A son's wish for his mother

It was nearing deadline time in our editorial office around past five o’clock in the afternoon Tuesday when my cellular phone rang. It was one of those unregistered numbers so I had no idea who was on the other end of the line. But a deep voice, whom at first I did not recognize, told me outright “Hija, namatay na si Mama ko.” It was only then I knew it was former President Joseph Estrada. My newsman’s instinct is to get as much detail from him before anything else. Thus, I even forgot to say my condolences at the end of our very brief telephone conversation.

He sounded very distraught while he told me about his mother’s demise. I could not in conscience squeeze for more information. So while writing that news, I searched from my stock knowledge his favorite story about his mother, Maria “Mary” Marcelo viuda de Ejercito who passed away at age 103. It was only the next day that I remembered about an article I wrote for the Mother’s Day issue of People Asia Magazine in 2004. The detained President fondly talked about his mother, among other popular celebrities featured in the Mother’s Day issue of the magazine.

The grand matriarch of the Ejercito clan had been in and out of the hospital while Estrada was then detained undergoing plunder trial at the Sandiganbayan. Thus, most of Estrada’s court-granted furloughs were most of the time related to his request to visit his very ill mother at the hospital. I was able to do a short interview of the deposed President while he was granted a birthday furlough on April 5 that year. HIs mother was to observe her 99th birthday a month later, or on May 2.

So one of my questions was what was his birthday wish for himself and for his beloved mother. “My birthday wish for my mother is she will live longer and reach over a century,” Estrada quickly retorted. At least, now I could console the former President with the thought that his wish was granted by the Lord Almighty.      

With the kind permission of People Asia Magazine publisher, Babes Romualdez, I am reprinting the following excerpts from that Mother’s Day article I wrote entitled: “From black sheep to Mama’s (favorite) boy.”

A graduate of music conservatory at La Concordia College, the young Mary Marcelo married Emilio Ejercito, a civil engineer who finished his studies in the United States, before continuing a post-graduate program in Madrid. The couple had 10 children; Joseph was the eighth.

While her husband worked as the Manila City Hall chief engineer, Mrs. Ejercito looked after their children and earned supplemental income for their family through her culinary expertise: she learned how to cook at school, and even taught baking at Hizon’s.

Estrada has only the highest respect for his mother, whom he described as a very strong woman, a deeply religious person, and a disciplinarian to all her 10 children. “Our upbringing was based on ‘old school’ where we had to say ‘po’ or ‘opo’ to our elders and give full respect to all,” recalls Estrada. Born to a “de buena familia,” Estrada remembers with fondness how his mother raised her children, even though he was the self-described “black sheep” of the family. “Pinipingot at kinukulong pa niya sa sako noon,” Estrada said, listing some of the punishments he got from his mother as a young boy. Being Spanish-speaking, he notes, he also received his mother’s “puñeta” reprimands when he was naughty.

Like his mother, he said, his late father was also a deeply religious person who prayed for one hour before breakfast, and another one hour before going to bed. Whenever his mother would castigate him, Erap recalled with amusement, she would tell him: “Your father prays for you almost one and a half hours while the remaining 30 minutes are divided among your nine other siblings!”

All of her 10 children attended college, though Estrada famously left college to pursue fame and fortune in the movie industry. In fact, Doña Mary’s eldest son and a daughter were studying medicine while another son was taking up law when the 20-year-old Erap, still wearing his movie makeup, came home to eat lunch with his entire family one day. There he announced he had found a new job as an actor. At that time, Erap had one year and a half semester left to complete his engineering course at the Mapua Institute of Technology.

Expecting cheers from his family, Erap was surprised to receive a tongue-lashing instead from his mother. “Your papa has been working hard to put you all in college, and here you come telling us you’re an actor already. Don’t ever use the Ejercito name to your foolishness,” Estrada said, quoting his mother’s admonition.

Rushing to his father for sympathy, Erap philosophically pointed out to his mother it was only he that had “Ejercito” to his name, while she was a “Marcelo.” An enraged Dona Mary reacted by throwing a plate of rice in Erap’s direction. Soon after, Erap left home and lived on his own. He has since then used only his movie screen name: “Estrada.”

“All of my siblings are professionals, doctors, lawyers, engineers, ako lang ang hindi professional,” Erap admitted without a hint of disappointment. He even joked, “Pero ako lang ang naging presidente sa kanila.”

By the time he earned his first million pesos as a movie actor, Estrada decided to take on a new career, entering politics at age 30 to run as mayor of San Juan. Again Doña Mary disagreed with her son’s decision and vehemently prevailed upon him not to challenge the re-election bid of Braullo “Boyong” Sto. Domingo.

But while campaigning in San Juan, Estrada recalled seeing his mother secretly carrying out her own house-to-house campaign for her son. “Doon ko nakita na hindi kayang matiis ng ina ang kanyang anak,” Estrada noted. When his father died in 1977 at age 79, Estrada took responsibility for the care of his mother, who was already 79. “Ipinagkatiwala ni Papa si Mama sa akin,” he said.

When he took his oath of office as the country’s 13th President, Estrada fondly remembered leaning over to his mother’s ear to tell her: “Nadinig ng Diyos ang dasal ni Papa kaya naging presidente ako!” Estrada noticed the sweetest smile coming from his mother’s lips after hearing this from him.

The remains of Estrada’s mother will be laid to rest tomorrow in the Ejercito Family mausoleum at the San Juan public cemetery to join her late husband and three of their four dead children.