remembrance of things awry

During the Martial Law 1970s, we used to watch the delightfully funny local sitcom “John en Marsha” [ every Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 9 if I remember right ] starring Dolphy and Nida Blanca.  John [ Dolphy ] was a penurious jeepney driver who won the heart of [ Marsha ] Nida Blanca, the daughter of the rich Dona Delilah [ Dely Atay-Atayan ].  John, Marsha, and their brood lived in a shack in a squatter area while Dona Delilah lived in a posh village and the sitcom was about their dotty daily lives. 

And Dona Delilah had this presumptious “alalay” factotum named Matutina [ Matutina ].  Matutina the maid was famous for casually sweeping USD $$$ from under the bed of Dona Delilah; she even had the gall to occasionally ask Dona Delilah:  “Misis, tseke niyo o tseke ko???”  [ "Ma'am, your cheque or mine???" ].

One remembers these lines from a comedy by a famous Filipino director… the scene:  neighboring houses in Forb*s Park, two maids upstaging each other:

Maid 1:  “Ang cheap ninyo!!!  Naa-amoy namin ang almusal ninyo… ‘Tuyo’!!!  Kami sosyal:  ‘Corned Beef’ at ‘Sausages’ galing ‘Santis’!!!”  [ "You are all so cheap!!!  We can smell your breakfast... 'Dried Fish'!!!  Ours is 'social':  'Corned Beef' and 'Sausages' from 'Santis' delicatessen!!!" ]   

Maid 2:  “Hoy!!!  Kayo ang cheap!!!  Nanonood pa kayo ng mga ‘Betamax’ at ‘VHS’!!!  Kami mga ‘deesc’ na!!!  [ "Hey!!!  You're the cheap ones!!!  You are all still watching on 'Betamax' and 'VHS' formats!!!  We're on 'deescs' { 'discs' } already!!!" ] 

Maid 1:  “Ay naku… Si Boss mayroon lahat!!!  May Laser Deesc, Compact Deesc, may Slipped Deesk pa nga!!!”  [ "Oh no, Boss has all of those!!!  'Laser Deesc' { Laser Discs }, 'Compact Deesc' { Compact Discs }, he even has a 'Slipped Deesk' { Slipped Disk } !!!" ]

Maid 2:  “Kami puro ‘DVD’ na!!!”  [ "We're entirely on 'DVD'!!!" ]   

Maid 1:  “Ano ka???  Lahat niyan mayroon si Boss!!!  ‘VCD,’ ‘DVD,’ at lahat ng ‘VD’ mayroon si Boss!!!”  [ "Whaddyathink???  My Boss has all of that!!!  Boss has all the 'VCDs,' 'DVDs,' and all the kinds of 'VD'!!!" ] 

*LOLSZ!!!*

One would think that the “Matutina” and the other characters only existed in sitcoms, but the truth is that domestic characters like “Matutina” et. al. exist in almost every affluent Filipino household, everywhere in the world…

One of the trusted help in the household, a young, intelligent girl called Juvy, tasked to clean the delicate, breakable antiques and silver, once derided the silverware in my lawyer brother’s house:    [ translated to English ]  “The problem here is that your silverware is all plated, that’s why you have that cheap silver polish.  In Sir Toto’s house, all his silver is sterling, antique, expensive, and first class… so I don’t have your problems!!!”  *LOLSZ!!!*  AS IF I WAS DORIS DUKE!!!  *ROTFLMAO!!!*  Not at all true, of course!!!  

In Vancouver, a high-off-the-hog “mayordoma” aspires to the ultrastylish ways of her Filipina “senora” who lives in a penthouse high above Stanley Park.  “I love the term ‘dakilang alalay’ — sounds more like ‘goddess maid’ or ‘housekeeping diva’ just like She is with me!!!”  says her “senora.”  As with all of her ilk, She is the main conduit of all the latest gossip in the “senora’s” circle.  Because her “senora” is an “ultrafashionista,” the lucky “mayordoma” has an ever-growing collection of expensive signature cast-offs from past seasons, notably “Valentino,” to wear to the supermarket and to her other errands.  Like her reed-thin “senora,”  She is careful about her diet:  She stupidly refuses to eat peppers, gingers, mushrooms, etc.; however, she likes garlic salt, but it must specifically be “Hy’s” brand!!!  She also has to eat her “senora’s” Italian Tuna in Olive Oil.  And She can’t be bothered to serve lunch, as it is time for her midday “bubble bath”!!!  Really now!!!  Wanting to preserve her manicure and hairdo, She is so careless in the hi-tech / couture kitchen with what her “senora” describes as “War Zone cooking” that her hapless employer has had it redone.  Social Vancouver remembers her notoriety for one elegant reception at her “senora’s” French midcentury chic penthouse when She opened the double doors of the elegantly restrained dining room and screeched:  “Caaahm and git it!!!  Deehnner ees sehrbd!!!”  [ "Come and get it!!!  Dinner is served!!!" ]  *LOLSZ!!!*  

