His dinner plate was set: a glass of Coke on the left and a plate of Chicharon bulaklak on the right, as the waiter ushered in a serving of sisig. But the man seated next to me was still busy browsing text messages on his I-Phone.

“Pasensya na kayo, saglit na lang to. Dalawang beses lang kasi ko nagbabasa ng text, pagkagising sa umaga at bago matulog sa gabi.” Then he smiled, took off his eyeglasses, and went back to reading his text messages.

He’s a busy man. Probably too busy to change from his long-sleeved white cotton linen Barong into something more casual at a Friday night dinner like this.

But obviously, he had no time for that. He had just attended a meeting with the House majority coalition caucus at Shangri-La Hotel, hosted by Quezon City 4th District Representative Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.. The man seated next to me at the dinner table was the highest official of the Philippines, President Noynoy Aquino.

The dinner was a get-together of reporters who were embedded in his election campaign.  It was a gathering of around 20 people at a watering hole in Greenhills.

During the campaign, we called ourselves the “bratpack”. “Bratpack pa ba talaga tawag nyo sa sarili nyo, sa edad nyong yan?” said the laughing P-Noy, before he drizzled his rice with two spoonfuls of broth of sinigang (milkfish stewed in Tamarind).

We were a group of more or less 20 people on the dinner table, the same people who trailed then-Senator Noynoy Aquino’s sorties. 

While working on his plate, the President said, “Bakit naman short notice ito?”

Hearing that, former Abante Senate reporter Rey Marfil, who’s now Malacañang’s Assistant Secretary for Media Relations, approached the President , lowered his head between me and the President and said, “Boss, buti nga at nadamay kayo sa pagkain. Sabi ni Jorge Cariño, hindi ka nga daw imbitado dito.” That was the cue to lighten up, and the President began laughing.

The original plan was to meet at a restaurant in Roxas Boulevard in Manila. But we thought that if the President was not that busy on Friday, why not ask him if he wants to join us and we will just go to a place near the place where his last appointment for the day would be.

Zaldy de Loyola, the President’s trusted aide told us that the President was planning to have dinner at a restaurant which he used to visit frequently in the Greenhills area. So, we decided to have the reunion at Greenhills.

When barong-clad PSG [Presidential Security Guard] men arrived, guests at the restaurant turned their heads towards the parking area of Promenade, followed by the emergence of the President’s figure from the crowd.  We opened up a space in the middle and placed a seat so he would have a chance to see everyone on the table.

The President took a sip of Coke, and just when he was about to put down his glass on the table, he noticed the crowd outside, goose-necking on the glass wall of the restaurant. At an alfresco table near the wall, a group of ladies, who looked like college girls, held a white paper with red ink scribblings that read, “PRESIDENT NOY, PLEASE SUSPEND CLASSES ON MONDAY SO WE CAN WATCH SONA”.

The President stood from his seat, went out and approached the table. The giggling and shouting from the ladies as the President neared their table drowned the music at the restaurant, followed by flashes of lights from cameras. 

I never had the chance to hear what the President said to those girls, who were all smiling when the President left them and returned to our table.

Missing his family

The President gave his share of jokes and stories. But the story about his family touched me. 

Obviously, the man misses his family, his nephews to be more specific.

He talked to us how the boys of his sister, Kris Aquino, would play with him. “Si Baby James lalapit yan, sasabihin ‘Tito, swing baby James’, yun bang ihahagis ko sya pataas. Ok lang si Baby James, pero pag nakita ni Joshua, sasabihin din 'Tito, swing Joshua’! Sinasabi ko, hug Joshua na lang!”.

I reminded him of the time when his family was having a photo session in Malacañang right after his inauguration as President. We had a video of Joshua poking him on his left temple and he responded by poking Joshua on his belly. The President said he’s really close to his nieces and nephews, who were always brought by their parents to the Aquino house where he and his Mom, the late President Corazon Aquino, lived.

When the President gazed at the door of the restaurant, he noticed a group of people holding their camera phones, smiling at him, waving and gesturing for a photo. I was surprised when the President stood up and went out to pose with that group, which was followed by two more groups! When he got back to his seat, another group was queued outside the door. But the military aide suggested to the President, “Sir, ok lang po bang papasukin na lang natin sila ng grupo-grupo kesa ikaw ang lumabas?” (Sir, is it ok with you if we just let the people in by groups, instead of you coming out to pose with them?).

The President nodded, and more than a dozen of people were ushered in to have their photo taken with President. After the shoot, the President noticed the members of the PSG who were standing at the door, talking to a couple who eventually stepped back and left. The President asked, “Teka, pinipigilan nyo bang pumasok mga tao? Wag naman, nakakahiya at hindi naman atin itong lugar na to?” I looked around for reactions, and other people who were seated at tables around us, who seemed to have heard what the President said, were all smiling.

Other reporters in our group asked the President about the coming State of the Nation Address (SONA).  Wendell Vigilia of Malaya said, “Sir, parang ayaw ng House ipa-cover sa amin yung SONA, ang higpit, ayaw kaming papasukin!”. The President smiled and said, “Ako nga na invited para magsalita, ten invitations lang ibinigay sa akin!”.

That’s the time when the President crossed his arms over his chest and told us that they're still trying to trim the length of his SONA. That Friday morning, President Noy told reporters at a press conference in Fort Bonifacio that on the 4th or 5th revision, the SONA draft was a 24-page, single-spaced, font 16 document. “Pero kaninang hapon, naging 14 pages na lang sya,” said the President.

But he’s not optimistic if he can make it into a 10-minute speech as he wanted it to be. “May weekends pa kasi at baka madagdagan pa, considering yung dami nung problema,” said President Noy. “Basta hanggang dun na lang muna, hindi ako magkukwento sa inyo ngayon kasi baka wala nang makinig sa SONA ko sa Lunes," he said, as he laid his hands on the table in front of him.

At past 11 p.m., President Noy looked at his watch and said, “nakakahiya na sa mga kasama ko, (referring to PSG), mauna na muna kami”. The President stood up and approached a security staff. We never heard what he said, but the approach of the security staff to the restaurant’s cashier nook was a giveaway. Raul Ng and Eric Gutierrez, businessmen who supported P-Noy’s campiagn and the ones who organized the reunion, made a dash to the cashier’s nook. Raul turned his head to the President and said, “Sorry Boss, naunahan ka na namin, bayad na 'to kanina pa!”. Everyone in our group was laughing as we all looked at the President, who was laughing too and shaking his head.

When the President stood up, he shook my hand and I told him, “Mr. President, good luck on Monday sa SONA mo.” He gave me a smile, clasped my hand firmly and replied, “Good luck sa ating lahat.”

When the President left the restaurant, his car was ten steps away, but it took him a lot of time to reach his car. The crowd that gathered outside the restaurant flanked him, everyone in the crowd was smiling, the PSG had their hands full trying to protect the President. President Noy was shaking everybody’s hands, posing for pictures. This is the same scene I saw when he was still campaigning. He’s still the same P-Noy I saw when he was still campaigning.