(Photo by BOB DUNGO, JR.)

When typhoon Ondoy struck more than a month ago, it did not take Katrina Castañer Ponce Enrile more than 48 hours to mobilize an army of volunteers who would help cook hot meals, repack clothes, and distribute goods to the areas in Metro Manila devastated by the flood. Her office, her restaurant Petra and Pilar, and even her home, were transformed into busy nerve centers for relief operations.

Two weeks later, the same scene would be repeated when typhoon Pepeng made landfall in Katrina’s home province, wiping out the whole of Cagayan. The obstacles became even more difficult
to hurdle when Cagayan was practically cut off from the rest of the world, with transportation and communication infrastructure affected by the twin calamities.

But this did not stop Katrina from personally leading her team and making sure that the people of Cagayan would get help.

“We have warehouses all over the country that got flooded. That means we also have employees all over the country who were affected. There was just really so much to do. I guess you just have to do what you can, whatever you can. You cannot help but to get involved,’’ Katrina says.

Many may not know it but conducting relief operations is nothing new to Katrina who has made it her personal mission to go wherever there is a disaster.

“Pinatubo, Baguio earthquake. You do whatever you can. Kinarir ko na talaga,’’ she says with a laugh.
Years ago, it would be difficult to imagine a Katrina Ponce Enrile rolling up her sleeves and going through flooded areas, or even talking about social responsibility and taking it to heart. Why, she was supposed to be the quintessential party girl, the disco diva who would ditch her bodyguards and dare climb the ledge. But really, she just loved to dance the wee hours away! Much like today’s Paris Hilton, she was an heiress, a successor to the business and political conglomerate that her parents built, with her share of juicy controversies at that.

“I was a party girl only because I wanted to go to the disco and that’s it. If that’s being rebellious, then yeah. I just love dancing. After I get my dancing fix, ok na ako, I go home, sleep, rest. That’s it,’’ recalls Katrina.

But no regrets whatsoever, Katrina says. She has enjoyed life to the hilt, and has paid her dues as well.

Today, as president and chief executive officer of the JAKA Group of Companies, Katrina exhibits a brand of leadership honed through years of learning experiences and exposure to the works of her father Juan Ponce Enrile both in the business and political arenas. Under her stewardship, JAKA thrives doing its core businesses that include property management and development; food manufacturing; product distribution, marketing and logistics; forest plantation management; safety match manufacturing; financial services and security services. JAKA also has manufacturing facilities and distribution centers nationwide, including abroad.

Human resource-wise, Katrina is chief to JAKA’s over 1,860 employees, but first and foremost a wife and mother to four children whose ages range from 10 to 31 years old.

In this 60 Minutes tete-a-tete, Katrina gives us a no-holds barred glimpse of being Juan Ponce Enrile’s daughter, why she gives credit to her professors in U.P. most of whom, she reveals, were jailed by her father during Martial Law, her business management style, the great distance she would go to for food, glorious food (!), and the trail that she would like to leave behind now that she is on the threshold of becoming a “golden girl.’’ (Ivy Lisa Mendoza)

STUDENTS AND CAMPUSES BULLETIN (SCB): How is it being Katrina Ponce Enrile, the daughter of Juan Ponce Enrile?

KATRINA PONCE ENRILE (KPE): Well, good and bad (laughs). There are good days, there are bad days. Depends on my dad, depends on the issues involved and the position he takes on those issues. There are some that are popular when everybody loves you. There are some that are not popular and everybody hates you. So you have to be able to roll with the conscience. There are days, he is the demon, there are days that he is the savior and in politics, it goes like that, you’re up, you’re down, you’re pushed to one side, pushed to the other side, you just have to roll. There are days that they love you and as soon as they love you, they hate you. That’s the way it is.

SCB: Does this still affect you?

KPE: For a while, maybe only for a few days (laughs). And boy, you know that’s why we’ve been here long enough to know that it’s so fleeting.

SCB: Was there ever a time that you asked your dad, “Pwede bang ‘wag ka na tumakbo?”

KPE: Of course! Many times. I’ve written him many letters. Some letters asking him to leave President Marcos, asking him to get out.

SCB: Does he keep your letters?

KPE: I think he does. (laughs)

SCB: When did you start writing him letters?

KPE: I like writing my mom and my dad letters asking if I could go out. Kasi sasabihin nila “no” eh. (laughs) Nung bata ako so susulat ako, saying, “Please, please!” And then my letters progressed to more serious stuff, like when I felt that his life was in danger…

SCB: When was this?

KPE: During the time of Martial Law, right before Ninoy Aquino was assassinated.

SCB: What’s the hardest part about being JPE’s daughter?

