As Heart also rises, no role for ‘Solid 7’ spouses

THE OTHER SHIFT Love Marie “Heart Evangelista” Ongpauco-Escudero (center), wife of recently installed Senate President Francis Escudero, now heads the Senate Spouses Foundation Inc. The fashion and entertainment celebrity says she and the other newly sworn-in officers will focus on projects for women and children. —Senate PRIB

MANILA, Philippines — The split among senators was in full display last month after the sudden change in the chamber’s leadership.

And the distancing appears to extend even to their spouses’ club.

The new officers of the Senate Spouses Foundation Inc. (SSFI), now led by its new president, actress and fashion icon Heart Evangelista, took their oath of office on Wednesday. By tradition, the oath was administered by the newly installed Senate President, Evangelista’s husband, Francis Escudero.

As expected, since the program centered on the new officers, the spouses or family members of the so-called Solid 7 bloc were not present.

READ: Emergence of Solid 7 stuns Escudero, realizes ‘separate group’ in majority

The informal grouping includes the ousted Senate leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and fellow Senators Joel Villanueva, Nancy Binay, Juan Edgardo Angara, JV Ejercito, Loren Legarda and Sherwin Gatchalian.

Their faction emerged after Zubiri was voted out of the position by 14 other senators, who then installed Escudero as his replacement on May 20.

Who’s doing what?

Apart from Evangelista, the following spouses and relatives of the senators will have these positions in the foundation:

• Kathryna Yu-Pimentel– vice president and chair of the committee on social events

• Maricel Tulfo–secretary and chair of the committee on public assistance

• Teodoro Misael Llamanzares–assistant secretary and chair of the committee on finance and logistics

• Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla–treasurer

• Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar–legal counsel and chair of the committee on environment

• Mariel Padilla–public relations officer

• Nancy dela Rosa–public relations officer

• Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano–chair of the committee on arts and culture

• Mark Lapid–chair of the committee on ways and means

• Issa Baraquel–chair of the committee on youth and women

In a speech, Evangelista said she was willing to take on the challenges that come with the SSFI presidency and would work together with the other officers to “find ways to uplift our people and communities.”

“The legacies left by all the ladies before me, a treasure of stories and testaments of service to the nation, is something that encourages me to continue what they have started, to make a difference and to inspire not only SSFI members but also individuals and groups who have the power to do something in improving the lives of people around us,” Evangelista said.

Speaking to reporters later, she said she had already touched base with her predecessor, Audrey Tan-Zubiri. “We were able to exchange texts and she was very nice. I really do believe in continuation of the projects that they have created, so we will continue that, hopefully with Madam Audrey by our side,” she said.

The new set of officers intend to focus more on projects for women and children, among others, she said.

Of ‘different worlds’

The celebrity, who is also an accomplished visual artist, admitted that “I’m nervous because it’s not my world…. I am bravely taking on these duties. It is inspiring to see what we can accomplish and what kind of changes we can all make together.”

“I really want to do something and continuously make a change, to show that [this is] not just an artist thrust into this position,” she said. “I wanna work. So I’m excited, in a sense.”

It was also good, she said, that she and her husband “belong to different worlds. I was trained very well by Chiz because he’s a bit OC (obsessive-compulsive) when it comes to details. He pays attention to every detail but he also gives me leeway on the things I want, and he’s very supportive.”

The new Senate President said he had given his wife this one assurance: No pressure.

“She has no other benchmark to follow other than her capabilities. She should not be pressured by comparing herself to anyone, whether from the past or the future,” Escudero said.