'President of what company?'

I was probably 13 years old then, and it was a time when landlines or rotary dial telephones were still in use.

- CITO BELTRAN

Back then, every time the phone rang, you instinctively rushed to answer before the constant ringing annoyed people in the room and also as courtesy not to make the caller wait too long.

It was mid-morning when the phone rang and right after I said "Hello," the person on the other end said, "Hello, may I speak to Louie?" Having been trained how to take calls, I replied "Who's calling please?" The gentleman on the other end replied: "The President," to which I said, "President of what company, sir?"

The exasperated gentleman on the other end, who apparently knew who I was, said: "Luisito, this is President Marcos!" Needless to say, I must have jumped a few feet upon realizing who it was and that he knew who I was. That, I guess, was the only interaction I ever had with then president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.

Yes, back in the day, he actually made personal calls and had one-on-one meetings with members of media. He was never too big to do the small favors that could make the day of the ordinary reporter as much as the established columnists.

From my recollection, FM handled "sensitive" issues personally. Whether it was a scandal or a matter of "national security," FM Sr. would make the phone call, if not send an invite. He was "traditional" in terms of keeping relationships warm and alive, and even in times when politics divided or polarized people, he privately reached out to fraternity brothers, political allies and long-time friends.