Menagerie Invitation

An Invitation to a Birthday Party
It’s a typical Wednesday Kapihan at Willow Root today but the guys have agreed that we should have a special Menagerie issue for it. The reason is because one of the guys has invited Batch63 to his forthcoming 66th birthday celebration. Mandy Ilustre rarely comes to the Kapihan but this time he came if only to advise the guys who were there today (Jackie Arellano, Lito Quiogue, Gabby Valdes, Oni Mayo, Vince Misa, Joey Ingles and Mari Duarte) to help him spread his invitation to the guys.

The details of the party are:

When: January 14, 2011 (Friday 6PM)

Place: 25 Flicker St., Greenmeadows, QC

Mandy plans to cater out the event and is requesting for an RSVP from the guys. Mandy’s mobile number is 0917 521 1625. A grand party in January – what a great way to start the year!

Miscellany
When the Kapihan numbers are smaller, that is the time that group discussions usually become more focus and introspective. One of today’s fare consisted of political talk particularly regarding the recent outrageous and controversial pronouncements of two Government institutions of justice - the Supreme Court and the Sandigan Bayan. The Supreme Court voted to quash the Truth Commission initiative and in another case shortly thereafter, it reversed the results of the Vizconde massacre case. The Sandigan Bayan in turn was accused of extorting money from the Luneta massacre hostage-taker and today, it just whitewashed the AFP money laundering case.

These in-your-face affront to public sensibilities by institutions tasked to promote justice is really disheartening and just confirms their increasingly questionable reputation. On record, it is actually the GMA appointees (who were entitled to tenure and could not be replaced by the new President) who are seemingly the bandidos. These guys appear to be traditional Government post appointees out to improve their plight by consistently voting as a biased bloc on controversial issues. In a weak republic, democracy just seems too easy to distort. The majority rule is abused where it is clearly a case of tyranny of numbers. Before leaving the topic, the discussants sarcastically posed a scenario where even the pending Maguindanao Massacre case will likely also be swept under the rug based on technicality. The impression is still that "money talks" in this society.

From serious talk, he Kapihan conversation moved on to everyday stuff. Mandy asked Jackie if he knew Joey Estagle’s mobile number and if he would share it with him. Instead of obliging, Jackie complicated the situation as usual. He told Mandy, “. . and why in the world would you, or anyone else, like to talk to a character like Joey?”

Christmas Season Birthday Celebrants

Attendance
The December 15 Grand Kapihan at Manila Polo was not only the traditional Batch63 birthday celebration of four celebrants but because of the high attendance, it seemingly also became the Christmas get-together of the Batch. The four December birthday celebrants who hosted the Grand Kapihan were Jimmy Gonzales, Eboy Cosme, Manolo Cristobal and Babes Alvarez. As the celebrants come to appear at the Willow Root venue, they received the usual warm abrazzos and greetings from friends. Celebrant Babes Alvarez (based in Bacolod) couldn’t make it that day but he gamely sent in his share of the financial requirement for the party anyway.

Apart from the four celebrants, the 24-strong other guys in the big party consisted of: Joey Angeles, Ed Oleta, Tony Estonina, Oni Mayo, Jack Arellano, Quito Moras, Ed Lim, Gary Salcedo, Polding Arnaiz, Francis Horn, Raffy Villarreal, Joey Ingles, Dendi Abdon, George Cunanan, Linggoy Araneta, Doug Marcaida, Gabby Valdez, Boy Carlos, Bert Saenz, Vince Misa, Richard Sycip, Lito Quiogue, Patrick Go and Joey Estagle. In behalf of Batch63, here’s wishing the December celebrants a very happy birthday and thanks for the usual fine breakfast! (The Willow Root buffet offered crispy tawilis, corned beef, cheeses, fruits and yogurt snacks this Wednesday)

Celebrants’ profile
Jim Gonzales has not slowed down a bit. He manages to swipe tennis balls at the Manila Polo courts between attending to his many business enterprises. (Recently, he has added swimming to his regimen and which he methodically does at least twice a week.) A major business undertaking of Jim today is the Arthaland condominium project at the Fort. On top of that, he still engages in Investment Banking activities (AO Capital Partners) that regularly take him to Hong Kong, Singapore and India. While he recently sold his commercial bank (Export Bank) to Henry Sy’s BDO, he has added three publicly-listed profitable gaming companies (IPVG Co.) where he is founder and Chairman and which his son is managing director.

Real estate developer Eboy Cosme has just completed his four storey building project in Makati. As of today, Eboy’s building enjoys a high 90% rental occupancy rate. One tenant in Eboy’s building is Sandy’s Pizza - the pizza parlor newcomer owned by Jack Arellano and his daughter Sandy. (With two other branches in San Juan and Cubao, Jack and Sandy have apparently decided to expand in Makati.) While Eboy appears physically hale, he was recently diagnosed with a tumor in his heart. He plans to have cutting edge robotic surgery for it in the US sometime soon. Typical of Eboy, he seems to be ever confronting affairs of the heart. Levity aside, we wish Eboy all the best in the future.

Manolo Cristobal is happily enjoying retirement with his family at the University of Perpetual Help compound in Binan, Laguna. As we know, the notable UPH institution that had its origins in the South of Manila, belongs to the family of Manolo. Manolo himself owns apartments in the compound that he is renting out mainly to students. (A neighbor in the compound is Ed Oleta who is married to Manolo’s cousin.) Manolo and his partner Marissa (25 years younger?) have been together for 12 years and are raising two children who are still in grade school. Manolo’s hobby includes pistol shooting that complements his being a reservist in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

I did not have the opportunity to interview Babes Alvarez, but we know that he is a dynamic rural banker from Bacolod. He is also into industrial ventures (the manufacture and supply of building materials) when he is not dabbling in local politics.

Miscellany
Congratulations to Gabby and Pam Valdez. Eldest daughter Beatrice became a TOYM awardee in ceremonies held in Malacanang. Beatrice (or Bea) designs bags and fashion accessories that she distributes in high fashion stores in the USA. She received the award recently for distinguished work in the category of fashion design and entrepreneurship.

Joey Estagle is the Batch’s controversial lover boy who retains the physical looks for living up to the reputation. Naturally, he is typically conscious about how he comes on to pretty young things. Recently he was flattered when one young girl addressed him as “Thunder”. Joey thought it had something to do with the awesome image of “thunder and lightning”. Poor Joey was deflated when he later found out that “Thunder” is street lingo for “Tanda”!

That’s all folks. For more photos of the event, klik on the link below.


http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd489/leonmayo1/Christmas%20Season%20Birthday%20Celebrants/?albumview=slideshow