “She hadn’t been to Europe and the trip was our gift to her. Ang joke nga niya, she was promised daw by Dad a trip to Europe pero nakalimutan daw at baka iba ang dinala niya. We went to France and Italy, and took a side trip to Lourdes. In Rome, Mom wanted to visit churches at doon ako nakakita ng napaka-daming simbahan sa buong buhay ko.”

Lani leads special guests in MPO 20th year concert

Speaking of Lani Misalucha, she begged off from the presscon for the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra’s (MPO) 20th anniversary concert (MPO Opus 20: Trailblazing Music Excellence) a few days ago because she was stranded in Davao, unable to get a seat on a flight to Manila. Lani leads the special guests who also include Raul Sunico, the UST Singers and others.

Lani Misalucha is among the special guests of the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra’s 20th anniversary concert at the CCP, to be conducted by Maestro Rodel Colmenar

MPO founder Maestro Rodel Colmenar will conduct the orchestra during the concert set at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) on Sept. 1 at 8 p.m. MPO has painstakingly crafted a repertoire that combines the best of both classical and contemporary music, including the classical works of composers like Beethoven and Gershwin that have defined the early and humble beginnings of the orchestra during the first part of the show.

The second half will highlight how MPO has evolved into an orchestra that has become more relevant and instrumental in bringing symphonic music closer to the hearts of the Filipino people. Having pioneered in out-of-the-box ideas like the Philharmonic in Jeans concert series way back in the early 2000s, the orchestra will render classical pieces with a modern twist. This is some kind of a tribute to Guess Philharmonic in Jeans Mall Concert Series. Stage direction is by Freddie Santos.

(Tickets to MPO Opus 20: Trailblazing Music Excellence are available at TicketWorld outlets and Ticketworld.com.ph or call 891-9999. For details, call 0917-5478787 and 0917-5762502, e-mail [email protected] or check out its Instagram account @manilaphilharmonic.)

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