Another high-style addition to the list is another notorious “mayordoma” in Hillsborough, CA, employed by a doyenne of Old Manila Society.  Like any freespending American, her credit card bills are in the tens of thousands of USD $$$.  She is derided by her “senora” as “que presumida” for her feigned familiarity with her “senora’s” grand “amigas” as well as for her propensity to butt in during polite “social” conversations.  But like any efficient “mayordoma,” She is the source for the latest-breaking salacious gossip about her “senora’s” Hillsborough friends and their families, as passed on by their own “high-ranking” domestics.   She likes to claim that she does not eat her “senora’s” food, “the food of the rich,” yet when she is taken by her “senora” to San Francisco’s best restaurants like the posh “Plumpjack Cafe,” she — to her “senora’s” horror — makes it a point to order the most expensive item on the menu!!!  When she does not like the food at a dinner her “senora” attended, she insists on a stop at a fastfood joint of her choice so she can order her “dinner.”  She also likes to deride her current “senora’s” taste in comestibles in comparison to her former, equally affluent but more sophisticated employer:  She buys her own brand of “boutique” bread, saying:  “Kay Inday ******, French ’whole wheat’ lang ang kinakain namin!!!”  Finally, notorious “mayordoma” frankly has political ambitions for her retirement years, and intends to run for councilor, mayor, board member, governor, and congresswoman of her southern province!!!  Perhaps even for Senator of the Republic…???!!!         

I remember the late, great “International Jeweller” and her loyal factotum.  She and her trusted “secretary” used to have comic verbal tussles frequently, quite like a ”Looney Tunes” cartoon.  The “secretary” was on familiar terms with The Jeweller’s Manila and international clients, who were the best of Society here and abroad.  The Jeweller used to quip, with one eyebrow arched in mock-exasperation:  “The Problem with her, is that she thinks She is Fe Panlilio!!!”  However, in justice to the secretary, she was loyal to the end and even beyond. 

The Best Story came from a jetsetting friend who flew out of Paris, as always, First Class on Air France.  Beside him was seated an Elegant Dark Woman.  She had beautiful hair, great maquillage, and was clad in the season’s Hermes [ H-e-r-m-e-s, he repeated ] from head to foot.  She looked Asian… Malay… even Filipina.  And She was.  He spoke French and She replied perfectly, in mellifluous Parisian diction.  They had talked about most everything when he finally could not resist asking what She was doing in Paris.  She nonchalantly answered that She was a Maid.  In the household of a very rich Jewish banking family [ we know who ].  Beat that!!!

Well, they certainly don’t make “muchachas” the way they used to!!!   :P   :P  

Beware of Karma… for the sins of the parents will, indeed, be exacted from the children.

Some years ago, a prominent Manila family was embroiled in a very public inheritance dispute involving the estate of the deceased patriarch.  A spectacular intrafamily legal battle ensued which pitted the children against the matriarch, the matriarch against the children.  All of Social Manila — and otherwise — were hooked on the unraveling saga of one of their own…

For a disinterested outsider like me, it was nothing more than the usual Money War of Rich Filipino Families.  Ho-hum.  Until one hitherto boring afternoon when I spoke with one of their cousins, and another cousin, and another, and yet another.  A long and complex history was exposed.  The Story took on more comprehensible dimensions as well as fascinating origins…   

To the maternal relatives of the matriarch, the twists and turns of The Story were not entirely unexpected.  After all, there were debts — moral debts not necessarily monetary ones — to pay. 

The mother of the matriarch was a difficult woman.  She had been spoiled as a child.  When her widowed mother wanted to marry again [ to an American ], the latter, committing the biggest mistake of her life, placed all the properties in her daughter’s name; in effect, she put herself under the financial stewardship of her daughter.  Years passed and the daughter refused to support her mother, who was alone again.  Mother was reduced to wearing haphazardly mended, hand-me-down clothes which were little more than rags, living in the staff quarters, eating leftovers from the dining room with the staff in the kitchen, and begging for medicine money from embarrassed rich relative to the next embarrassed rich relative.  That, when she was once one of them. 

