by ARMAND SEBASTIAN
Wednesday, 03 March 2010 14:36
The professional soldier. The dedicated police officer. The confident, disciplined, and stickler for details public servant. That’s former PNP Chief Avelino “Sonny” Razon, Jr.
Sonny’s career as a soldier and policeman has been quite colorful. His PMA Class ‘74 graduated in January of that year, ahead of their March schedule, because there was already a military offensive in Mindanao. 2nd Lt. Razon was commissioned in the Philippine Constabulary and deployed to fight in the jungles of Jolo, Sulu. Over his 34-year career in public service, he has notched a sterling track record, serving with honor and distinction.
Although retired from the service and even in his trademark denim jeans and sky blue shirts, he still possesses the bearing of one who has spent most of his life in uniform. He walks and moves in a precise and measured manner with a neutral expression on his face, his actions giving one an impression that he is not a man to be trifled with.
Yet, Sonny is naturally romantic. And only Cecille Cleofe Razon, his wife of 34 years, could attest to that.
“I met Sonny in 1972, who was then on his second year in the academy, through a first cousin of mine, Colonel Dominador Flores, a member of PMA Class ’75. The cadets had a party hop in Manila and my cousin thought of introducing me to Sonny. Nakita daw niya na malungkot si Sonny, so he set up a blind date,” Cecille recalls. It seems that cadet Razon was instantly smitten.
“From the time we met, hindi na niya ako tinigilan. But Sonny was the type who did not talk much, he would rather write, and he did almost everyday,” says Cecille. Some of his letters were filled with sketches, a peculiar hobby of his. (He was so good at sketching that he was asked to design the crest of his PMA Marangal Class of ’74.) Cecille recalls that there was one letter that included a sketch of a sick man in bed with a nurse beside him. “He said he was the sick guy and I was the nurse.” Cecille was a registered nurse and working at Medical City when the two met. The persistence of the shy and soft-spoken cadet who grew up in Oroquieta St. in Sta. Cruz, Manila, finally paid off.
“Sinagot ko siya a year later, in December 1973. What attracted me to him was his kindness. Mabait siya, hindi mareklamo. And siyempre gwapo rin at nasa PMA pa,” she fondly narrates. It was perhaps the best Christmas gift that a young man in love could ever ask for.
A bemused Cecille noted that Sonny’s penchant for writing really served him in good stead in so far as wooing her was concerned. “He wrote a letter asking me to marry him. The next time he came to visit, he asked if I read his letter and I said I did. ‘Ano sagot mo?’ tanong niya. So, sabi ko naman, “oo.”
The cadet who was a Cal. 30 M1 marksman had hit the bull’s-eye, not with a rifle but with a pen. The couple finally got married in January 22, 1976. Relying then on the meager pay of a 2nd Lieutenant, Sonny couldn’t afford a lavish wedding. He even just walked to the church with his brother Chito. The soldier was not marching off to war, but rather to the beginning of a lifelong romance.
Sonny was so in love with his bride and wanted so much to please her that on their wedding day, he made her a promise – someday, he would give her a dream wedding, one fit for a princess. True to his word, he delivered on his promise 25 years later, when the couple renewed their conjugal vows on their Silver Anniversary.
Love at first sight
What was it about her that captured the heart of the shy, young man who would soon rise to the pinnacle of his career and command a force of 120,000 uniformed personnel?
Sonny, the habitual letter writer recalls that Cecille looked so lovely the first time they met that he was actually at a loss for words. This would have been a disadvantage for someone who would rather write than speak to express himself, but we now know, he used his penchant for writing to his full advantage.
Aside from Cecille’s good looks, Sonny points out that it was also her gentle and caring personality that swept him off his feet. “She is sweet and very considerate. And through the years she has been and continues to be a nurturing and loving wife and mother. Outside our home, she has also shown genuine care and concern for those who served with me as well as other people, even total strangers, who are in need of help,” Sonny elaborates.
