A settled purpose

“Nakakabit pa ang pusod niya nu’ng siya ay matagpuan sa simbahan ng Jaro,” Susan Roces described the circumstances in graphic terms when Sayong Militar discovered a baby girl swaddled in bloodied cloth in the marble font of Iloilo’s Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral in September 1968.
As fate would have it, foundlings are assigned the lowest rank among abandoned children, but many of them spend their lives creating their own lofty destinies that providence seems to have surreptitiously assigned to them.
A Pharaoh’s daughter brought Moses to the palace as a foundling from the Nile River, raised him as an Egyptian prince who would eventually lead the Exodus of the Israelites across the Red Sea. Turning into a religious leader and lawgiver, God revealed to him the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.
The rise of humanitarianism made the care of foundlings acceptable to minimize infanticide or their abandonment due to illegitimacy, unwanted pregnancy, psychological incapacity, or poverty.
Vaguely resembling Moses’ from foundling to forerunner role, the parish priest named the child at Jaro Cathedral Mary Grace as a sign of God’s kindness. Iloilo Archbishop Jaime Sin officiated her baptism. Tessie Ledesma Valencia was among her godmothers.
Born and raised in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, the unmarried Tessie was an orphan who later inherited a sugarcane plantation in Bacolod.Hard up, Sayong decided to pass on Grace to her Ninang Tessie.
Fascinated by a different business — show business, particularly local movies and their stars — Tessie had always been a big fan of Susan, the Queen of Philippine Movies at her prime. As national president of her fan club, Tessie lavished her idol with expensive gifts and even threw big parties for her.
The fan and the idol soon became intimate friends. Tessie served as veil sponsor at Susan’s wedding to the King of Philippine Movies, Fernando Poe Jr., on Dec. 25, 1968. By then, she had brought Grace on frequent trips between Bacolod and Manila, and often stayed at the Greenhills, San Juan residence of Susan and Ronnie, FPJ’s nickname.
Unqualified to adopt Grace legally and about to migrate to the US, Tessie asked Susan if she and Ronnie would be interested in keeping Grace. Susan, then a new bride, was nitially hesitant to accept the offer, but Ronnie had fallen in love with Grace, saying, “Bakit pa? Andito na siya (pointing to his heart).”
But someone else began this story to spin. Sayong was also hesitant to let the famous couple adopt Grace as she was unfamiliar with them. Another Ilonggo, Arch. Sin, moved the story ahead. His Excellency assured Sayong that Grace would get the best care from the famous couple. Sayong listened and gave her consent.
Grace could very well be the offspring Ronnie and Susan did not still have. Married around the time Grace was found, the loving couple considered adoption as a quick solution, but it took some time due to legal requirements.
Ronnie and Susan treated Grace as their own child. Calling Ronnie “Papa,” she immediately was Papa’s Girl. She would visit him, with Susan bringing her to the set, when shoots took several days on end.
Ronnie found simple but immense happiness and comfort carrying Grace in his arms. He showed his fondness for his beautiful and precocious daughter who instantaneously made him smile.
Having consciously recognized her parents were film stars, Grace as a kid wanted to appear in the movies with her Papa. She would beg him for a small part. Her wish was fulfilled when she had a bit role in Ronnie’s action war drama, Dugo ng Bayan (1973).
As Roman Santiago, assassin of Japanese military personnel, Ronnie asks the five-year old Grace sitting on the concrete steps of Kikong Tuko’s (Paquito Diaz) hideout for his whereabouts. She gets to say, “Andoon,” and points to his direction. The little girl stretches out both her arm to Roman, signaling him to carry her. The man readily accommodates.
Grace finally found a home in 1975 when she was legally adopted by the showbiz royal couple. But at seven, she was rudely awakened to being a foundling.
After considering several schools, Grace decided to take her elementary grades at Saint Paul College  Pasig. Her classmates there beat her to a disclosure about her foundling status and often taunted her: “‘Ampon ka lang, hindi ka tunay na anak,’” Grace recalled.
At 11, she played a minor role in her Papa’s film, Durugin si Totoy Bato (1979). As Bonding, the daughter of Paquito’s ex-boxer character, she works as a weaver in the blind father’s rattan chair cottage industry. She has speaking lines with Julie Vega, the decade’s biggest young star.
By then, she had made her adoptive parents her heroes. “Mahal nila ako unconditionally.”
But she identified more with her father. “Pinanonood ko ang nanay habang nagme-makeup. Ang ganda-ganda niya. Pero tapos pupunta ako kay Papa. Mas type kong kausapin... macho.”
Grace aspired for an acting career, but her Papa wanted her to finish her studies before entering show business. She eventually decided against acting as a career because of her parents’ stature and the possibility of failing in comparison. She wanted to be her own person, and the way to do that was to stay out.
When Grace wanted to enroll at the University of the Philippines, she asked her Ninang Marichu Maceda to get her Papa’s permission. She later decided to continue her undergraduate studies in the US.
Her independent-mindedness surfaced when she married US citizen Teodoro Misael “Neil” Llamanzares at 21 despite the objection of her Papa, who wanted her to build a career for her before settling down. She had her way and migrated to America.
But when her Papa ran for President in 2004, Grace came home to help in the campaign. Becoming more involved when he was cheated, she joined the conveners of Kontra Daya versus electoral fraud in the 2010 elections. Finally entering show business in a different way, she went into public service by accepting the chairmanship of the Movie and Television Regulation and Classification Board.
Then the founding realized what British politician/writer Benjamin Disraeli called “a settled purpose.”

EASTER AT HARD ROCK CAFÉ. Celebrate Easter with the whole family at Hard Rock Café (and enjoy its exciting lineup of events from lunch to evening. Feast on the best sampling of Filipino, Asian, Continental and American cuisines in HRC’s fabulous lunch buffet for adults and kids. Kiddies can participate in HRC’s annual Easter egg hunt and magic show and win amazing prizes. In the evening, Part 3 will dish out live the best of classic rock. Hard rockers can look forward to an evening of great music as Part 3 performs a combination of classic rock ballads, homegrown favorites, chart-toppers and party anthems. Part 3’s performance starts at 9 p.m.