The Clan was appalled.  From then on, because of that particular case, not one member of the famous southern “hacendero” clan ever signed over properties to their children during their lifetimes. 

“Manang Conchita was their cousin.  That was why Tatay Ening, Tatay Nanding, Manang Vic, Manong Ed, Manang Lil, Manang Aida, and most, if not all, of their generation refused to sign over properties to their children during their lifetimes.  The Story traumatized them all.”  said one cousin who saw it all. 

Meanwhile, a middle daughter had been born to The Daughter.  But the fortune teller, whom The Daughter absolutely believed, foretold that the middle daughter would bring great misfortune upon the family.  According to another cousin:  “Her belief in the fortuneteller was greatly enforced as the man she married, an up-and-coming government official — I don’t know exactly what he was during the Quezon regime — was able to make just the ‘right investments’ to enhance his ‘portfolio.’”

The Daughter, quite unbelievably, left her middle daughter to the household staff to raise.  If the family is to be believed, the middle daughter was kept tied to a leash in the kitchen, like a dog, and fed her meals of leftovers on a dog dish — all her life.  Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how one looks at it, the middle daughter “conveniently” passed away in her early 20s. 

The Daughter, fittingly enough, suffered all kinds of terrible misfortunes throughout her life.  During her last years, she would beat her chest and ask aloud:  “What have I done to deserve this hell on earth???!!!”  Need she wonder…???

Moral of The Story, as always:  Do not do unto others what you do not want done to you.

Where does one think Manila’s richest and most influential ladies shop?  The obvious answers are Rustan’s Makati, Glorietta, Greenbelt IV and V, Serendra, Bonifacio High Street, and even the far-off Alabang Town Center.  OK, Greenhills Shopping Center for the pearls — cultured, Chinese freshwater, and frankly fake plastic.  After all, if the Queen of Spain herself, Sofia de Grecia, deigned to shop there… 

WRONG.  And that’s according to their “Royal Highnesses”…

Just like the rest of Juan de la Cruz, it’s the 168 Mall in Divisoria.  With the world economy in doldrums, there has never been a better time to shop “bueno, bonito, barrato” in the Philippines than NOW.

“It’s good for the conscience, you know, and for the economy too.  We indulge but not too much.  And Everybody has fun in the process.”

The Established, Old, and Still Rich call them “Desconocidos.”  They have waxed spectacularly rich in a short period of time and overnight have appropriated all the visible trappings of wealth.  Their numbers are increasing, proving that Not Everyone is Poor in Third [ or Fourth, or Fifth? ] World Philippines…

An industrious couple — no longer considered “desconocidos” for years now — effortlessly entered the ranks of society with their discreet but formidable arms and ammunitions business.  The wife became the favorite client of the most important Manila jewelers because of her penchant for large, truly large, diamonds of high quality. 

Not really a “desconocido” but with an immense, relatively rapidly accumulated fortune during the 1990s [ but having its seed in the 1970s and consistent growth in the 1980s ] is a lawyer businessman who started his professional life as an assistant to the all-powerful Defense Secretary of the 21-year Marcos regime.  His first big breaks in the 1980s were the syndications of big contracts between big local companies.  Then came the influx of Southeast Asian investments into the Philippines, of which he was a major organizer and negotiator.  His personal fortune hit a record high of USD $ 600 million at its height.  Then he lost some USD $ 250 million with Argentinian bonds.  But still…!!!          

There is currently a Mining Boom, brought about by China’s insatiable demand for all kinds of metals.  It has certainly brought a wave of unimagined prosperity to a whole group of hitherto “desconocidos.”  From the mines of Mindanao to Luzon, Filipino “nouveaux riches” with fantastic fortunes from mining have been created.  To underscore their newfound prosperity and power, they have been establishing bases in Manila in the most expensive residential enclaves, paying top dollar for prestigious expanses of land.  Their families are among the best clients of the city’s most expensive foreign boutiques, that is, when they are not abroad vacationing. 

