During the August 1987 coup against then President Corazon “Cory" Aquino, her then 27-year-old son Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III narrowly escaped death when he was wounded in an ambush staged by rebel soldiers near Malacañang’s gates.
Several years later, in 2008, when the younger Aquino was already a senator, he used that story to strike up a conversation with an upstart politician from Valenzuela City. That political neophyte was Shalani Soledad, who would later become the fiancé of the man who, by all likelihood, will become the 15th president of the Republic of the Philippines.
From being an upstart politician, Valenzuela City councilor Shalani Soledad may soon become a First Lady. iGMA photo “Twenty years ago, sinabi niya na it’s a miracle na nabuhay siya dahil 20 years after makikilala pala ako (Twenty years ago, he said it was a miracle that he survived, because 20 years later he would meet me)," the soft-spoken Soledad quoted Aquino as telling her during a Kris Aquino interview in ABS-CBN’s showbiz talk show The Buzz Sunday.
Soledad said she first met Aquino in July 2005 during President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address. She was then a reporter for UNTV while Aquino was a congressman representing Tarlac province.
Coffee talk
Their first real conversation, however, happened three years later in Alfredo’s Steakhouse in Quezon City. Aquino, now a senator, was dining with his friends while Soledad was with other Valenzuela City officials.
“Afterward, nagpa-picture kami kay Noy. Sabi ni Noy siya ang [Senate] local government committee chair. Kinuha nila ang numbers namin. After a few minutes, nag-ring ang phone nung vice mayor at ininvite kami mag-coffee," Soledad said.
(Afterward, we had our picture taken with Noy. He said he’s the Senate local government committee chair so he asked for our numbers. After a few minutes, the vice mayor’s phone rang. It was Noy and he was inviting us for coffee.)
The catch, however, was that Aquino was not a coffee-drinker.
Age gap
Despite their 20-year age gap, Soledad and Aquino hit it off well and their romance later blossomed. They became a couple on September 5, 2008.
Soledad said the first movie they watched was “For the First Time," which starred KC Concepcion and Richard Gutierrez.
But what used to be a low-profile relationship found itself at the center of public agenda Mrs. Aquino died in August 2009. Suddenly all eyes were on the couple, especially when the bachelor Aquino declared his presidential bid a month later.
In his campaign sorties, the media would frequently prod Aquino to divulge his marriage plans. But the senator had kept mum on whether he would get for himself a First Lady. On Sunday, Soledad said she is not in a hurry to marry the president-apparent, who she said faces a heavy task should he win the highest post in the land.
“At this point, napakalaki nung task na haharapin ni Noy, so ang focus should be on the task ahead of him (Noy faces a huge task, so the focus should be on that)." - KBK