Of course, as in the case of married couples, life was not always a bed of roses, especially for the wife of a man in uniform. Eventually, Sonny asked Cecille to quit her nursing job when they started having kids, adding up to a total of four – Kristine Carol, Reginald David, Jerick Jan, and Evan Gabriel.
Although imbued with utmost dedication to his duty, Sonny made it a point to spend as much time as he could with his family, making sure to be home for the holidays when assigned outside Metro Manila. It’s obvious that this couple is very well adjusted to each other, a perfect fit, as it were. A long-time friend describes the relationship as “a picture of bliss and gentleness.” Achieving such a grounded and mutually nurturing relationship is no simple feat for a couple under their circumstances; he was a soldier and a cop who has to go when and where he is told to go, and she a mother who has to make sure that the children are cared for.
After 34 years of marriage (they recently celebrated their wedding anniversary last January 22 with a special weekend together aside from hosting dinner for family and friends), it is quite apparent that the romance is still very much alive.
“He’s still the sweet, kind man that I fell in love with. At hanggang ngayon, gwapo pa rin,” Cecille quips as he lovingly gazes at her husband’s face, to which Sonny, with a wide grin, jokingly replied: “Eh kung ganito kaganda at kalambing ang misis mo talagang hindi ka tatanda at mananatili kang gwapo.” Despite his busy schedule, especially when he was PNP chief, the “Mamang Pulis” made sure that the couple would spend a romantic evening at least once a week.
Sonny loves to play golf, but could not play much because of his official duties when he was still in the active service, and especially now that he is running for Mayor of Manila on his “Alternatibong Pagbabago” platform. Whatever spare time he has nowadays he prefers to spend with his family.
The loving man of the family
How was Cecille as a wife to Sonny the top cop and cabinet member? “I go with him to official functions, and I make sure he is comfortable and taken care of when he gets home, especially during a stressful day, but that’s about it. I don’t meddle with his work and I refrain from even going to his office.”
For the Razon family, Sunday is family day, spending leisurely time, eating out or going on trips. Cecille shares that Sonny also likes watching movies on DVD. “He buys lots of those (DVDs), especially action movies.” But always a stickler for rules, “Ayaw niyang bumili ng pirated DVD.”
She also describes Sonny as a gentle and loving father, an image that is probably hard to reconcile to that of his being the country’s top cop and keeping in line the men and women serving under his command. “Magaling siya mag-spoil ng anak,” Cecille says in jest, but adds “our children have never been the type who asks for all sorts of things. If they need something, they come to me first before telling their father.”
What makes him angry? Cecille says that Sonny has always been a calm and patient person, but what rankles him is not actually the “big stuff.” A former subordinate shares: “Perhaps it’s his training and discipline. He doesn’t like any deviation from routines or established procedures when it comes to work. He wants everything to be orderly and systematic, but he adds that Sonny is not one to raise hell when things go awry. “He would call your attention and give you guidance. He is more interested in putting things back in order rather than putting people on the carpet.”
In September 27, 2008, his 56th birthday, Sonny ended a 34-year career in the uniformed service, retiring as PNP chief, the apex of the organization he has served faithfully and well. That was the day Cecille and children were looking forward to a leisurely life. Alas, it was not meant to be. Just a few months after retiring as PNP chief, Sonny was asked to head the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
It was tough on the family, but wife and children also knew that Sonny, with his strong sense of service, could not turn his back on this new challenge to serve. And so the prospects for a leisurely life had to be put on hold. There were no recriminations or complaints, Cecille says, just a loving and open acceptance that the country still needs his services.
In October of last year, Sonny stepped down as presidential peace adviser, but not to go into blissful retirement, but to heed another call for him to serve. This time to lead Manileños in effecting meaningful and genuine change in the city of his boyhood —the city where he spent and continues to spend precious moments with his family.
For Sonny’s latest journey, his loving wife says: “Sonny came from humble beginnings but he and our family has been blessed with a good life. It’s not enough for him to share what he has for the less fortunate. The desire to serve is already ingrained in him, and I love him all the more for that.”
