In September 2006, Rafaelita Pelaez invited me to Manila to attend the piano concert of her son Rudolf Golez at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Included with the plane ticket was a voucher to stay at the Tradewinds Hotel, right in front of the CCP.
It was raining heavily in Manila. In the hotel, I put on the TV and on the Spanish channel TVE it was announced that a strong typhoon was approaching the Philippines and would hit Manila.
The rain stopped at 7 p.m. I took my folding umbrella and walked to the CCP. The concert was beautiful and Rudolf had three standing ovations. After the concert it was raining quite hard. Msgr. Rudy Villanueva and I, armed with our umbrellas, made our way back to the hotel.
In the morning it was really pouring. I took a taxi to the airport for the Cebu Pacific flight. I checked in but all flights for the day were cancelled. I got my suitcase and wondered what to do.
The hotel said they would save my room, but I opted not to go there as chances were the roads leading to, and even Roxas Boulevard itself, could be flooded. I could see branches, and wooden panels, flying about.
Good thing I found a taxi that took me to the apartment of Ana Manguerra along Pasay Road in Makati without having warned her. When she saw me, she laughed and said, ”I had a feeling you would appear.”
The typhoon Milenyo really hit Manila. When it cleared in the afternoon, it was still daylight and I took a walk around the Glorietta area. There were many felled trees near the Makati Shangri-La.
There was no electricity so we opened the windows to let in the reflections that came from buildings with their own generators. Early in the morning I went to the Cebu Pacific airport office. The long line, under a steady drizzle, had more than 100 people waiting for their turn to be attended.
I decided to go to the Centennial airport of Philippine Airlines, where I was no. 29 on the line. By 9 a.m., I had been attended to and my flight to Cebu would leave at 3 p.m.
All systems were down, but the PAL staff handled the situation admirably. We boarded the plane at 3 p.m., but it only took off at 4:30 p.m. No matter, I was happy when we arrived in Cebu, cloudless and dry.
In less than two months I would have to return to Manila on November 12 for the Monique Lhuillier fashion show at the Rizal ballroom of the Makati Shangri-La. Her parents Michel and Amparito Lhuillier were very proud of Monique. More than 80 of their friends and relations went to Manila for the occasion.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo attended. A couple of days earlier the President had given Monique the Presidential Award of Merit.
Before the fashion show there was a champagne reception and a formal dinner with entertainment sung by Leah Salonga. Monique’s husband Tom Bugbee was there, with his mother Dora Bugbee.
Family members present included Charles and Joanna Lhuillier, and Yvette Lhuillier warned who had come from Paris. Among Cebu notables were Gov. Gwen Garcia, Cebu City Vice Mayor Mike Rama, Cebu City First Lady Margot Osmeña and many more.
Ten days later I was back in Manila, this time with Cecilia, invited by Georgina Padilla Zobel to a book launching at the Ayala Museum in Makati. Some years back, Professor Lourdes Brillantes, Premio Zobel of 1998, had written, in Spanish, the history of the Premio Zobel.
This is an award instituted in 1920 by Don Enrique Zobel de Ayala (Georgina’s grandfather) to recognize excellent literature written in Spanish by
Filipino authors.
What was being launched on November 22, 2006 was Professor Brillantes’ English volume titled “81 Years of Premio Zobel” with additional material and many photos. It was a great occasion to which guests were asked to wear Filipiniana.
Cebu was well represented by Ana Maria Manguerra, her sister Victoria Manguerra Montilla and Congressman Raul del Mar whose father Don Jose Maria del Mar had been awarded the Premio Zobel.
Congratulatory speeches were delivered by Spanish Ambassador Ignacio Sagaz and the Philippine Ambassador to Spain Joseph “Lani” Bernardo. The best speech of the program, candid as it was, was Georgina’s.
Meanwhile in Cebu, preparations were underway for the December Asean Summit meeting, the first time ever it would be held here. For months the preparations kept the committee busy with infinite details.
The whole thing had to be postponed, as a typhoon threatened to literally drown the celebration. Some said that it was a political ploy, but the fact is that there really was a typhoon and it was a strong one. It did pass over us, flying high as they say, and mercifully did not make landfall.
Every time there is a typhoon announced or there are heavy rains, I call my sister Maria Pilar Escaño or my niece Ana Escaño in Malitbog, Southern Leyte. At the Villa Margarita where they live, there is an old barometer that is quite accurate in its predictions.
It wasn’t raining those days but I called and they said the barometer indicated “destructive hurricane in the locality.” A few weeks later, it was raining quite heavily for days and I called to ask what the barometer said. They told me, “weather changeable.”
The Asean Summit was rescheduled in Cebu for the middle of January 2007. It was a splendid occasion for Cebu to shine. The opening day, January 12, coincided with the inaugural of the Cebu International Convention Center.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was welcomed by Gov. Gwen Garcia, Vice Gov. Greg Sanchez, Provincial Board Member Agnes Magpale, Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano and his wife Linda, and Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Francisco Benedicto.
Later, the Asean heads of state would arrived for the first session. Former president Fidel Ramos was loudly cheered upon his arrival. I joined Michel and Amparito Lhuillier near the entrance to see the arrival of the heads of state.
They were done in alphabetical order according to countries, so the first one we saw was the Sultan of Brunei.
Next day, January 13, there was a Filipiniana event hosted by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, at the Malacañang sa Sugbu. He was assisted by his daughter Luli Arroyo.
The event was held in the open air, adjacent to the sea. Everyone went indoors to a hall where hung three magnificent crystal chandeliers, and provided with the Arts Council grand piano, Ingrid Sala Santamaria gave a concert whose repertory included pieces by Chopin and the Mayon Fantasy by Buencamino.
I did not bring my camera because it was discouraged, yet I saw many people taking pictures right and left. We will provide you with pictures, the committee said, but they never came.
On February 2007, there was a Valentine’s Day ball at the Casino Español de Cebu, organized by Perla Agudo Petersen who had come from the USA, and was bent on reviving the Bachelors and Feminas Clubs of Cebu.
She had good response from the old B-F members who felt nostalgic about their youthful days. There was a long-range plan to hold the traditional Rigodon de Honor on December 28 at Casino Español de Cebu.
In the following months, there were meetings to discuss the ball, and also to entice young people to populate the new B-F.