A most interesting “desconocido” is a secondary gambling lord in Central Luzon.  “No read, no write.”  How he managed to rise through the ranks to almost trump his boss, The Ultimate Lord, is anyone’s guess.  He has accumulated a fortune in the Php billions through the usually derided numbers game.  He built an immense Corinthian Gardens-style mansion, complete with helipad, on one hectare of gardens on the outskirts of the provincial capital.  His wife spends her days attended by a retinue of staff, expensively tutored by mentors in the art of living, selecting jewelry from the Manila jewelers that visit the mansion daily, and choosing expensive furniture, Persian rugs, and European decorative accessories from the decorators and interior designers that also call at the mansion daily.  He has managed to parlay his large fortune into legitimate, lucrative businesses like hospitals, hotels, and resorts.  However, he has a philanthropic streak and is particularly supportive of priests, nuns, students, and sick people.   

One very respectable “desconocido” — with a completely legitimate fortune — started out in life as a poor relation to an affluent, landed, “Old Rich” Central Luzon family, hence the patrician family name.  In the ultimate dream rags-to-riches story, he migrated to the USA in the 1970s and worked the usual 9-5 jobs.  He was very focused:  he succeeded in accumulating working capital and in establishing a network of business connections.  In the 1990s, He was the only businessman awarded by the US Government the first gambling concession in that progressive western state.  And the rest is history.  His was a triumphal return to the Philippines and to his Central Luzon hometown.  He built a contemporary mansion, complete with helipad, right smack in the new center of his hometown that dwarfed his originally more affluent relatives’ ancestral house where he grew up.  His name is associated with Philanthropy, Philanthropy, and Philanthropy.  

The most spectacular “desconocido,” bar none, is of course my personal favorite [ as well as a personal acquaintance ], “Eminence Gris.”  In the relatively short span of 10 years [ 1986 - 1996 ] in the USA, he accumulated an unimaginable fortune [ especially to Filipinos! ] in the single USD $ billion range.  The immense fortune was supposed to have been made from a virtual monopoly of computers and other high-tech gadgets sales in several “Banana Republic” Latin American countries from a Miami, Florida base.  That, and other businesses as well.  During the heyday of his power-mongering days during the Estrada administration [ 1998 - 2001 ], he was doubtless the most powerful man in the Philippines.   

I like them.  I certainly would like to be one of them.  All that Shopping Money!!!  Hahahah!!!   :P   :P  

“In all my years here, I have never seen the neighborhood change this way!!!” complained a grand real estate heiress. 

“All these ‘desconocidos’…  Who are all these people???”  asked another grand lady.

“Oh yes, this place is fast becoming ‘Sitio de los Ladrones’!!!”  observed another affluent lady.

Once the city’s premiere enclave… gradually invaded, with alarming frequency, by insurgent new wealth, with many of the origins unknown.  The longtime residents are wary, and many of them have simply sold off — delighted at the high prices the arrivistes are willing to pay — and transferred elsewhere. 

I don’t like receiving or making phone calls because — being obsessive-compulsive and manic-depressive — just remembering the millions of microbes on the phones makes me cringe and faint [ no matter how the staff swabs these with disinfectant morning and evening ]. 

I don’t carry cellphones because I have already lost four, although I have to get two soon — one low-end and one high-end — because my friends and business associates are already freaking out.

To add to my misery, I receive several phone calls from credit card and financing companies trying to sell me a credit card or some financial instrument that will only add more complexity to my already overloaded life.

After a series of such time-wasting calls, I decided to waste even more time and ”turn the tables” on them… 

I pretended to ask for a date from the woman.

I pretended to ask for a date from the man.

I pretended to be lovesick and asked for advice.

But the best time was when I was having one of those spectacularly rotten mornings and one of them called, yet again…

The secretary handed me the phone:  “Mr. Augusto Gonzalez.  From Nina.”

“Mr. Augusto Gonzalez?  This is Nina from blahblahblah Banking Corporation.  I would like to offer…”

*switches to ”bitch mode”*

*switches to screeching voice*

“Hindi si ‘Augusto Gonzalez’ ito.  Ito ang asawa niya.  Ah!!!  Kilala na kita…  ikaw yung pinakabagong kabit niya!!!  Yung galing sa ‘Pegasus’!!!  Ikaw nga, ikaw nga!!!  Hayup kang babae ka, patawag tawag ka pa rito… nanggugulo ka ng pamilya ng may pamilya!!! Teka, magkano ba ang kailangan mo para layuin ang asawa ko, ha???  Kaya naman kitang bayaran ah… mas mayaman ako kaysa sa lecheng asawa kong iyan!!!  Hoy, tandaan mo ito babae, pag nahanap kita, isang bala ka lang!!!”  [ "This is not 'Augusto Gonzalez.'  This is his wife.  Ah!!!  I know who you are... you're his latest mistress!!!  The one from 'Pegasus'!!!  You're the one, you're the one alright!!!  You animal, having the nerve to call here... you're disturbing this family!!!  Wait, how much will it cost for you to leave my husband, huh???  I can pay you off.. I'm richer than that as*hole husband of mine!!!  Hey, remember this, woman, when I find you, you're only worth one bullet!!!" ] 