KPE: People can look at you and they always think you’re working an angle. You always have to defend your actions, the words that you say, the positions you take, when ordinary people doing the same thing would not be suspect. Kami, we’re always suspect by virtue of our last name. So, do you do it or do you not do it? Always, maninimbang ka parati.

Like the relief work during the last typhoon. I have t-shirts and people needed clothes. The first few t-shirts that I had in my house had my dad’s face on it. Do I send it? People don’t have clothes. I asked my dad if I should send these and he asked wala na ba akong iba? Wala eh, so pinadala ko na muna ‘yun. Naninimbang ka. There was a need, and I pulled what was there. What I did afterwards was I bought again. Sometimes it’s sad, mabilis magsalita at maghusga ang mga tao. Hindi nila alam kung ano ba talaga. I don’t blame them for the skepticism because there are people that are like that. Kaya nga kailangang timbangin parati. Titimplahin mo. That’s the hardship.

SCB: But are there more advantages than disadvantages?

KPE: Pare-pareho lang din ‘yun eh. Sometimes it’s an advantage kung love ka ng tao. Kung hindi, it’s a disadvantage. But no matter what, I can’t change my name, so I live with it.

Every individual wants to be able to create. Your name has nothing to do with your want to create. That’s where I am. I like to create, there has to be a creative outlet for me. The same goes for business. I don’t think my dad would have allowed me to use the name in any other way. I think that would also be a disservice to me. You just want to be productive as a human being, more than anything else. I can easily just stay home and not do anything, but I think I’d rather kill myself.

SCB: How do you do the same thing for your kids?

KPE: My daughter is working in New York. They don’t know who she is there. The name only works in some areas. The sooner you get rid of that, the sooner that you get a grip and realize that while my father made a name for himself, each one of us has to make a name for ourselves.

SCB: But have there been situations where your name has unexpectedly had an influence, where it shouldn’t have factored at all?

KPE: Not really that I know of. Normal naman sa mga Filipino to be starstruck. Even me, magpapapicture. But it’s just for that moment, after that wala na. That doesn’t mean anything. We all love to have our pictures taken but that’s all that it means.

SCB: Who do you get starstruck with?

KPE: Kung sinu-sino. Normal naman ‘yun. I want to meet Aling Dionisia (Pacquiao). Naaliw ako sa kanya.

SCB: In the UP Diliman campus before EDSA in the ‘80s, people would really say something about you. Of course because it was the height of student activism and your dad was the Defense Minister. When you pass by AS lobby, parang…

KPE: Everybody’s quiet?

SCB: Exactly!

KPE: I know that. Alam ko naman eh. But what am I gonna do? Am I going to stop my life because things are like that? Of course not!
SCB: At that time, your father was the Minister of Defense when that Alfie Anido rumor floated around…

KPE: I was in UP then!

SCB: That was the time. When people see you, humahawi ang mga tao…

KPE: Even in the Collegian, nandun din ako! I did entertain skipping that semester but my dad goes, “No, no, no. You’re not going to skip any sem, you go back to school.” Because that happened over Christmas, right? So I said, “ok.” As simple as that, kasi when you know what to expect and its extent…

SCB: And for a teenager, a young person, to undergo that kind of pressure, it’s different.

KPE: But you know what, my grades got higher that sem. That was the highest ever (laughs)!

SCB: It was a motivation?

KPE: No, I mean, sige (laughs).

SCB: So how did you deal with that? In school at that…

KPE: You know it’s not about me eh, it’s them. It’s their problem not mine because I did not do anything to them, they don’t know me.

SCB: As early as then, you were already adopting that attitude?

KPE: I don’t know if I was adopting it or that’s just the way that I look at things. Now, if I know you personally and then if we have a relationship and you get to know me, and then you will have an opinion about me, that will matter na because you know me di ba? Because if you don’t know me, you can say all you want because you’ve never been given a chance to get to know me. Does it count? I guess it does not because that’s only their perception.

SCB: How were you as a student?

KPE: I was never forced to excel. I give credit to my teachers, hindi nila ako binagsak (laughs). I had decent grades, given that I would party everyday and I still had grades like that, ok na ‘yun! (laughs) Definitely not a nerd! I don’t like Math.

SCB: You went to law school too?

KPE: I did, for two years. But the Constitution was changed and everything that I learned the first two years was already obsolete. I took a leave and at that time, during that time my dad had to go around the country and I said, “Sama ako.” So I left with my dad.

SCB: You took up Political Science in UP. Was that really your choice?

KPE: Yeah and most of my professors were detained by my dad during Martial law (laughs).

SCB: How did you deal with that? Buti di ka binabagsak…

KPE: Give the professors credit for that (laughs).

