MANILA, Philippines—Turns out British former Prime Minister Tony Blair is just another textmate. He even speaks the language.

At a leadership forum Monday, the winningest Labour party leader in British history took a moment to tell a crowded Irwin Theater at the Ateneo de Manila University about how thrilled he was when he “got a text” from his daughter the other day.

He said she had “texted” him the unlikely news that she was at the library, apparently to study.

“When you’re a parent,” he deadpanned to an audience that included many students, “that means a lot to you.”

Blair, in the Philippines for a whirlwind speaking tour, proved he still had the successful politician’s common touch, making the audience feel immediately at ease, telling jokes at his own expense.

He said his early ambition to be a rock musician died when a friend with a reputation for honesty told him the truth: “You’re a great singer, except there’s only one problem.”

Brief pause. “You can’t sing!”

The audience’s laughter doubled when Blair added: “So that’s how I got into politics.”

In his telling, even the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September struck an absurd note. He was back home at that time, and a man who recognized him on the street shouted at him as he was about to enter his car.

“Hey, Mr. Blair, who are these brothers, anyway?”

The most applauded parts of the forum, however, were the occasions when Blair offered epigrammatic summing-ups, which seemed to answer the audience’s taste for the wisdom of his experience.

What should one’s motive be for entering politics? Public service, he said, but even he knew politics remained a dirty word. He offered a lame defense: “Politics really matters, actually,” before dwelling at length on public service. Then he summed it all up. “It’s a noble profession, not always nobly pursued.” Loud applause.

Another instance. Blair, who was leader of the opposition for about three years before leading the British Labour party to its first general elections victory in almost two decades, summed up the difference between party in power and party in opposition.

It’s never good to be in the opposition, he said, but “the good thing about [being in] the opposition is it’s what you say that matters, not what you do.” Tremendous applause.