The woman was so stunned all she could say was “Hindi po!!!  Hindi po!!!  Hindi po!!!” 

*LOLOLOLSSSZZZZZ!!!!!!!*   

Beware of calling for “Mr. Augusto Gonzalez” offering him credit cards, bank loans, or whathaveyou.   You’re in for a spectacular surprise…   :P   :P  

[ Of course this post is "politically / socially incorrect."  But why did I write it???  BECAUSE I CAN.  :P ]

Another classic, comic Capampangan story as told by a dear friend at a dinner party last night…

The 80 year-old Capampangan Grandmother was in an upstairs bathroom and — characteristically enough of old people — she slipped.  She cried out:  “Eh-helf!!!  Eh-helf!!!  Eh-helf!!!”  [ FYI, in Capampangan pronunciation, there is an "h" where there is none, and no "h" where there is, "p" is pronounced as "f" and vice-versa, "v" is pronounced as "b" and vice-versa, and so forth and so on...  :P ] 

Meanwhile, The 55 year-old Capampangan Son, already hard of hearing, was seated at the adjacent upstairs hall, totally absorbed watching the NBA games.

Hours later at nearly midnight, The Son felt the urge to pee so he went inside the adjacent bathroom and found his mother sprawled face down on the floor, seemingly unconscious.  He cried out:  “Mama!!!  Mama!!!  What happened to you???!!!”  as he cradled his mother’s head.  She opened her eyes, grabbed the toilet brush, and repeatedly poked it on her son’s head.  “I’ve been here for hours crying out for help and nobody came to help me so I just went to sleep!!!”  she complained.       

“Well, what were you crying out???”  The Son asked.

I was shouting:  “Eh-helf!!!  Eh-helf!!!  Eh-helf!!!”  The Grandmother replied irascibly.

“Well, why did you have to scream in English???  Why didn’t you just change to the Tagalog / Capampangan ‘Saklolo!!!’ if nobody was responding???  At least it sounds more urgent!!!”  reasoned The Son incredulously.

The Grandmother threw the electric fan at her Son.

Hahahah!!!  Just plain ol’ nostalgia…  

The Story becomes more vivid when one is told that it happened in the early 1980s but in a late 1940s mansion by Architect Juan Nakpil in the Santa Mesa Heights development of the Gregorio Araneta family.  The elegant residence was set in a pretty garden of 5,000 m2; the house was decorated by Rosario “Charing” Luz;  the furniture was by Gonzalo Puyat and Sisenando Baluyut; the brass-and-glass chandeliers were from Spain; the household items were from “Aguinaldo’s,” “Oceanic,” “Rustan’s,” “ShoeMart,” and “Sin Kian Heng” along Echague in Quiapo;  and the residents, the household staff, the food, and the “a-t-t-i-t-u-d-e” were totally Capampangan.  There was always a pile of food for Everyone — local and imported fruits in season, cakes, biscuits, cookies, candies, chocolates, Chinese goodies like “hopia,” “ampao,” “pilipit,” “champoy” / “kiamoy,” ”Haw” flakes, etc. — on the dining table, the sideboard, the breakfast table, and the kitchen table; the refrigerators and freezers were bursting with food.  And because it was already the early 1980s, The Grandmother was a fan of the soap operas “Dallas,” “Dynasty,” and “Falcon Crest” and was an avid reader of “People” and “National Enquirer” magazines; she always felt as glamorous as “Alexis Carrington-Colby-Dexter” [ played by Joan Collins ] in “Dynasty” and she also insisted that her late “muy guapo” husband looked exactly like “Blake Carrington” [ played by John Forsythe ] when, in fact, he looked like ”Pugo” the comedian.  And The Son, although married and with children, was an avid reader of “Playboy,” “Penthouse,” “Hustler,” and “Car & Driver” magazines as well as a drooling fan of “Seka” Triple-XXX pornographic movies for which he bought himself a Sony “Betamax” [ then only for the rich at a princely Php 5,000.00/xx   ].  And The Family’s “Biggest Thing” [ a lingering carryover from the "Martial Law" import-restricted days ] was to go to Angeles and Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga to buy their “PX” goods!!!