GROWING UP IN POLITICS

SCB: Were you a Daddy’s girl?

KPE: Everybody says I’m a Daddy’s girl but my dad was a fair dad. He gets mad when I do something bad. There’s only two of us eh, me and my brother, so I guess I’m my Daddy’s girl and my brother is Daddy’s boy (laughs).

SCB: You grew up in politics. Didn’t you contemplate on going into it yourself?

KPE: No. My dad and my older brother are in politics. The only participation that I had was I ran my dad’s campaign and I go out campaigning for him.

SCB: Was it your personal choice not to go into it yourself?

KPE: The way it is in our family is that we decide as a family especially in things like that.

SCB: Even now? In politics?

KPE: Yeah, especially in politics because resources, commitments and responsibilities are involved. Hindi naman ‘yan porke’t naisip mong tumakbo o may nagsabi sa iyo na “Takbo ka na, puwedeng-
puwede ka!” They’ll flatter you all you want. My dad was in government since I was five so nobody can flatter me to do that. That does not work on our family eh because we know the realities eh, what it entails. We grew up, eating, breathing, experiencing that so alam namin.

SCB: At what age did you start campaigning for your dad?

KPE: I started campaigning for my dad when I was 10 years old. So every election, when he’s involved or even if he was not involved but we’re supporting a politician, we’re all out. I think it’s already expected, a routine thing.

SCB: Were you like Kris Aquino who would go to the stage and deliver a speech?

KPE: No, no. Flyers lang. I think Kris naman had to do that because her dad was incarcerated so she had to appeal. If my dad couldn’t physically go there, I guess I could have done the same thing as well for him.

SCB: How has the political scene changed since you have been here for so long?

KPE: Not really that much. It’s just now you have cellphone and all, I guess it’s just the speed of the information coming across, which I think is good and bad kasi sometimes, ang daming kuryente diyan di ba? But were still being the way we are. The way to campaign is still through the normal route and of course, through media.

SCB: The voters, how did they change?

KPE: When my daddy was a lot younger, everybody knew who Juan Ponce Enrile was. As he got older, I guess it’s issue-based. Depends on what issues he tackles.

I guess now kilala na naman siya because it so happens na yung load niya, totoong nawala di ba? I guess, I mean a lot of people could relate.

SCB: A lot of people were surprised na prepaid siya.

KPE: For his age, he’s turning 86, at least nakakapag-text siya, nakakapag-computer siya, okay na din yun (laughs).

SCB: Pero bakit siya prepaid?

KPE: Ewan ko. Gusto niya ng prepaid.

SCB: Sino naglo-load sa kanya?

KPE: Ewan ko, siguro may mga nagbebenta sa kanya (laughs).

SCB: What if your dad asked you to run?

KPE: Again, it’s a family thing. If he tells me, I guess I’ll do it. People can tell you that you can do it and you entertain it, but then reality will set in and you ask yourself “Kaya mo ba?” Or “Kaya mo naman, pero gusto mo ba?” It’s really a family decision.

SCB: Did you expect that the reins of JAKA would be handed over to you?

KPE: No, I never expected it. I was into a lot of things, fashion, food, my own little businesses before. I travel also. But whatever comes my way, I try to fit in and do the role. Hey, I took up Political Science and what am I doing running this food conglomerate? But because it was given to you, you just have to do it.

SCB: How did you prepare yourself without you knowing it?

KPE: Everyday, you’re sitting down with your parents, listening to how they make their decisions. When I started, there was a different CEO then and I would listen a lot. I was treasurer, then I became the head of the property group, then after that I became the chief operating officer. In 2004, I officially became the president and chief executive officer of Jakaakaaka.

SCB: What were the changes that you instituted? What is the Katrina brand of management?

KPE: Not the “Katrina” brand, it was borne out of necessity. We had to downsize because of the crisis in 1997, we shrunk and we had to restructure our loans. In 1997, everybody talked about being global, and all those big words, expansion, flagship projects, globalization. Those ambitious, flagship projects, nice in paper but then you have to look at what the market could really absorb. We knew we had to transform and rethink our short term and long term positions. So we actually did that.

SCB: So when do people see you side by side with your father?

KPE: Only when I campaign for him and only when he’s in trouble (laughs). Every time he goes to jail, I go with him.

SCB: Do you have issues that you disagree on? Do you ever win with your dad?

KPE: Depende. You know, sometimes he sees the point. I don’t think it’s a matter of winning. It’s just being able to put the message across and see his point of view (laughs).

SCB: How do you argue with Juan Ponce Enrile?

KPE: Sometimes, emotional issues (laughs). Talo siya dun!

SCB: In what ways are you alike?

KPE: Temper, being impatient, pero madali din mag-subside. But you know, my dad has mellowed down a lot.

