Just one of the boys
June 18, 2006 | 12:00am
Philip Cu-Unjieng
As Philippine Star columnist Philip Cu-Unjieng settles on the interview seat, his son, Matteo, 12, comfortably sits on his lap and his eldest, 14-year-old Quintin, positions himself beside him. Luca, the youngest at seven, joins them after running around the room in pursuit of interesting things to play.
He knows his sons so well and animatedly describes each one of them. "According to them, they’re great," Philip jokes. "Quintin’s the more serious one. He takes his school seriously. He loves basketball and he follows NBA avidly. Matteo is more gregarious. Instead of NBA, he is for WWE. He thinks he’s Rey Mysterio," he merrily says. "Luca is everyone’s favorite."
So these are the children he lovingly mentions in his articles, whom he would refer to as "my boys" – they who always excitedly jump to his weekend getaways and other father-and-sons wacky adventures.
Nothing could be more precious than the weekend as that’s when Philip has the kids. "During weekends, they try to sleep over and we try to spend as much time as we can." They rattle off their usual activities. "Swimming! We have massage together. Whenever they are having a sleep over, we try to arrange a masseur to come over. They want half an hour each," he amusingly shares.
"We love eating at Cibo," Matteo adds. Philip admits all his sons are junior food connoisseurs who consider every trip to a restaurant an exhilarating undertaking.
The interview turns out to be another bonding session for Philip and the boys as they recall their favorite moments together: how the boys remember it was their dad who taught them how to play, how they tried to teach Matteo the value of eating vegetables and their Tagaytay trip. As they all dive into a playful banter, I can’t help but butt in. "They are a funny bunch!" "Yes they are," the proud father affirms.
Indeed, Philip maintains an extraordinary closeness to his children. "I try to relate at their level," he says. He cites how he participates in activities, monitors their studies as much as he can, checks on what they are into now and imparts values as often as needed.
Philip recounts an incident in Luca’s school wherein a girl had fallen from the swing and although Luca, who was four at that time, didn’t know her, it was only him who went up to her, asked if she was okay and called the teacher for help.
"We teach them that there are other people in the world who need help but how far the message goes we don’t know. But when the teacher called us about what Luca did and at four years old... that’s great! We teach them what they should believe in, how they should act, how they should treat people," says this publishing executive. "But I also want to find out for themselves how things are in life."
Philip sports that loving gaze exclusive to Quintin, Matteo and Luca and the three look at him as if he was the most fantastic dad in the world, and they are proud to tell me so. "He’s great, he’s amazing," Matteo beams.
For Philip, an ideal father is "someone who listens to the children as much as you want them to hear what you say." As Philip turns to his kids every time they share their thoughts, showers them with hugs and regards them as the best in his life, it is not hard to believe that Philip is one.
As Philippine Star columnist Philip Cu-Unjieng settles on the interview seat, his son, Matteo, 12, comfortably sits on his lap and his eldest, 14-year-old Quintin, positions himself beside him. Luca, the youngest at seven, joins them after running around the room in pursuit of interesting things to play.
He knows his sons so well and animatedly describes each one of them. "According to them, they’re great," Philip jokes. "Quintin’s the more serious one. He takes his school seriously. He loves basketball and he follows NBA avidly. Matteo is more gregarious. Instead of NBA, he is for WWE. He thinks he’s Rey Mysterio," he merrily says. "Luca is everyone’s favorite."
So these are the children he lovingly mentions in his articles, whom he would refer to as "my boys" – they who always excitedly jump to his weekend getaways and other father-and-sons wacky adventures.
Nothing could be more precious than the weekend as that’s when Philip has the kids. "During weekends, they try to sleep over and we try to spend as much time as we can." They rattle off their usual activities. "Swimming! We have massage together. Whenever they are having a sleep over, we try to arrange a masseur to come over. They want half an hour each," he amusingly shares.
"We love eating at Cibo," Matteo adds. Philip admits all his sons are junior food connoisseurs who consider every trip to a restaurant an exhilarating undertaking.
The interview turns out to be another bonding session for Philip and the boys as they recall their favorite moments together: how the boys remember it was their dad who taught them how to play, how they tried to teach Matteo the value of eating vegetables and their Tagaytay trip. As they all dive into a playful banter, I can’t help but butt in. "They are a funny bunch!" "Yes they are," the proud father affirms.
Indeed, Philip maintains an extraordinary closeness to his children. "I try to relate at their level," he says. He cites how he participates in activities, monitors their studies as much as he can, checks on what they are into now and imparts values as often as needed.
Philip recounts an incident in Luca’s school wherein a girl had fallen from the swing and although Luca, who was four at that time, didn’t know her, it was only him who went up to her, asked if she was okay and called the teacher for help.
"We teach them that there are other people in the world who need help but how far the message goes we don’t know. But when the teacher called us about what Luca did and at four years old... that’s great! We teach them what they should believe in, how they should act, how they should treat people," says this publishing executive. "But I also want to find out for themselves how things are in life."
Philip sports that loving gaze exclusive to Quintin, Matteo and Luca and the three look at him as if he was the most fantastic dad in the world, and they are proud to tell me so. "He’s great, he’s amazing," Matteo beams.
For Philip, an ideal father is "someone who listens to the children as much as you want them to hear what you say." As Philip turns to his kids every time they share their thoughts, showers them with hugs and regards them as the best in his life, it is not hard to believe that Philip is one.
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