A lump in his throat

Yes, there are "northerners" or those who live in the bedroom city of Quezon City who can’t imagine living nearer their place of work in Makati.

A case in point is phase one of Ayala Hillside Estate, which is more than 80 percent pre-sold. Many of the lot buyers already own a house and lot at Ayala Heights.

No, these guys aren’t moving to Hillside (even if the lot price per square meter approximates that of Ayala Alabang). These Ayala Heights residents are buying property for their children.

Built around Capitol Golf, developer Ayala Land, Inc. senior vice-president for marketing Tristan de la Rosa has included the borrowed view of the golf course as a selling point. Oh yes, the street names will have something to do with golf, whether these be golf terms like splice and putt or golf greats like Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

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Did you know 1: From the street, T-shirts hanging on a makeshift laundry line could be seen inside the Makati International School. Technically, nobody is allowed inside the government property, which is up for sale.

Now that the main reason for making Kalayaan St. (which fronts MIS) one-way no longer exists, perhaps Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and his bright boys might want to consider making Kalayaan a two-way street again (if only to reduce the congestion at the corner of Makati Ave.)

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Did you know 2: To play golf in government-owned golf courses, tourists have to pay three to four times the entrance rate charged Filipinos. The logic here is the dollar equivalent is still considered cheap.

Of course, this reverse discrimination is not as bad as Shanghai in the 1930s, where dogs and "Chinamen" were not allowed inside the city’s parks frequented by China’s foreign colonizers, oops, investors.

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Bank notes 1: Of course, Bangko Sentral Governor Rafael Buenaventura isn’t going to break down and cry – okay, maybe he’d have a lump in his throat – tomorrow when corporate Philippines host a testimonial lunch in this honor.

Paeng Buenaventura is getting a pat on the back from – in alphabetical order, now – the Bankers Association of the Philippines (which he used to head), the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, the Makati Business Club, and the Management Association of the Philippines.

Mr. Buenaventura’s six-year term ends in June 2005.

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Bank notes 2: Development Bank of the Philippines president and chief executive officer Simon Paterno is back from a combined business and personal trip abroad.

Mr. Paterno, who prefers to move about the head office in a shirt and tie (no coat), will open the bank’s annual entrepreneur fair this Thursday. Fair participants are small-and-medium-sized bank clients.