When she turned 56 on Sept. 3, Sen. Grace Poe had planned to celebrate her special day with an intimate party for family and friends. According to her, she hadn’t intended to celebrate but was cajoled by fellow senators to throw a party since it was her last birthday as a senator.
The weather did not cooperate, though. With Typhoon Enteng’s arrival in the country on Sept. 2, Metro Manila and other towns and cities experienced heavy rainfall and flooding, with classes and offices being suspended for days.
And so, she postponed her planned Sept. 3 birthday celebration and moved it a week later to Sept. 10 at a restaurant/bar in BGC.
The invite said 7 p.m. and I arrived a few minutes past. Sen. Grace arrived a few minutes after I did and was beaming and radiant in a beige colored dress that suited her perfectly.
By 8 p.m., the place was teeming with Sen. Poe’s friends. I immediately spotted Sec. Ralph Recto, who was having a light moment with president and CEO of JG Summit Holdings Lance Gokongwei. When I congratulated Sec. Ralph on his appointment as the new head of the Department of Finance, he quipped, “Is it congratulations or are you commiserating?”
Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla was also in attendance and looked slimmer and better following his health complications. He was accompanied by his spokesperson, Mico Clavano, who looks like a cute college boy.
Another cabinet secretary I spotted was Rex Gatchalian of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), who was engaged in a chat with Rachel Arenas, Third District representative of Pangasinan, and Mark Enverga, First District representative of Quezon.
Also enjoying the food, drinks and music were Senate President Chiz Escudero and wife Heart Evangelista, who has the enviable physique of a model! I also saw Senators Pia Cayetano, Nancy Binay, Sherwin Gatchalian and JV Ejercito, who appears to have lost over 20 kilos and was looking fit and slim, and good-looking Rep. Toby Tiangco of Navotas.
At 9 p.m., Raymond Lauchengco appeared and sang Growing Up, the iconic theme song of the youth movie “Bagets.” The surprise number had the guests singing and dancing along. Enjoying the retro moment were Sen. Grace’s classmates from Assumption, film editor Manet Dayrit and Cirkulo restaurant’s Malou Gamboa.
Joining them were Bibeth Orteza, husband Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, Malou Choa-Fagar, lawyer Danny Concepcion of UP, and wife lawyer Gabby Concepcion.
I also had a brief chat with Alex Gonzaga, who was with hubby Mikee Morada; and Sen. Grace’s half-sister Lovi Poe, who was looking svelte and sophisticated in her body-hugging maroon dress.
On the other side of the venue was the outdoor rooftop seating area where I saw Sen. Grace’s husband Neil Llamanzares with classmates from Xavier. I was also happy to see my former boss, ABS-CBN president and COO Carlo Katigbak, who came with his lovely wife Charisse.
Also there to celebrate were Dino Santos, who was with girlfriend (and my very good friend) Angela Lopez; Paolo Tiangco and wife Maricar, Jay Ong and wife Carmen, and Bryan Villanueva.
I was also able to chat with my cousin and COO of ABS-CBN Cory Vidanes, who was with fashion designer Paul Cabral, former Senate Pres. Tito Sotto and Tita Helen Gamboa with some of our dabarkads, Lawrence Tan, Shirley Kwan, Jaypee and Anes Victoriano and Gelo Jamias.
As much as I wanted to stay and linger, I had to call it a night by 9 p.m. since I had to get up before dawn the following day for my morning show.
How wonderful it was to see all those smiles and beaming faces that evening. No doubt Sen. Grace was very happy to see so many of her close friends celebrating with her on her natal day.
Happy Birthday, dearest Sen. Grace! Thank you for being such a brave and inspiring public servant and may all your birthday wishes come true.