Source: http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/features/4313-sonny-razon-the-romantic-mamang-pulis.html
Sonny’s career as a soldier and policeman has been quite colorful. His PMA Class ‘74 graduated in January of that year, ahead of their March schedule, because there was already a military offensive in Mindanao. 2nd Lt. Razon was commissioned in the Philippine Constabulary and deployed to fight in the jungles of Jolo, Sulu. Over his 34-year career in public service, he has notched a sterling track record, serving with honor and distinction.
Although retired from the service and even in his trademark denim jeans and sky blue shirts, he still possesses the bearing of one who has spent most of his life in uniform. He walks and moves in a precise and measured manner with a neutral expression on his face, his actions giving one an impression that he is not a man to be trifled with.
Yet, Sonny is naturally romantic. And only Cecille Cleofe Razon, his wife of 34 years, could attest to that.
“I met Sonny in 1972, who was then on his second year in the academy, through a first cousin of mine, Colonel Dominador Flores, a member of PMA Class ’75. The cadets had a party hop in Manila and my cousin thought of introducing me to Sonny. Nakita daw niya na malungkot si Sonny, so he set up a blind date,” Cecille recalls. It seems that cadet Razon was instantly smitten.
“From the time we met, hindi na niya ako tinigilan. But Sonny was the type who did not talk much, he would rather write, and he did almost everyday,” says Cecille. Some of his letters were filled with sketches, a peculiar hobby of his. (He was so good at sketching that he was asked to design the crest of his PMA Marangal Class of ’74.) Cecille recalls that there was one letter that included a sketch of a sick man in bed with a nurse beside him. “He said he was the sick guy and I was the nurse.” Cecille was a registered nurse and working at Medical City when the two met. The persistence of the shy and soft-spoken cadet who grew up in Oroquieta St. in Sta. Cruz, Manila, finally paid off.
“Sinagot ko siya a year later, in December 1973. What attracted me to him was his kindness. Mabait siya, hindi mareklamo. And siyempre gwapo rin at nasa PMA pa,” she fondly narrates. It was perhaps the best Christmas gift that a young man in love could ever ask for.
A bemused Cecille noted that Sonny’s penchant for writing really served him in good stead in so far as wooing her was concerned. “He wrote a letter asking me to marry him. The next time he came to visit, he asked if I read his letter and I said I did. ‘Ano sagot mo?’ tanong niya. So, sabi ko naman, “oo.”
The cadet who was a Cal. 30 M1 marksman had hit the bull’s-eye, not with a rifle but with a pen. The couple finally got married in January 22, 1976. Relying then on the meager pay of a 2nd Lieutenant, Sonny couldn’t afford a lavish wedding. He even just walked to the church with his brother Chito. The soldier was not marching off to war, but rather to the beginning of a lifelong romance.
Sonny was so in love with his bride and wanted so much to please her that on their wedding day, he made her a promise – someday, he would give her a dream wedding, one fit for a princess. True to his word, he delivered on his promise 25 years later, when the couple renewed their conjugal vows on their Silver Anniversary.
Love at first sight
What was it about her that captured the heart of the shy, young man who would soon rise to the pinnacle of his career and command a force of 120,000 uniformed personnel?
Sonny, the habitual letter writer recalls that Cecille looked so lovely the first time they met that he was actually at a loss for words. This would have been a disadvantage for someone who would rather write than speak to express himself, but we now know, he used his penchant for writing to his full advantage.
Aside from Cecille’s good looks, Sonny points out that it was also her gentle and caring personality that swept him off his feet. “She is sweet and very considerate. And through the years she has been and continues to be a nurturing and loving wife and mother. Outside our home, she has also shown genuine care and concern for those who served with me as well as other people, even total strangers, who are in need of help,” Sonny elaborates.
