BY ALEX Y. VERGARA
Ever pleasant and lovely, this leading society figure and philanthropist has a rare ability to draw people in and make them feel at ease. She boldly parlays this gift in almost everything she does, including her work as a diplomat, civic leader and event organizer.
A few minutes into our conversation with Fortune Ledesma, it became apparent why this lady has become one of the few multi-hyphenates in the rarefied world of Manila’s high society. Apart from her innate grace and elan, she comes across as totally natural, even folksy, and unaffected.
But what really makes her stand out even to the casual observer is her rare ability — a gift, perhaps — to instantly light up a room and make people feel at ease in her presence. Wittingly or not, Fortune has been able to parlay this gift in almost everything she chooses to do.
Whether as the consul general of Monaco to the Philippines, an honorary position she has held since the start of the current millennium, a tireless and effective fundraiser for various causes or a long-time benefactor of a host of NGOs and charitable organizations attending primarily to victims of various calamities as well as abandoned and abused children, Fortune always makes a mark.
Soft spot for children
“Even before I had RJ, I’ve always been drawn to causes that focus on the young,” she says. “Children have a soft spot in my heart. And when I started having kids, I brought them along with me. People here at Virlanie, one of the NGOs we support, know them. Eventually, it also became second nature for my kids to help.”
In the case of first-born son RJ Ledesma, the businessman and event host has also chosen to follow in his mother’s footsteps, becoming a consul of Monaco to the Philippines. He reports directly to his mother, and the two of them work together to promote Monaco’s interests in the country. Their work invariably involves strengthening ties between the Philippines and the European principality, where Filipinos, mostly domestic helpers, are well-loved and held in high esteem.
“In the royal palace alone, most of the helpers and nannies come from the Philippines,” Fortune informs us. “They’re treated like family because of their devoted service.”
They’re the country’s best de facto ambassadors, she adds. Time permitting, Fortune makes it a point to accommodate invitations coming from members of the Filipino-Monte Carlo Association in Monaco. Over lunch or dinner, she breaks bread with them while listening to their amusing and heart-warming stories of life away from home.
Fortune and RJ are also on top of coordinating with various parties here, including Malacañang, whenever Prince Albert II of Monaco, son of the late Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, and members of the royal family are in town. As honorary appointees of Prince Albert himself and not the country’s Foreign Affairs department, Fortune and RJ work pro bono.
“Since my appointment, Prince Albert has visited the country twice,” Fortune shares. “He even went diving in Tubbataha. Preserving the environment is also a cause that’s dear to his heart. And he loves it here!”
An immediate yes
When the prince first offered the position to Fortune, she immediately said yes, no ifs, no buts. And despite having almost zero knowledge in diplomacy, she quickly warmed up to the job, which also requires her to fly on occasion to Monaco to attend special royal functions like the country’s national day.
During this interview, for instance, Fortune only had one day to catch up on her sleep after arriving from Monaco two days before, where she spent three short days with her counterparts from all over the world at Prince Albert’s request.
To get there, she had to fly to Dubai, where she then boarded a connecting flight to Nice, France. From Nice, she took the 30-minute scenic route, as she was driven through narrow coastal and mountain-side roads along the Mediterranean coast, “just like what you see in the movies,” she gushes, to get to her destination. “Of course, I immediately said yes to Prince Albert because of the honor itself of being asked. After all, not everyone gets that chance,” she says cheerily, seemingly impervious to any signs of jetlag. “Also, out of a sincere desire to help the country I’m representing.”
Even before she became a diplomat, Fortune felt it in her heart that diplomacy is one area that she would enjoy, thrive in and even make a difference. And, true enough, less than a year into the job, she validated it for herself. “I love doing this!”
It didn’t take long for her two boys to follow her lead. Aside from RJ, Fortune and her late husband Rene are also blessed with two other children: Rina, an educator, and Rico, also a businessman and the honorary consul of Bulgaria to the Philippines. Even Vanessa, RJ’s better half, is the honorary consul of Montenegro to the country.
“My husband passed away last year. We’ve been married for 49 years. He died just one year shy of our golden wedding anniversary. A year on, my children and I are still grieving. He was such a good husband and father,” she says wistfully.
Fortune Jr.
