All he needs to unwind is a good book

Did you know that Cavite Gov. Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla was a victim of bullying in school even if he stood several inches over the bullies?

“The bullies were hostile to those they considered from ‘the green side of the fence’,” Jonvic wrote in a long recollection on his Facebook page. “They would threaten to harm me so I avoided going out of the classroom. What I did was eat a heavy breakfast because I knew that my next meal would be at 5 p.m. when I got home.”

Like his brothers, Jonvic finished elementary and secondary education in exclusive schools (La Salle and Ateneo). Instead of defeating him, the bullying made him a sturdier person.

“I grew stronger because of the adversity,” said Jonvic. “I developed a mindset. I told myself, ‘From those days forward, I would never be a bully and I would stand up for what I believed is right’.”

A Scorpio (Oct. 23, 1967), Jon is the sixth of the seven children of former Cavite Gov. Juanito Remulla Sr. and Ditas Catibayan Remulla. He is married to Dr. Agnes Tirona-Remulla. They have five children. Jonvic is the former team manager of the UP Fighting Maroons, responsible for keeping UP’s top position in the UAAP rankings. Towering at 6’1”, he weighs 212 lbs. and wears size-XL shirt.

Under his leadership, Cavite has been consistently cited as one of the top performing provinces in the Philippines, and is the first and only province to be ISO 9001:2008 certified.

You’ve been going around (Cavite and NCR) since the March lockdown. What precautionary/safety measures do you take?

“The usual safety measures prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Department of Health (DOH). I wear a face mask and a face shield. I make sure that the proper hygiene for my hands is applied. I try to make a definite distance from people because it is very dangerous to be exposed or contaminated.

“The hardest part is: Politics is a contact sport and that is what COVID is taking away from us. I miss being around people. I miss shaking hands. I miss being with large groups of people. Birthdays. Parties. Celebrations. I miss the contact.”

How is your day like during the pandemic?

“I wake up at 3 a.m. I make sure my Facebook update (Official Jonvic Remulla on FB) is posted by 4 a.m. I am in the gym by 4:30 a.m. I say goodbye to my children by 7:30 a.m. I start preparing by 8 a.m. I am in the office by 9 a.m. I always have lunch alone. I am home by 2 to 3 p.m. I sleep every night at 8 p.m. (because I always wake up at 3 a.m.).”

How do you keep your family safe, especially when you arrive home from your daily activities?

“My wife has set up a protocol that all my things are put inside a UV disinfectant box. After that, I go straight to the shower. I disinfect myself. Change into new clothes. And that’s the only time I can go near my children and my wife.

“As practice, my children never leave the house. They haven’t left the house in five months. They stay in the house and have been very disciplined about it and have not been bratty at all about it. They have accepted that this is now part of life. Their mother has been very instrumental in making them understand that this is part of the new normal.”

Do you have time to keep an active lifestyle and do you get enough sunlight?

“The most active I get every day is in my personal home gym. I get sunlight once in a while. Like now, I am building a rest house in Anilao (Batangas). I get my sunlight there. Since COVID happened, I stopped playing golf. I stopped playing basketball. I used to run in Nuvali but can’t anymore. So given the current situation, there is very little chance for me to keep a very active lifestyle.”

What vitamins and supplements are you taking?

“Almost none except for the occasional Vitamin C and I take Glucosamine for my knees because as it is, I am aging. Matanda na ako ehem and I think, I damaged my knees playing basketball nonstop.”

What kind of diet do you follow?

“Breakfast is a protein shake. Lunch is salad with protein intake and dinner is anything goes because I am with my family every night.”

What’s in your man bag every time you leave home?

“My brand-new laptop! I just bought an Apple MacBook Pro 16” because my eyes are getting bad so I needed a bigger screen and it is very convenient to type in my regular updates for my constituents. I also have my big screen Samsung mobile phone (again because my eyes are bad). I don’t carry any toiletries. I also have all my papers and documents for review and signing. Lastly, I always have a book I can read during my off times.”

How much water do you take per day?

“Maybe up to six liters of just pure water. When I work out, I easily consume up to four liters.”

How do you unwind?

“I read a good book. At the moment, I am reading The Black Wave by Kim Ghattas. It details how Islam evolved to what it is now since 1979. It is very interesting.”

How do you deal with stress?

“I am generally a happy and fun-loving person. Working out helps a lot. Reading decompresses me. Nightly dinners with my children and my beautiful wife help me a lot. And my work environment is generally a place filled with fun (and highly competent) people despite all the challenges we are facing. It’s all in my state of mind. A fun person would like to work with fun people.”

Last thing that you do before going to sleep?

“I kiss my wife.”

First thing that you do as soon as you wake up?

“I post and read Facebook comments. I do that because in Cavite, that’s the time (4 a.m.) when people wake up to prepare for work. And they are waiting for my updates.”

During normal times, what’s your and your family’s favorite hideaway?

“The beach. Me and my children, we all love diving. We love the ocean and the sun.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)