Ate Vi and Luis: ’Tis the season for the family

Vilma Santos and son Luis Manzano

What would you give your loved ones this holiday season? What’s your wish for the coming year? What’s your most memorable Christmas?

Star for All Seasons, Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto, admits to being daunted by the hectic holiday rush.

“I haven’t started preparing anything for gifts yet,” she gasps, in sheer horror. “I’ve been very busy. I need to finish first my work and activities in Congress and in Lipa, Batangas.”

She, however, is easy to shop for. “I don’t want anything expensive. Simple gifts like hankies and towels and cotton pajamas would be greatly appreciated.”

More positive

For the coming year, she dreams of peace and prosperity for the country.

“I am hoping for a more positive 2018 for everybody. It seems many people are angry these days. Let’s just continue to support and inspire each other, instead.”

All her Christmases since becoming a mom to Luis Manzano and Ryan Recto have been “memorable,” she asserts.

“Things change when you become a mother. I am no longer important. My priority will always be my family and children. After all, Christmas is all about the family.”

Pressed to reveal her gift to son Luis, Ate Vi quips: “My son hasn’t requested for anything yet!”

Gift of time

Luis values most “the gift of time!”

“It’s easy to shop for material things, but to spend quality time with your loved ones is the best gift you can give to them,” he remarks.

Asked to name specific presents he’d like to give to mom Vilma and girlfriend Jessy Mendiola, Luis responds with a question:

“Wait, what do my mom and Jessy want to achieve?”

For Luis, Christmas is all about the nearest and dearest.

“Every Christmas, we all get to sit down with our extended family—including the families who have taken care of us for so long.” Such special moments are “very rare,” he points out.