MANILA, Philippines – Between politics and show business, there may be no other enduring love story that brings both worlds together than Ralph and Vi.

Their very public lives have come together with such impact that their politics and their art have merged into one world, copied and recopied by celebrity couple after another from mega-couple Francis and Sharon to sweetie Chiz and Christine.

In a pre-Christmas tete-a-tete with Senator Ralph Recto, he confessed that love and bonding stays alive in the Recto household. The senator is, of course, married to Batangas Governor and Star for All Seasons Vilma Santos-Recto. He is father to Ryan Christian and stepfather to Luis Philippe Manzano, Vilma’s son to previous partner actor Edu Manzano.

And since a lot of love goes around for the Rectos, it orbits throughout their beloved province of Batangas and rings around fans and constituents across the nation.

“Just last week we had a (Christmas) party with our provincial supporters in Batangas, and in the Senate of course, really I look forward to spending Christmas with Vi and the kids in our house in Alabang (Muntinlupa City),” Recto said.

Recto’s schedule is already tight with meetings and engagements, not to mention the fact the Senate did its best to thwart a reenacted national budget by passing the 2011 General Appropriations Act (GAA) just before the Upper House officially went on recess last Dec. 18. So, it comes as a surprise that he had already attended these parties left and right.

At home, though, Christmas will be a tight and personal affair. And since he and Ate Vi are in politics, they are looking forward to catching up on some quality time their children.

Recto spilled that on preparing a feast, his wife needs a lot of help in the kitchen. “She doesn’t really cook,” he said. But Recto said he is excited and is looking forward to that “pasta dish” he said is Ate Vi’s specialty.

He also bared the family’s plan to celebrate New Year either in Punta Fuego in Batangas or in Tagaytay City.

For the come-backing-senator, this Christmas is particularly special as he returns to his comfort zone – the Senate – in the company of his lawmaker-friends. “It’s a little special. I missed my colleagues (in the Senate) in the past few years,” he said.

A member of the so -called Wednesday Group, Recto said he is “happy” to finally be reunited with Senators Manuel Villar, Francis Pangilinan, Joker Arroyo and former Vice President Noli de Castro after going separate ways during the May 2010 elections.

Last Dec. 10, a party for the media was held at the Senate offices in Pasay City where the original members of the group were seen huddled in one table “just like the old times.”

Because aside from the party organized by the Liberal Party, and by Villar’s Nacionalista Party, the Wednesday Club decided to hold a reunion with the Senate media.

Recto, having cherished the Senate as his second family, said it was truly a memorable and happy moment for him. “As a senator, I am happy to be back to the Senate despite the controversies of the past,” he said.

The Wednesday Club started when Villar, Recto, Pangilinan, Arroyo and De Castro, who where then newly-elected senators, started to meet every Wednesday at the Senate lounge to discuss matters of public concern.

The group eventually started to fall out due to political differences that led them to pursue their careers separately.

In 2004, De Castro eventually ran for Vice President with President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo’s administration.

In the run up to the May 2010 elections, Recto resigned from Villar’s Nacionalista Party and joined the Liberal Party’s standard bearer then, Sen. Benigno Aquino III, in his senatorial slate.

However, Villar pursued the presidency but eventually lost to Aquino.

On the other hand, Pangilinan maintained his alliance with the Liberal Party and also supported Aquino’s presidential bid. He also criticized Villar, who was implicated in the so-called C-5 road project controversy.

Arroyo remained an independent senator and is now a staunch critic of the Aquino government.

“We’re personal friends but at the same time we have political leanings. O diba? Mas madaling mag-usap pag magkakaibigan kayo (It’s easier to talk to each other if we’re friends) instead of having it on the floor in a debate. We can talk among ourselves,” Recto had said at that time he was asked what the reunion party was all about.

But just as any lawmaker, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means chair is hopeful that in the next five years of President Benigno Aquino’s administration, there would be sustainable growth and development.

Most of his legislative measures that were enacted into law deal with economic reforms and poverty alleviation.

“There’s a lot of bills I filed that I wish to see passed and most of these bills have got to do with taxes and spending,” Recto said.