Of course, as in the case of married couples, life was not always a bed of roses, especially for the wife of a man in uniform. Eventually, Sonny asked Cecille to quit her nursing job when they started having kids, adding up to a total of four – Kristine Carol, Reginald David, Jerick Jan, and Evan Gabriel.
Although imbued with utmost dedication to his duty, Sonny made it a point to spend as much time as he could with his family, making sure to be home for the holidays when assigned outside Metro Manila. It’s obvious that this couple is very well adjusted to each other, a perfect fit, as it were. A long-time friend describes the relationship as “a picture of bliss and gentleness.” Achieving such a grounded and mutually nurturing relationship is no simple feat for a couple under their circumstances; he was a soldier and a cop who has to go when and where he is told to go, and she a mother who has to make sure that the children are cared for.
After 34 years of marriage (they recently celebrated their wedding anniversary last January 22 with a special weekend together aside from hosting dinner for family and friends), it is quite apparent that the romance is still very much alive.
“He’s still the sweet, kind man that I fell in love with. At hanggang ngayon, gwapo pa rin,” Cecille quips as he lovingly gazes at her husband’s face, to which Sonny, with a wide grin, jokingly replied: “Eh kung ganito kaganda at kalambing ang misis mo talagang hindi ka tatanda at mananatili kang gwapo.” Despite his busy schedule, especially when he was PNP chief, the “Mamang Pulis” made sure that the couple would spend a romantic evening at least once a week.
Sonny loves to play golf, but could not play much because of his official duties when he was still in the active service, and especially now that he is running for Mayor of Manila on his “Alternatibong Pagbabago” platform. Whatever spare time he has nowadays he prefers to spend with his family.
The loving man of the family
How was Cecille as a wife to Sonny the top cop and cabinet member? “I go with him to official functions, and I make sure he is comfortable and taken care of when he gets home, especially during a stressful day, but that’s about it. I don’t meddle with his work and I refrain from even going to his office.”
For the Razon family, Sunday is family day, spending leisurely time, eating out or going on trips. Cecille shares that Sonny also likes watching movies on DVD. “He buys lots of those (DVDs), especially action movies.” But always a stickler for rules, “Ayaw niyang bumili ng pirated DVD.”
She also describes Sonny as a gentle and loving father, an image that is probably hard to reconcile to that of his being the country’s top cop and keeping in line the men and women serving under his command. “Magaling siya mag-spoil ng anak,” Cecille says in jest, but adds “our children have never been the type who asks for all sorts of things. If they need something, they come to me first before telling their father.”
What makes him angry? Cecille says that Sonny has always been a calm and patient person, but what rankles him is not actually the “big stuff.” A former subordinate shares: “Perhaps it’s his training and discipline. He doesn’t like any deviation from routines or established procedures when it comes to work. He wants everything to be orderly and systematic, but he adds that Sonny is not one to raise hell when things go awry. “He would call your attention and give you guidance. He is more interested in putting things back in order rather than putting people on the carpet.”
In September 27, 2008, his 56th birthday, Sonny ended a 34-year career in the uniformed service, retiring as PNP chief, the apex of the organization he has served faithfully and well. That was the day Cecille and children were looking forward to a leisurely life. Alas, it was not meant to be. Just a few months after retiring as PNP chief, Sonny was asked to head the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
It was tough on the family, but wife and children also knew that Sonny, with his strong sense of service, could not turn his back on this new challenge to serve. And so the prospects for a leisurely life had to be put on hold. There were no recriminations or complaints, Cecille says, just a loving and open acceptance that the country still needs his services.
In October of last year, Sonny stepped down as presidential peace adviser, but not to go into blissful retirement, but to heed another call for him to serve. This time to lead Manileños in effecting meaningful and genuine change in the city of his boyhood —the city where he spent and continues to spend precious moments with his family.
For Sonny’s latest journey, his loving wife says: “Sonny came from humble beginnings but he and our family has been blessed with a good life. It’s not enough for him to share what he has for the less fortunate. The desire to serve is already ingrained in him, and I love him all the more for that.”
Source: http://www.journal.com.ph/
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