The Apl of our eyes

For Black Eyed Peas’ Apl.de.Ap, these moments in his life stand out as his proudest: 1.) When he introduced his mother Cristina Pineda to a sold-out audience during the Black Eyed Peas’ first concert in the Philippines. 2.) Every time he is acknowledged as having made a difference in the land of his birth — the Philippines.

“When you become successful, it is not just money that makes you happy,” Apl.de.Ap (an acronym for Allan Pineda Lindo of Angeles, Pampanga) told PeopleAsia magazine, which is honoring him as one of its “People of the Year” on Monday, Jan. 28, at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City. “I want to leave this earth knowing that I did something. I made a difference in someone’s life.”

(According to his manager Audie Vergara, Apl, a recent “The Outstanding Young Men” (TOYM) awardee, has graciously agreed to perform during the awards night.)

“People of the Year” Apl’s unabashed declaration of his pride in his mother and the land of his birth reminded me of the first time I met him — during a press conference at the Filipinas Heritage Library for the 25th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution in February 2011.

“May I please say something?” Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala, who was present at the press conference, asked almost deferentially before Apl was introduced. Despite his stature, Don Jaime at that very moment was simply a Filipino attending a press conference of Apl.de.Ap, a member of the Grammy Award-winning Black Eyed Peas.

“I have traveled the world,” continued the former Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St. James, “and I am sad that when I see Filipinos who do well abroad and I ask them, ‘Filipino ka ba?’ they say, ‘No.’ That hurts.”

“But I take all that back today,” Don Jaime said, addressing Apl, “because you are exactly what I hope all Filipinos abroad will be.”

For here was Apl, a member of a world-famous American band, who could easily hide his Filipino roots.

And yet Apl greeted the press that day with a “Magandang tanghali” and proudly declared, “I am proud to be a Filipino.”

 â€œI have pursued my dream and I believe it is important to give back because I have been given the opportunity to be what I am now. What goes around comes around,” said Apl, who accepted the role of “ambassador” of the People Power Movement of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (represented by its chairman Ballsy Cruz and president, Rapa Lopa) and his participation in a classroom construction project of the League of Corporate Foundations.

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Apl.de.Ap was born to a Filipino mother and an African- American father on Nov. 28, 1974. According to published sources, his father was a US airman stationed at Clark Air Base. His mother, Cristina, raised him and his six younger siblings as a single mother. His grandparents are surnamed “Lindo,” hence his last name.

“We were poor, but we were happy,” he told PeopleAsia. Apl sold charcoal and delivered grocery items to sari-sari stores. He would also help his grandfather plant kamote, sugarcane, rice and corn in their backyard. He shared his earnings with his family, and used what was left over to pay for his jeepney fare to school.

The ‘People of the Year’ awardees.

His future loomed brighter when the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, an organization that finds healthier living environments for young abandoned or orphaned Amerasian children, matched him with a sponsor named Joe Ben Hudgens through a dollar-a-day program. He initially came to the United States at the age of 11 to treat nystagmus, an involuntary movement of the eyes. During a trip to Disneyland, Apl expressed his interest in staying in the United States. It would take another three years for Hudgens to officially adopt him, but at 14, he moved permanently to the United States to live with Hudgens.

Apl believes his adoption opened doors for him, but he has never forgotten his roots. It’s a long way from Los Angeles to Sapang Bato, but Apl isn’t one to bury his past.

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Through his Apl.de.Ap Foundation, Apl has donated books and computers to his alma mater, the Sapang Bato National High School in Pampanga.

According to its former executive director Jan Chavez-Arceo, the foundation focuses on raising funds for education-related programs in the Philippines. Apl’s battlecry is “We can be anything (with an education).”

According to Arceo, Apl is helping the TEN (The Entire Nation)  Moves campaign of the private sector to help the Department of Education build 10,000 classrooms for the public school system, which has a backlog of 67,000 classrooms nationwide.

Apl has returned to his hometown of Sapang Bato, Angeles, Pampanga to launch two of his own projects aimed at improving literacy and developing the musical abilities of the youth.

Apl has partnered with the Ayala Foundation, the Department of Education, the Philippine Development Foundation, the Holy Angel University and his alma mater — the Sapang Bato National High School — to fulfill his personal mission.

Because of Apl’s desire to give back, Holy Angel University will be home to the Apl.de.Ap Music Library and Studio, which will be furnished with musical instruments, interactive software programs and various other materials designed to make learning more dynamic and engaging for students. The library and studio will be accessible to the public.

Apl is also supporting the Sapang Bato National High School by partnering with the Filipinas Heritage Library, a division of the Ayala Foundation.

Truly, this Apl didn’t fall far from the tree that bore him, and still nurtures him.

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(PeopleAsia’s “People of the Year 2012” awardees include fashion retail magnate Ben Chan, actresses Angel Locsin and Anne Curtis, TV and radio news anchor Karen Davila, veteran film director and actor Eddie Garcia, renowned restaurateur Margarita Fores, fashion designer Randy Ortiz, National Artist F.Sionil Jose, Laguna Gov. E.R. Ejercito, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, tycoon Josephine Gotianun-Yap, award-winning basketball coach Norman Black and hotelier extraordinaire Prateek Kumar. The magazine is also giving out its first Lifetime Achievement Award to Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile. Other special awardees include real estate magnate Andrew Tan and green-warrior and senatorial hopeful Juan Miguel Zubiri. It is also giving out its “People’s Choice Award” to inspiring young advocate Chris “Kesz.”)

(You may e-mail me at joanneraeramirez@yahoo.com.)