At 83, Leandro “Biboy” Enriquez has lived a life most only dream of. A former club owner, pageant organizer, and hotelier, he has rubbed elbows with beauty queens, high-profile businessmen, and politicians.
But beyond the glitz and the whirlwind romances, Enriquez has quietly built a legacy not just of wealth but of generosity.
“People say when you get old and you’re single, it’s lonely. But why would I be?” he says with a chuckle. “My days are full—there are always people around, always something happening.”
These “people” include the 300 families he helps in his community, many of whom live in the areas surrounding his farm.
For years, he has made it a point to provide them with essentials, from sacks of rice to grocery packages, often using his winnings from cockfighting—a sport he considers both a passion and a science.
“Tuwing may panalo, may ayuda. Kung maliit ang panalo, baka 10 kilos lang. Kung malaki, baka isang sako,” he says. “Christmas? Laging may bigas, grocery. Basta may dumating na biyaya, kasama sila.”
Enriquez grew up surrounded by business, and at the center of it was his mother, Trinidad Enriquez, a force in Manila’s hospitality and food scene.
She started small, running a restaurant in the city that became a regular stop for government officials and visiting dignitaries.
Her work ethic and ambition pushed her into bigger ventures—catering for Malacañang, running hotels, and eventually building a hospitality empire.
“She was a school principal in Tacloban before she came to Manila,” Enriquez says. “But she was aggressive. That’s how she became successful.”
Among the many establishments she handled were the Philippine Village Hotel, Silahis Hotel, and Sulo Hotel—properties that Enriquez would eventually help manage himself.
“I got involved in all those hotels as well,” he says. “Kung saan hotel ako na-assign, doon ko hina-house ang mga pageant contestants.”
Watching his mother run multiple businesses while raising a family gave Enriquez not only an early education in entrepreneurship but a deep respect for women who led with both heart and strategy.
Crowning queens
in the Philippines
Before making a name in the nightlife industry, Enriquez was deeply involved in the beauty pageant scene.
His entry into pageants started when he helped organize an Asian Fashion Summit at the Araneta Coliseum. The event brought in international models, including former Miss Universe candidates, and Enriquez helped house them at the then-new Sulo Hotel.
Seeing how well the event went, he and Dr. Vicente De Ocampo, the summit’s organizer, decided to build on the momentum.
“Nag-isip kaming dalawa. Magpagawa tayo ng beauty contest,” Enriquez recalls.
That led to the creation of Mutya ng Pilipinas and eventually Miss Asia Pacific.
“We thought of Mutya ng Pilipinas and Miss Asia Pacific,” he says. “Nauna ang Bb. Pilipinas, but I was friends with the Aranetas, so we focused on expanding internationally.”
He later acquired the Miss World franchise for the Philippines, along with Miss Intercontinental and Miss Tourism International, solidifying the country’s place in global pageantry.
However, after decades in the industry, he felt it was time to step away.
“I stepped down kasi I felt like a dirty old man,” he admits. “I was surrounded by young women all the time, and I thought, ‘Tama na, this isn’t for me anymore.’”
On growing up
Enriquez was born in Quezon City, but his roots trace back to Samar on his mother’s side. Growing up in a family of businesspeople, he was exposed to the world of hospitality early on.
He attended Ateneo for grade school, but his teenage years were turbulent.
“I was a gold medalist in conduct when I finished grade school, but by third year high school, I got kicked out dahil sa barkada,” he admits.
After that, he was sent to Ateneo Xavier in Cagayan de Oro, then later transferred to Baguio Military Institute, a private military school.
“Doon ako nag-graduate,” he says. “Nakatulong ‘yung discipline, but I was still easily swayed.”
For college, he initially enrolled at UP Diliman for Business, where his classmate was actress Boots Anson-Roa, before moving to Cornell University in New York for a hotel and restaurant management course.
However, he didn’t finish his studies.
“I was doing well, but I got bored,” he admits. “Gusto ko lang talaga magtrabaho.”
Leaving a life of excess
While his experience in hotels and pageantry built his network, it was in nightlife that he truly became a known figure.
His first major venture in the nightlife industry was Playboy Club Manila, a high-end establishment inspired by the global Playboy franchise. The club attracted celebrities, businessmen, and Manila’s elite.
Hollywood actor Lee Majors, best known for The Six Million Dollar Man, once visited the club while staying at Manila Hotel, and he and Enriquez quickly became friends.
After the Playboy Club, Enriquez co-founded Stargazer, which became one of the most exclusive clubs in Manila, catering to high-profile clients.
While both clubs brought him success, they also exposed him to a fast-paced lifestyle filled with excess.
“I became an alcoholic,” he admits. “Walang choice—basta nasa negosyo ng nightlife, gabi-gabi lasing.”
The nightlife industry had its temptations, and Enriquez found himself pulled into a scene where indulgence was the norm. But over time, he realized the need for a change.
“I was seeing the effects, and I knew I had to stop,” he says. “One day, I just said, ‘Ayoko na.’”
Leaving the club scene behind, he focused on something entirely different—cockfighting.
A passion turned advocacy
Sabong had been a part of Enriquez’s life since childhood, when his mother’s restaurant would receive live chickens from suppliers in Bulacan and Bicol.
But it wasn’t the kitchen that first sparked his interest—it was their driver.
“Our driver, my mother’s driver, liked to go to sabong,” he recalls.
“One day, he brought me to a tupada. I was around eight. He said, ‘Huwag mong sabihin sa nanay mo ha?’ Of course, I didn’t. But after that, I was hooked.”
From then on, the small, swift movements of the fighting roosters fascinated him.
“They were so fast, so fearless,” he says. “I knew right then, I wanted to raise them.”
That childhood curiosity eventually turned into a lifelong passion and a serious pursuit.
Today, Enriquez is a two-time world champion cockfighter, known in the sabong community not just for his record but for the game fowl he breeds at his own Firebird Game Farm.
He conditions his roosters like professional athletes, focusing on stamina, precision, and bloodline.
“These birds must be strong, fast, and precise,” he says. “May science ang sabong. Alam mo dapat ang bloodlines, conditioning, training—parang boxing.”
It’s an expensive hobby, but for Enriquez, the rewards go beyond competition. His winnings allow him to give back, and that, he says, is what keeps him going.
Finding a new purpose
Enriquez’s philanthropy is not just about charity, it is part of his identity.
“Every time I win, there’s ayuda—rice, groceries, even parties for the kids,” he says.
“At Christmas, we make sure 300 families are taken care of. So that’s practically year-round.”
He doesn’t do it for recognition, but rather as a way of expressing gratitude for the life he has lived.
“What’s important? To be recognized for what you love, to help those around you, to make sure that, in some way, you’re making life better for others,” he says.
Though he never married, Enriquez doesn’t see his life as lacking.
“I may not have a wife or kids in the way others do, but look around. These are my children, their kids are my grandchildren,” he says.
“I provide for them, I make sure they’re taken care of, and in return, they take care of me.”