Those funny and not-at-all funny days before Ninoy Aquino’s assassination on 21 August 1983 changed Everything…     

[ OK, for those of you who are "tired" of reading about the "Traditional Elite" and "Old Manila," here is one about a Manila family who is richer-than-rich NOW, TODAY, 2008.  Everything about them is new, new, new, and chic, chic, chic.  If this doesn't "satisfy" you, I don't know what will. ]  

“Dad always knew he would make it.  But it was a long hard climb.”

We sat there in the “lanai” overlooking the vast front garden and the vast back garden of their new, contemporary residence set amidst +- 10,000 m2 in one of the city’s most exclusive enclaves.  As with all Great Wealth, Everything had the air of Consummate Ease.  And Sheer Expense.  Even the plants, the grass, and the stones looked expensive.  A Japanese firm had been summoned to design and execute the fantastic garden.

The dining room had a frankly new ”narra” dining table for 24 persons [ the top was 42 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 6 inches thick ], courtesy of the Dad’s lumber magnate friend in Surigao and the Dad’s general friend who facilitated its DENR-free and hassle-free transport to Manila.  The entire dining suite was Neoclassical in style.  Over the dining table hung three rare Art Deco lamps of Lalique glass, acquired last year in Paris.  On the French Art Deco sideboard was a stylish Art Deco coffee service by Puiforcat, acquired for an unimaginable sum in Paris.  The room was hung with four large 1930s Fernando Amorsolos and four large 1950s Vicente Manansalas [ certified as originals by the authorities ], artistic trophies purchased from the unraveling estates of various Marcos crony friends.

The large “kitchen” actually looked like a living room and  was a serious chef / restaurateur’s dream:  The refrigerators were “SubZero,” the ovens “La Cornue.”  The kitchen cabinetry had been ordered in Germany.  Most of the kitchen’s accessories were Italian, “Alessi.”  One side of the kitchen was a casual living area with a large plasma TV and contemporary Italian furniture.  Two large and important BenCab canvases casually hung in the kitchen’s living area, underscoring the wealth of the owners.   

He took me to what he referred to as the “garage” at the far end of the property.  It looked more like a chic loft at Rockwell instead of a garage.  It was airconditioned and humidity-controlled; the lights were LED.  There was a carpeted lounge, a bar, and men’s and ladies’ washrooms.  Inside were parked some 100 cars, some luxury sedans, several sports cars, some SUVs.  Several valets and mechanics were at work polishing and maintaining the cars.  It was a scene guaranteed to get any man’s testosterone going.

“FIESTA” ADVISORY: ON 28 JUNE 2008, SATURDAY, AT EXACTLY 11:00 A.M., “APUNG IRO” WILL LEAVE HIS SHRINE IN BARANGAY CAPALANGAN IN A JOYOUS PROCESSION TO THE PAMPANGA RIVER — THE “RIO GRANDE DE PAMPANGA” —FOR THE ANNUAL “LIBAD” FLUVIAL FESTIVAL IN HIS HONOR. AT 4:00 P.M., THERE WILL BE A PROCESSION THROUGH THE APALIT TOWN PROPER IN HIS HONOR.

ON 29 JUNE 2008, SUNDAY, THERE WILL BE DAY-LONG CEREMONIES AT THE APALIT CHURCH WHICH WILL CULMINATE IN A LATE AFTERNOON PROCESSION IN HONOR OF “APUNG IRO.”

FIESTAGOERS CAN ALSO GO SHOPPING FOR EVERYTHING AS THE APALIT TOWN PROPER BECOMES ONE BIG “TIANGGE” SELLING EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE — “DIVISORIA SA PAMPANGA”!!!

ON 30 JUNE 2008, MONDAY, “APUNG IRO” WILL RETURN TO HIS SHRINE IN BARANGAY CAPALANGAN. THE JOYOUS AND RAUCOUS PROCESSION — ACCOMPANIED BY WATER DRENCHING — ARRIVES AT THE SHRINE BETWEEN 3:00 TO 5:00 P.M..

