A day in the life... of Bayani Fernando

MANILA, Philippines - It was on a hot Sunday afternoon when Bagumbayan vice presidential bet and former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chief Bayani Fernando finally made a decision to sit down with The STAR for this interview at his stylish house in Monte Vista, Marikina City.

Fernando was busy finishing a television advertisement that he intended to air during the final weeks of the campaign when he asked for a short break from the crew.

Asked about his daily routine, Fernando described how his days were becoming more hectic as the campaign picked up.

“I take a bath as soon as I get up and fix myself. I then have a very light breakfast and then meet some guests in the house. If I am here in Manila, I go to my headquarters or to speaking engagements. I start at 5 a.m. and when I take commercial planes, I get up at 4 a.m. I am busy until 12 midnight,” he said.

With his hectic schedule, Fernando says he eats a very light breakfast of a slice of bread with cheese and coffee. Sometimes, he said, he would hanker for a Filipino breakfast complete with dried fish.

While on sorties, Fernando says he is not picky about what and where to eat.

“My stomach is not that sensitive. I have no restrictions in food. I am used to little discomforts,” he said.

Fernando admits that while on the campaign trail, the most exercise he gets is climbing up and down his “chariot,” which is his campaign vehicle.

“While on the caravan, I am on top of my chariot from morning to about 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. With the bumps on the road, I have a whole-day massage,” he quipped.

Fernando said he would usually start his day with a “West Point” style stationary jogging for 15 minutes and five minutes of stretching for three or four days a week.

The 63-year-old Fernando says he has a low tolerance for alcohol and last smoked when he was 14 years old.

But one thing that Fernando really now misses doing during the campaign is singing.

“Before the campaign, I would devote one night a week to sing,” he said.

Fernando said that prior to his hectic campaign schedule, he would visit the Architecture Club Center in Rockwell, Makati City and sing to the accompaniment of a keyboard player.

“I dish out probably 20 songs per night. That is a routine for me,” he said.

Fernando also admits trying drums after a friend gave him a drum set.

“But after three lessons, I quit. After three lessons, wala na akong time (for it),” he said. Now while on breaks in his sorties, Fernando says he would take out and play his harmonica.

“I don’t play any instrument except the harmonica,” he said.

When asked what his favorite reading material is, Fernando mentions Popular Mechanics. He said he started reading the magazine while taking up Mechanical Engineering at the Mapua Institute of Technology. He passed the engineering board in 1967, the same year he graduated from Mapua.

Before the campaign, Fernando said he would try to sketch building designs, such as an all steel school building that his daughter is now trying to perfect. At the start of the campaign, Fernando transferred control of his steel plant to his only child, Tala.

As the featured guest at The STAR’s “A Heartbeat Away” vice presidential forum yesterday, Fernando came with his wife outgoing Marikina Mayor Marides Fernando.

He said it was his late father, a true nationalist, who gave him and his sisters nationalist-inspired names. Bayani is the Filipino word for hero. His sisters are Ligaya (joy), Dalisay (pure), Mayumi (dainty), and Patria (country).

If elected, Fernando says he will stay focused on his job as vice president and will not accept a Cabinet post.

“I intend to be the bastonero of the President. I have to know everything that is happening as vice president. I would have to be the coach of the team. I cannot do that if I have a fixed Cabinet post. I would like to be the labor pusher of the President. I have the experience and the qualification for it,” he said.

“We have a good system of government. Unfortunately, it is not working as envisioned. Our people have become unproductive,” he added.

Fernando, known in the campaign trail as “Mr. Political Will” is upbeat on his chances of securing the second highest post of government come May 10.

“It (campaign) is going my way. I started early. I am risking my political career to let people be aware of what political will is. Our people must be made aware that laws are the solution. All the wisdom and experiences of this country are all in the laws. We have just simply failed to implement them,” he said.