On a lighter note, she considers RJ as “very much like me,” sociable and totally at ease dealing with all sorts of people. Her two younger children take more after Rene, who tended to be quieter and more reserved.
“That’s why RJ is thriving as a host,” says the doting mom. “He has no trouble connecting with people. Whenever I have a function and I need him to accompany me, I don’t have to ask him twice as long as he’s available. My two other children are more like their father. But they do attend certain events with me like the consular balls where I’m the chairperson.”
Then there’s the other hat she wears as one of Manila’s leading civic leaders. Like most of her charity-related involvements, she attends to these causes with almost no fanfare.
“I always tell my beneficiaries to keep quiet about it. I’m only sharing this with you because you asked,” she says. One of her beneficiaries these days is Virlanie, an NGO based in Makati and founded by a French national in the late 1980s, whose mandate is to shelter and educate homeless and abandoned children while preparing them for adoption.
When it comes to fundraising though, Fortune knows that to generate enough money for charity, she can’t afford to be shy or quiet about it. She also knows for a fact that “one of my fortes is organizing” with the objective of giving back to the community.
Through Fortune’s efforts, for instance, Virlanie was able to build two concrete houses for its wards to live in — Masaya House and the House for Babies and Toddlers. During one of her earlier visits to Monaco, Fortune met a rich and generous Monegasque (a native inhabitant of Monaco). Perhaps because of Fortune’s charisma and the earnestness in her appeal, the woman agreed to fund the construction of two houses on separate lots in Makati owned by the NGO.
The donor even went to the Philippines to see for herself the twin projects’ progress. “Imagine, that happened 10 years ago,” says Fortune. “And up to now, various batches of children, with roofs over their heads, have already benefited from such generosity.”
Fashion shows for a cause
Among the many fund-raising events she either spearheaded or assisted over the years were the various fashion shows for a cause featuring members of the diplomatic community and their spouses, as well as prominent leaders of industry. Held usually at five-star hotels, such shows were highly anticipated and well-attended events involving the selling of tickets. Proceeds generated from the sale of such tickets as well as from sponsorships were given to a particular NGO or charitable institution.
“Imagine, even the late Washington SyCip, napag-model ko (I was able to convince to model),” she says, laughing. “I asked him, Wash, could you model for me? Knowing that it was for a worthy cause, he said yes. Hindi ako nahihiya humingi ng suporta from donors. Mangulit. (I’m not ashamed to ask support from donors. To be persistent.) What I’m asking for is not for me. I’m not at all interested in getting even a single centavo out of it.”
And when Fortune agrees to help you with a project, she will be in it 100 percent from start to finish, including attending to such details as the writing and sending out of letters and calling, say, Rustan’s Nedy Tantoco to provide clothes for the show’s models-for-a-cause.
If there’s one thing, though, that Fortune is most proud of, it is her decision early on to turn her back on her career as an optometrist to fully devote her time to homemaking. Fortune, who graduated cum laude at Centro Escolar University, topped the optometry board exams during her time.
Even when she and Rene were already dating, she was still working at the pre-martial law ABS-CBN while also practicing her profession at the Makati Medical Center. It was a discipline she chose partly because of the influence her dear father, the late Nueva Ecija Gov. Amado Aleta, had on her. “Before he became governor, he was a military man,” says Fortune.
“He was so strict with us, especially with the girls. Military discipline talaga. Para kaming mga soldiers. (We were disciplined like soldiers.) He also wanted us girls to choose a career that would still allow us to have enough time for our future families.”
But the decision to totally quit her career was Fortune’s alone. “I really wanted to personally attend to my husband’s needs and see all my children grow up. I don’t regret it. And I’m happy to say that they all turned out very well. Being a homemaker also gave me the freedom and flexibility to help out in the family business,” she says.
Having seen how her father’s involvement in politics ate up nearly all his time for them, it’s one area Fortune has steered clear of all these years. It’s also a career path she doesn’t encourage any of her children, including a potential politician like RJ, to take.
“Early on, I told him not to enter politics,” she says. “It’s a good thing ayaw din niya (he also doesn’t like politics).” In Fortune’s book, you don’t need to be voted into office to make a difference in the lives of countless people. You only need to be voted into their hearts.
Photography by Dix Perez
Shot on location at Virlanie Foundation Babies and Toddlers’ Home in Makati
