Shalani Soledad wept in her wedding

The Bride who was sacrificed for the sake of
the Filipino People

The camera never lies. When the camera shot the beautiful bride, Shalani Soledad, she was on the verge of crying a bucketful. For someone who just separated from her lover several moons ago, and now, married to someone she just met last August, it must have been a whirlwind and a difficult thing to accept for the thirty four year old beauty from Valenzuela. 


What were her thoughts back then, minutes before she walked the aisle and unto the arms of her new husband, Pasig Congressman Roman Romulo? Was she thinking of President Benigno Noynoy Aquino, the lover that decided to sacrifice his own happiness in favor of the presidency?


Noynoy decided to end his relationship with Shalani a few months after his vows before the people. The people, they say, are a jealous lot. They want their president for their own. Rumors also of Shalani's past haunted him, who, sources very close to PBSA3 say, disturbed but never changed his love for her. 

Sources told me that Pnoy just locked himself up in his Bahay Pangarap during the time that Shalani and Roman were saying their vows at the Ayala Westgrove church in Santa Rosa Laguna. Pnoy reportedly asked his aides not to disturb him. Pnoy had just ordered his aides to send his gifts to the newly-weds, since both are his friends. 


Shalani, according to friends who attended the wedding, was simply elegant. She was wearing a very simple Inno Sotto gown, with a veil hiding her lovely face. That veil hid her lovely eyes. No one ever noticed that, minutes ago, those eyes were filled with tears.


Were they tears of joy or of sadness or of regret? No one can tell, except Shalani who probably cursed the day when her love, Pnoy, went unto that stage, and promised to serve this country as its Bachelor President?


It must also been hard for Pnoy. At fifty years old, Pnoy has been reported to date this and that, and been seen, cozying up with this girl and that girl, only to end up, just by his lonesome after a dinner date. When he was still a Senator, Pnoy looked radiant. Look at his latest photo now, and you'll noticed that Pnoy, our President, just got thinner and he aged a lot. The burdens of the Presidency must have taken most of his time and his health as well. 


I pray for a time that we will not burden the Aquino family anymore on the affairs of the Philippine State. This family has taken more hits than any single one of us. The Aquino family has been tortured to no avail during the dictatorial regime of Marcos, humiliated, spit at, and isolated. It was the Filipino People who urged this family to take the cudgels of leading the fight for democracy. This family has sacrificed a lot for the Filipino Nation.


BY 2016, I hope that we give Pnoy and his family, the rest that they deserve. The Aquinos must retire from politics, knowing full well that they have contributed enough for the Inang Bayan and their stature in history will never be questioned. If the Americans have their Kennedys, we have our Aquinos. 

Noynoy needs a massage and spa

New photos of Philippine president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III shows him thinner and stressed out. It just what? a month after his inauguration?

Is Aquino ready for more troubles ahead? The past dispensation has left us with an empty coffer and numerous anti-people deals that need individual review. And there are thousands out there.

I know Noy does not want some make-up put in his face but for the sake of the nation, he should probably hearken to the words of his stylist, Liz Uy.

Noy should recognize that he is now the new face of the Filipino People.

Heard from some Malacanang veterans that the palace really does that to its new occupants. Compare Mrs. Arroyo's photos in 2001 with that of her photo in 2004. Or Madame Cory Aquino's refreshing look prior to February 1986 to that of her photo in 1992.

Come to think of it....ignore my words. He looks like every single one of us. Every single one is stressed out. Everyone is suffering from high prices of commodities and the high cost of living.

Some looks younger than others simply because someone takes extra care of them. I have my wife to massage my tired muscles and soothe my tired mind.

Maybe, Noynoy needs a massage from who else but Shalani Soledad? A nasty rumour went round and about, indicating a split between the two. Yesterday, however, Soledad went to Times street and gave some cookies to Noy. Sweet.

Maybe Shalani should ask her boyfriend to go with her to some private place, away from the palace, and just spend at least one night together. Let Shalani do some "mother-ly" thing, like massaging Noy's tired muscles and apply some magic to his aching neck. Or, maybe some rocking will do? You know what I mean. :-)

By the way, when I arrived back here, I witnessed a miracle. I never saw that during the nine long years of Mrs. Arroyo's reign.

Noynoy's entourage went pass EDSA and motorists tried their best to give way to it. There were no wangwangs. The entourage just simply slipped past every single one as silently as possible.

That shows you the tremendous respect people have accorded to the new president. I just hope that men behind his administration would enjoy the same respect.

Shalani Soledad---single mother?

