By Maridol Ranoa-Bismark
Sen. Bong Revilla, the man who has been linked to beautiful women, on screen and off, pauses from a media interview.
He faces his wife, Congresswoman Lani Mercado, smiles, puckers his lips, and says, “Kiss!”
A framed photo of him and Lani, beaming, standing close to each other, sits prominently on the table of his second floor of the Senate building.
Is this his way, not only of showing how much he loves his wife, but of proving that he is truly taking the straight and narrow path?
While admitting that arguments among married couples are unavoidable, the senator says that this time, they have become a lot less.
“We end arguments before we sleep. By the time we wake up, they’re gone,” he points out.
“We fall in love with each other every morning. Every day is a new start,” Lani, sounding like a brand-new bride, chimes in.
Sorry is one of the words that have kept their marriage intact for the past 38 years. Lani says she and Bong keep pride out of the way by apologizing to each other as much as they can.
The couple also makes sure they don’t add fuel to the fire on a bad hair day.
“One keeps quiet when the other is angry,” Bong explains.
Lani nods and attributes the peace and quiet at home to maturity that comes with the years.
“We’ve reached mid-life,” she says (Bong is 57; Lani, 56).
Lani doesn’t look a day older than 59. In fact, she could pass for someone in her 40s. That’s because of marriage tip number two.
“We extra effort to look good for each other,” Lani reveals.
You won’t catch her sloppily dressed, even if she and Bong are expecting their eighth grandchild in December. Life in a Tagaytay farm, where the couple spends their downtime, chases the stress away. There, amid fruit-bearing plants that yield avocados, pineapple and even durian, Bong and Lani gather their children and grandchildren. Politics and work just have to wait.
No wonder, Bong is as productive as ever.
“I’m proud of the bills I have filed,” he says. “The Centenarian Law has been amended to give our grandparents P10,000 cash gift when they turn 80, 85, 90 and 95.”
Then there’s Bong’s Kabalikat ng Pagtuturo Act, which raises the teaching allowance of public school teachers.
“Public teachers’ allowance will increase from P5,000 this year to P10,000,” Bong report.
He’s just as happy to have authored the “Anti-No Permit, No Exam Act.” This allows students who have not paid tuition and other school fees to take exams. Schools that violate this law will be closed. There are no offenders so far, Bong says.
