Singer with a cause

Our paths first crossed at Kamuning Elementary School (then the pilot public elementary school in Quezon City) where he was two years ahead of me. Zoraya, his younger sister and now a successful doctor practicing in the US, was one of my prettier classmates.

Nonoy Zuñiga was one of the crushes of my more mature classmates (who, at 10 or 11 years old, already had the bodies, height and urges of teenagers), while spindly, nerdy me focused on being a good girl scout, representing my school in different competitions, organizing school programs (and fights, which my teachers, of course, did not know, ha, ha ha!), and after classes, climbing trees with my barkada around Kamuning and the Scout area in Diliman, Quezon City (which would have reminded one of the dirty wards of Julie Andrews as Maria in the Sound of Music, enjoying themselves up in the trees).

I finally noticed him when, in a scouting event where I got a Best Girl Scout award, he came Most Well-Dressed in a Boy Scout uniform. Finally introduced to each other, he became Kuya Nonoy to me from then on.

In high school, the Zuñigas relocated to Samar — where his mother and my father coincidentally hailed from. (You’d be surprised how many talented people in showbiz are actually from Samar.) Thereafter, back in Manila, he became a member of the Family Birth Control Band (which I would have also joined, were not my mom so strict — which decision, it turns out, was the best for me after all). He later went to University of Santo Tomas to become a doctor. I went to U.P. to become a lawyer.

After the tragic bombing at Philippine Plaza Hotel where he lost his leg, Nonoy was catapulted to fame and later dubbed "The Singing Doctor." My budding career as "The Singing Lawyer" under Boy Abunda was cut short with a much-wanted pregnancy. He started performing for fund-raising events. I started organizing, and helping in fund-raising events. And now our paths cross again.

Within the past year alone, I have worked on three big fund-raising events with the ultra generous Nonoy. Unlike other artists I have worked with for fundraising efforts, Nonoy does not only lend his talent; he is almost always at the core of the event, attending meetings and contributing ideas to make charitable activities successful.

At Kamuning Elementary School Alumni Foundation, where he sits as chairman, and me as vice president, we recently had a very successful Nonoy Zuñiga concert at Alegria Lounge of the Manila Pavilion Hotel, the proceeds of which were earmarked for the scholarship of very poor but deserving students. He is also the proponent (with other batchmates) of a grand raffle to benefit his alma mater and its students.

On Feb. 13, Nonoy is again lending his services to a big fund-raising event of the Rotary District 3780, where my gorgeous husband Paul is an active member, to be held at MetroBar, West Ave., together with the Silk band and some of Nonoy’s closest friends to help finance the district’s laudable milk-feeding program. The list goes on and on.

This is a facet of Nonoy’s life not quite known to many. Unlike some noisy "philanthropists," he has always been a sure but silent worker for and supporter of worthy causes, lending his talent here and there to help in any project he thinks will be beneficial to the needy ever since he started his solo career in 1981. It will be recalled in the ’80s, he became a familiar face on the TV show, Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko, where he was not only a host but a member of its board of directors.

Nonoy is president of Ecowise, an environmental organization aiming for zero waste through recycling and transforming garbage into organic fertilizer. He has engaged in countless medical missions, which is actually his medical practice, wherein he provides free services to the destitute. Through my egging, he shares that he has done several projects for different churches in different provinces, helped build basketball courts for young indigents, raised funds for his school gym in Samar, for an orphanage in Quiapo and for the Elsie Gaches for the elderly. The list goes unbelievably on and on.

Although I am very much into showbiz and more than half of my closest friends are celebrities, I have never been and will never be for any showbiz personality, who is unprepared to run for an elective public position.

But in the case of my dear Kuya Nonoy, if ever he decides to run in the coming elections, I will definitely make an exception. For 25 years now, he has shown his sincerity in quietly serving the Filipino people, all over the country, through his charitable works.

He has seen the poorest of the poor and their pitiful living conditions (although I think we should not really term it "living" but more of "dying"). He knows their needs and can do more in helping them when in public office.

With his experience in fund-raising activities, Nonoy can do a lot in generating much-needed funds. He is a doctor. He is intelligent. He has excellent organizational skills and a steely determination to help those in need. More importantly, Nonoy has a pure, clean heart. With so many impoverished people needing help, how I wish we had more Dr. Nonoy Zuñigas in this country today.

(E-mail me at [email protected])