We got a lot of buzz from residents of Valenzuela and other people when I posted this entry about Shalani Soledad, the fiance of Senator Noynoy Aquino over at Filipino News Network (see the entry at http://filipinonewsnetwork.com/2009/08/13/whos-noynoys-girl-a-closer-look-at-shalani-soledad/). I never thought that entries about Shalani would actually get 182 (http://filipinonewsnetwork.com/2009/09/12/shalani-soledad-noynoy-aquino-and-the-people-of-valenzuela-politics-and-intriques/) comments. This is even bigger than FilipinoVoices.com.


Initially, I wrote a very nice entry about Shalani. Yet, when responses and comments were pouring in, information suddenly appeared denying most of the facts about Shalani. For example, an alleged close family friend of the Soledads said that Shalani's real surname is not Soledad but the surname of her mother. There were malicious insinuations from commenters that Shalani had a Saudi for a father and so on. Likewise, there was information about Carlo, the brother of Shalani, having a spat with her and the alleged manipulations done by her uncle to Shalani, and so on and so forth.

What was damning however, was the information that some residents gave us---that Shalani Soledad reportedly sired a child out of wedlock.


Yes, and people say the father is Atty. Jimboy (some call him Jiboy) Cabochan, now connected with the Bureau of Customs

I know Jimboy, he's a fraternity brother of mine and he's a kababayan. His family hails from the same hometown--San Miguel Bulacan. And the Cabochans are political heavyweights in that side of Bulacan. (QC Councilor Atty. Bong Suntay and Jiboy Cabochan are cousins.) The Cabochans even founded a fraternity at the San Beda College of Law, purportedly the biggest there---Lambda Rho Beta.


I don't know, however, if this out of wedlock thing is true. I lost Jiboy's number. Jiboy graduated from his law studies at San Beda College of Law sometime in the late 1990's. He's a certified ladies' man but I don't exactly know if he has a son with Shalani.


If this is true, then, these information are damaging not just to Shalani, but to Noynoy Aquino. Anyway, nothing wrong if Shalani has a child out of wedlock, since she and Jiboy are not married anyway. So, there's no legal impediment for a marriage between her and Noynoy.


Now that Shalani Soledad is now a public figure, due to her association with Noynoy, it is in the best interest of Shalani to explain these things. These malicious rumours could ruin not just Shalani's, but also Noynoy's career.


Another accusation against Shalani---the Valenzuela councilor reportedly LIED about her academic and personal information record.


Ms. Soledad---could you please explain all of these things para maliwanagan ang taumbayan?
.

A closer look at Noynoy's Girl (Noy, you're one lucky guy!)

Frankly, I'm tired of writing all these kababuyan at kamanyakan sa kapangyarihan that these government officials of ours do. I mean, even if we shout to the highest heavens and beat our breasts and clench our fists, these officials are as stubborn as brutes and they'll never admit any wrongdoing, lest we hold them by the hair and put them inside a torture chamber.

This news, however, of Senator Benigno Aquino III having a beautiful girlfriend was like a breath of fresh air amidst this rancid political atmosphere.

When Kris, Noynoy's kid sister, gave her blessing for her bachelor brother to marry, Noynoy uttered not a single word. Who's the girl?

Everybody knows about Noynoy's former tryst with Korina Sanchez (who is now engaged to Noynoy's friend, Mar Roxas) and that of Bernadette Sembrano (who, again, is now married to a Cavite mayor). Yet, when ABS-CBN showed photos of Noynoy's beautiful girlfriend named Shalani Soledad, many people just gazed on her and asked themselves if they know her. Yes, many people do, but they're all living in Valenzuela.

Yes, residents of Valenzuela takes extreme pride in having Shalani Soledad as their councilor, especially those living in the second district.

Shalani was born on the 20th of April 1980, which makes her just 29 years old. She hails from Catanduanes, but spent her adult life here in Manila. She finished elementary and high school at Marymount school and went on to get a Bachelors of Science diploma at the College of St. Benilde of Dela Salle University.

Shortly after, she worked as a front desk officer of Rason SAS hotel where she spent close to four years before working for ABS-CBN for a year.

Many people whom I interviewed says that "xisca" or "Lani", the pet name of Ms. Soledad, is a very bright student. She finished her course with glowing credentials. When she graduated from De La Salle, she served as the front desk officer at Radison SAS hotel, and after four years, went on to work as a talent in ABS-CBN for the "Big Picture".

After a year, she then worked as Executive Provincial Staff Officer for Governor Leandro Verceles Jr and eventually transferred to the Office of Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson as a member of his executive staff. It was then, as some people say, that Soledad met Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino.

A year later, in 2004, Soledad ran and won the number one Councilor slot in Valenzuela's Congressional district 2. She's now serving her second term and might be persuaded to gun for the Congressional post.

Many people who met her described her as "charming, beautiful, not your usual politician, very approachable." She's "ligawin" as some people in Valenzuela says because she has a beautiful face and alabaster-like skin.

She maintains a small but very tight circle of friends. Catch her on Facebook and Friendster.