SCB: When you were younger did you ever get the chance to go on gimmicks? How did you lose the bodyguards?

KPE: Of course! I had the bodyguards stay away, hindi ka makaka-gimik kung ganun (laughs). I love to dance, I used to have this party girl image, but after a while nagsawa na din naman ako. Inaraw-araw ko rin naman din ‘yun.

SCB: How did your family feel about that?

KPE: I guess there was a struggle at the start, but I guess they accepted that they could not stop me from dancing and going to the disco.

SCB: Did you ever rebel?

KPE: Only because I wanted to go to the disco and that’s it. If that’s being rebellious, then yeah (laughs). I just love dancing.

After I get my dancing fix, ok na ako, I go home, sleep, rest. That’s it.

SCB: So are you lax with your children when it comes to partying?

KPE: No (laughs). I get involved. Maybe before kasi, takot sila to give me drugs or anything. But now, I know now that it’s everywhere and I don’t want that for my children. I try to get to know their friends, I spend time with them. Sometimes they don’t want me there (laughs). But I don’t go out with them. When they’re in the house, I get to know them.

SCB: This is a totally different parenting style that you’re using…

KPE: And I like it. I like my children’s music. Whatever they have on their iPod, I know.

SCB: Could you share with us things that people would be surprised to find out about you?

KPE: I hardly wear make-up. Like today, I only wore make-up because you’re taking my picture! (laughs) I usually come to work in very, very casual clothes. I hate wearing gowns. If the invitation says I have to wear gowns, I freak out. I do not like wearing gowns. Hate, hate, hate. I don’t know, I just don’t like them. I’m usually in the office between 9:30 and 10 because I try to exercise in the morning.

SCB: Somebody once described you as a frustrated chef.

KPE: I love to eat, I like to cook. I’m a foodie but I never took any courses. I like to search for where is the best barbeque, the best empanada, etc. In my phonebook, it’s mostly food (laughs). I love to share, too.

SCB: So where’s the best empanada in town?

KPE: I’ll give you the number later! (laughs)

SCB: Is that one of the reasons why you have this restaurant Petra and Pilar?

KPE: I had a food chain when I was in my 20’s, I started early. I had to get into the food business because we have Jaka Foods. We put up Splendido, so we had to have food. Because of that, Chef Ed Quimson and I reconnected. He discovered how much of a foodie I am and our common bond being food, we’d go everywhere for food. We’ve even gone to Spain, Italy, Japan, Macau, Hong Kong, just to get ingredients and try things. Ganon kalala (laughs). We kind of tossed ideas back and forth, and because of that the creative side of it brought us to Petra and Pilar.

SCB: Do you still find time to read books?

KPE: Now I’m reading a lot of cook books and diet books (laughs). You look at recipes and you gain weight so you look at the other book.

SCB: What’s your comfort food?

KPE: Pasta. I sautee garlic, then I put lots of anchovies, then I cut ripe, juicy tomatoes, and I throw in linguini and I top it off with basil. That I can eat a whole bandehado. It’s a shortcut version of a putanesca. Mabilis, quick. Filipino food, masarap na sinangag, may tinapa ka diyan, may kamatis. The usual Pinoy food is comfort food.

SCB: Are there still things in life that you want to do?

KPE: For as long as you’re alive and you wake up everyday, I think everybody would want to do something. There’s a lot of things that I want to do, especially when you read all these newspapers and magazines and you see these great things. Sometimes you have to push them all back and say “Enough!’’ because it’s taking so much of your time.

I want to be able to go to the Maldives while it’s still there, or Bora Bora. I like the sea. There are places that I want to go to. I can also say that I want to skydive, but when you’re actually gonna do it, gagawin mo ba? I’m pushing 50 and I know the realities.

SCB: Have you ever thought of writing a memoir?

KPE: That will teach me patience because I will need to have the patience to sit and write everything down.

SCB: What are you most thankful for?

KPE: I’m thankful that my family’s with me, although my daughter is far from me. I’m happy that I still have my parents. I really just want a simple life. I don’t go out a lot anymore.

SCB: You’ve been known as a party girl, an heiress, a socialite, now a CEO. But what do you really want to become?

KPE: I don’t know! (laughs) But this is what I always tell myself everytime I meet someone or deal with someone. You will know a person by the trail that they leave behind, if they leave a trail of destruction, or a trail of peace, tranquility and unity. I want to be able to leave behind a trail of peace, unity, and harmony. That’s how I want to be known for and I want to be able to do that. That’s the way I look at things.

Interview by RONALD S. LIM, INA H. MALIPOT, JASER A. MARASIGAN, and IVY LISA MENDOZA