BE ADVISED THAT SAINT PETER’S SHRINE IN BARANGAY CAPALANGAN, APALIT, PAMPANGA WILL BE THE CENTER OF ACTIVITIES SPECIFICALLY ON THE MORNING OF 28 JUNE 2008, SATURDAY, AND THE AFTERNOON OF 30 JUNE 2008, MONDAY.

COME AND EXPERIENCE THE BIGGEST “FIESTA” IN ALL OF PAMPANGA!!!

[ TIP: MAKE A GENEROUS TIME ALLOWANCE FOR YOUR ARRIVAL IN APALIT.  TRAFFIC WILL BE VERY HEAVY ALONG MACARTHUR HIGHWAY IN APALIT TOWN AND ENVIRONS { OUTSKIRTS OF CALUMPIT, BULACAN, AND MACABEBE & SAN SIMON, PAMPANGA }.  PARKING WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT ANYWHERE IN THE TOWN.  DO NOT BRING EXPENSIVE AND NEW VEHICLES SO AS NOT TO ATTRACT BAD ELEMENTS.  HAVE YOUR DRIVERS GUARD YOUR VEHICLES.  WASHROOMS CAN BE VERY CHALLENGING; RUNNING WATER IS IN DEMAND AND WATER SYSTEMS INEVITABLY BREAK DOWN.  EVERYONE IS WELCOME: YOU CAN WALK INTO ANY GOOD HOUSE AND YOU WILL BE FED A NICE MEAL IN HONOR OF "APUNG IRO." ]

It has already been twenty-two years since the end of the Marcos regime in February 1986, but all aspects of it still make for interesting conversations…

I sat down to lunch recently with a former, leading “Blue Lady,” and I thoroughly enjoyed the memories she shared with me.

“Oh, those were the days…”

“Basically, we were there to help Mrs. Marcos with her various activities.”

“Meldy [ Imelda Ongsiako-Cojuangco ], Zita [ Zita Fernandez-Feliciano ], and Lulu [ Lourdes Hidalgo-Tinio ] were the ones closest to Mrs. Marcos.  Meldy Cojuangco liked to say:  ‘I’m ”the other Meldy”.’  But the truth was that Meldy Cojuangco was ‘the only Meldy who mattered’ in Manila Society until Mrs. Marcos sallied forth from ‘nowhere.’  The ladies formed a ‘cordon sanitaire’ around Mrs. Marcos which made access to her quite difficult.  You couldn’t get near her just like that.  She was really like a Queen.”

“No, Chito [ Consuelo Madrigal-Collantes ] was not part of that inner circle.  Although Chito, by her sheer wealth, belonged to every high circle there was.  Liding [ Erlinda Miranda-Oledan ], not initially, but later on.”

“Oh yes, Teyet [ Dr. Eleuterio Pascual ] controlled all matters artistic in that circle.  He and Liding were constantly at each other’s throats.  The way he and Marietta are now [ Meldy Cojuangco's close friend, Marietta Santos ].  He and Everyone for that matter!  And of course, he poked fun at everybody else.  Poor ladies, no one was spared!”

“Ronnie Laing was the favorite for flowers and party arrangements.  But poor Ronnie always had to hear the carping of ‘everybody’ even before Mrs. Marcos got to see what he had done for the upcoming party.  Yackity yackity yack…” 

“Ileana Maramag… she was Mrs. Marcos’ secretary.  I just forget the name, but Mrs. Marcos had this secretary of sorts, a former member of the household staff who was very trustworthy.  She was in charge of Mrs. Marcos’ jewelry.”

“When we were abroad and at a gala, say the opera, Mrs. Marcos wanted all of us dressed to the nines.  She would lend us fantastic jewelry and all we had to do was to return it to that trustworthy secretary of hers.  The crowd’s jaws would literally drop at the sight of Mrs. Marcos and her glittering retinue!!!”

“Did you know that Mrs. Marcos was very “hands-on”?  Whenever we would be at any of her houses, she would be busy moving plants, carrying cachepots, transferring vases.  Of course, we would help her.  Some of us anyway, specially Loleng [ Dolores Arguelles-Panlilio ].  Many of the ‘Blue Ladies’ would just sit down, eat, fan endlessly and gossip the day away.  However, Mrs. Marcos never complained.”

“Of course, I was there at the MIFF Manila International Film Festival.  I was assigned to entertain a whole European delegation.  Sooooo goodlooking!  We brought them to the beach and then to the discos at night.” 

