Kris Aquino for President

Kris Aquino is qualified to be a Philippine President. She grew up within a political environment and graduated from a prestigious university in the country. People listen to her. She admits her mistakes and learns from them. She is an entertainment celebrity but is engage in industrial businesses as well. She believes in the Supreme Being and is a friend. She takes care of her family and listens. She worked her way up and is grateful too.

She is the youngest child of the former President Corazon Aquino, Asia’s first female president, and Benigno Aquino, Jr., a national hero and an opposition senator during the Ferdinand Marcos regime. She was born on February 14, 1971 as Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino.

She graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in 1992. She had her secondary education at the Colegio San Agustin in Makati, and elementary in the United States. She came back after her father’s assassination in 1983 and attended rallies combating Marcos.

Businesses in the Philippines sought after Kris for product endorsements. A corned beef brand, a home appliance section, a brewery corporation, a cosmetic solution, to name a few. And this can only be because the public believes her. For this, she was labeled the "Commercial Princess of the Philippines." In October 2008, YES! Magazine listed her as the leading celebrity endorser, with 21 products to her name. She also hosted a model search show for a clothing company.

Kris’ fame does not end there. An entertainment celebrity she may be but some Filipinos turn to her for help a politician must be the one to provide. Bloggers would ask her assistance for things an entertainment celebrity should not be bothered for.

To the dismay of many, Kris got involved in several relationships. One was with Philip Salvador, her fellow actor in Nandito Ako (1994), who impregnated her with Joshua.

She also had an affair with Alvin Patrimonio, a basketball player of the Purefoods Chunkee Giants and a married man. The former mayor of Paranaque, Joey Marquez, also got hold of her heart. Marquez is a former basketball player, married, an actor and a television host. Kris separated with him upon being inflicted with Chlamydia, a type of sexual transmitted disease, because of Marquez’s activities.

She finally got married to a basketball player on July 10, 2005. James Yap, Patrimonio’s playmate and the 2006 Most Valuable Player of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), won her heart and tied knots with her on a civil wedding. Their fairy tale almost ended when a former receptionist from the Belo Medical Group claimed she had a relationship with Yap.

After an interview with Korina Sanchez where Yap denied the illicit affair, life went on for Kris. She gave birth on April 19, 2007 to her second son at the Makati Medical Center in Makati. “Baby James” is her first child with Yap.

She could have another child but Kris suffered a miscarriage a day after her mother was known to have colon cancer.
Kris also has several businesses under her name: Lena Restaurant, Sencillo, Sierra Madre Water and Roberto Antonio, an upscale flower shop in partnership with Boy Abunda. Also with Abunda, Nonon del Carmen and Agnes Maranan, she established the boutique ad agency MAD (an acronym for their surnames, Maranan Abunda Aquino del Carmen).

As a businesswoman, Kris recognized the need to be honest. The Bureau of Internal Revenue recognized her as the top individual taxpayer of 2007, as in previous years.

What she observes in her businesses, she also observes in her friendships. After a public falling-out two years ago, she rekindled her bond with Dr. Vicki Belo, a cosmetic surgeon. She also agreed to put her house in collateral just to fund Abunda’s candidacy for a congressional seat.

If she is a friend, Kris is also a loyal family member. She gave tribute to her mother through her album Greatest Love, which had gone gold in its first week of release, and contribute to the former president’s medical expenses. Kris’ biggest blessing, Cory Aquino, is diagnosed with colon cancer. She would then take care of her mother after her brothers and sisters did. She would accompany her to a salon (Bambi Fuentes’) for shampoo.

Kris is also a mother. Joshua, who happens to be autistic, already has a wealth-managed fund ensured. The same as with Baby James, who already has an educational fund.

Amidst their differences, Kris worked to make her marriage work. She and James would attend marriage-counseling sessions with Fr. Jun Sison who is the one who advised them to fly out of the country.

In an interview with Ricky Lo in Showbiz Stripped, Kris admitted that ‘[she] is not the most important person in the world.’ Those who have watched Boy & Kris could testify that she often quote the Supreme Being’s work in people’s lives.

Kris did not become an actress just because she is her parents’ daughter. She made her film debut with actor-comedian Rene Requiestas in the comedy Pido Dida, a blockbuster hit that proved Kris can be a box office queen, for not long after, Gawad Urian nominated her portrayal in The Fatima Buen Story. She also starred in the Vizconde Massacre, a true-to-life murder. For this, newspaper critics labeled her the “Massacre Queen.”

She starred in other movies too: Myrna Diones Story, Elsa Castillo-Ang Katotohanan, Humanda Ka Mayor, Feng Shui, So... Happy Together and Sukob. She again became a Box Office Queen in these movies with the latter becoming the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time. She a supporting actress award for the film Mano Po, produced by Regal Films in 2002.

Kris also ventured into hosting. In Startalk, a showbiz-oriented talk show in GMA7, her hosting wit was enhanced.

After her GMA and Viva contracts expired, she transferred to ABS-CBN and hosted Today with Kris Aquino, the Best Talk Show for the PMPC Star Awards in 1998. She also hosted in The Buzz a year after with Abunda. Two years later, the network tapped her to host the game show Game KNB? and compete with The Weakest Link and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? of IBC-13.

Alongside the game show, she hosted a morning talk show with Korina Sanchez, a media personality. Morning Girls with Kris and Korina lasted for 16 months (January 2003-May 2004) when it was only meant for two weeks.

But family remains to be a top priority for Kris. The country’s Queen of Talk left her two shows after giving birth to Baby James. She also always makes it a point to spend time with her mom and her sons on weekends.

Currently, she’s hosting “Deal or No Deal.” Starmometer.com named her the 29th Most Beautiful Filipina last year.

On capikat50megs.com, Kris was hailed as cute and lovely. ‘This woman is simply amazing, downright honest and very remarkable. She has her own unique and exquisite material when it comes to TV hosting. Concise, complete and just the facts. Entertaining and sometimes candid. Philippine lunchtime-TV will never be the same without her. She's an excellent TV host and described as the 'Queen of Philippine Daytime Talk-Show'. Viewers have always something to look forward on every show.’

Of course, there are people bothered by her presence (and much more, I guess, with this blog). They would call her behavior unrefined, infuriating and unprofessional. In fact, a student from the University of the Philippines has written an essay against her, implying that she just deserves the criticisms and violence she faced. A former fan labeled her a ‘Monster on TV’ when she and her nieces went to a taping of Pilipinas, Game KNB? all the way from Nueva Ecija only to be shouted at.

Kris Aquino ought to be the next Philippine president. She would be better than the politicians masked with scholastic achievements and holy oil. She does not believe in calls for change; she just changes herself. She recognizes faults and admits hers. She would be the President the country needs this time.