“You know, Malacanang was not the first time I saw Mrs. Marcos, but I never told her nor anyone else…”

“I first saw her in the house of her aunt, Pacing / Pacita [ Paz Gueco-Romualdez ], along Speaker Perez Street [ in Santa Mesa Heights near the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City ].  She was pretty, and simple.  Pacing said that she was Danieling’s [ Speaker of the House Daniel Romualdez ] niece from Leyte.”

“I also saw her through the window of that piano store in Manila where she worked.  Sometimes, she would be posed beside the piano, perhaps to make it sell.  Difficult work, I thought.”

“‘Meldy’ would take the jeepney everyday going to and from work.  Sometimes, the poor girl would have no money and would have to borrow her transportation money from Pacing’s maids.” 

“In those PostWar years, at least before the ’activistas’ and Mayor Villegas came along and spoiled all the fun, we would have practices for the ‘rigodon de honor’ of the ‘Kahirup’ and the ‘Mancomunidad Pampanguena’ at Danieling’s and Pacing’s Speaker Perez Street house.  But ‘Meldy’ just watched behind the doors of the kitchen and those of the staff quarters.    The men, who were all attracted by ‘Meldy’s’ fresh beauty, would ask Pacing for the girl to join us in the practice — saying all she needed was a dress — but Pacing refused.”

“But Pacing, despite what is commonly thought, was not all that bad to ‘Meldy.’  She would request the “Kahirup” and “Mancomunidad Pampanguena” organizers to let ‘Danieling’s niece’ sing at their annual balls, because ‘Meldy’ really did have a beautiful singing voice.  Afterwards, Pacing would call her rich ‘comadres’ to lend ‘Meldy’ an evening gown, preferably by a top couturier like Ramoning Valera.  Of course, Danieling and Pacing had ambitions for ‘Meldy,’ marrying up certainly being one of them.”

“‘Society’ was so small then.  Everyone really did know, or at least knew about, everybody else.  One could hide money but of course not financial difficulty.  It didn’t matter that someone penurious was related to someone rich, because everyone knew the difference!!!  It was cruel in a way.  And that was the case with ‘Meldy.’  Everyone knew that She was the prominent Danieling’s niece, but well… Several rich people were ‘not nice’ to her, to say the least.  I felt for her.  Then of course She became Mrs. Ferdinand Marcos and nothing was ever the same again.  I couldn’t blame her for turning the tables on those who had offended her in the past; She was just giving them a dose of their own medicine.”   

“Years later when ‘Meldy,’ against all odds, finally became the First Lady of the Philippines, Madame Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, she invited Danieling’s and Pacing’s [ adopted ] daughters to come to the Malacanang Palace.  They initially did not know how to comport themselves because they used to order ‘Meldy’ around, well, like household help:  “Meldy, ikuha mo ako ng tubig.”  “Meldy, kunin mo iyong sapatos ko.”  “Meldy, ayusin mo yung mga damit ko.”  “Meldy, sabihin mo sa chofer na aalis na ako.”   They were being entertained by the most powerful lady in the land!”

“And after all these years, hijo, I still think that Imelda Romualdez-Marcos was a good First Lady.  Not only good, make that GREAT!!!  Look at what she achieved during her days of power!!!  Do you remember the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Philippine International Convention Center, the Folk Arts Theater, the Manila Film Center, the Manila Hotel, the Philippine Plaza Hotel,  the Coconut Palace, the Philippine General Hospital, the Heart Center, the Lung Center, the Kidney Center, and all those other institutions IN THEIR PRIME???  Not to mention the Malacanang Palace, Antique I & II [ the presidential guesthouses ], “Balay ti Amianan” in Paoay, the Santo Nino Shrine in Olot, and the others.  We had so much to show to the world!!!  Now, we only have a cheap scandal after a cheaper scandal after the cheapest scandal…  We Filipinos no longer have a face to show to the world!!!  Embarrassing!!!”     

“I also think that Ferdinand Marcos was the greatest president we ever had.  Tell me honestly, did we have anything better after him???  NO!!!  Not Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino with her mahjong quorums, nor Fidel Ramos and his under-the-table deals, Joseph Estrada and his quarreling mistresses, not even Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her thieving husband with his cheap, cheaper, and cheapest “queridas”!!!  Call me a Marcos loyalist, because I am proud to be one!!!”

Oh, O… K…  Whatever you say, Tita…