WATCH: Giselle Sanchez, Sal Panelo perform 'magic' trick in Boracay
BORACAY, Philippines — Comedienne Giselle Sanchez and former Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Salvador "Sal" Panelo drew laughter as they shared funny moments at Henann Group of Resorts’ recent 25th anniversary party at the Henann Regency Resort & Spa in Boracay, Aklan.
Sanchez and Panelo, together with Juan Miguel Salvador and his band, provided entertainment at the party, where the media, the resort group’s partners and other special guests gathered to witness the group’s awarding of its employees who have stayed with the resorts in the past 25 years, and to be updated on the groups’ future and latest property developments, including the announcement of seven new resorts in Boracay, Bohol and Palawan.
Salvador and his band, The Authority, got the crowd dancing to Queen and '80s hits.
Sanchez engaged the audience in song numbers and stand-up comedy, while Panelo sang his own composition he also performed at his son's wedding.
WATCH: Panelo sings own composition
“The growth of Henann is synonymous to the growth of Boracay,” retired Aklan governor Florencio Miraflores said in his speech during the anniversary program.
Miraflores praised Henann patriarch and founder Henry Chusuey as “a man of vision.”
“It was in 1997 when I first met him when he was starting to build the first Henann hotel, the first 43-room Henann hotel. For those of you who remembered 1997, it was a crisis year for Boracay because that was the coliform crisis in Boracay and we needed former president (Fidel) Ramos just to swim in the waters of Boracay just to show Boracay is safe for tourists. 1998, it was followed by the Asian Crisis. So you can see that Dr. Henry took the risk of investing in Boracay when that two crises hit the tourism industry of Boracay and the rest is history.”
According to him, from 43 rooms in Boracay, at least 1,600 rooms and even Bohol benefitted from Boracay.
“Because you know, they built the biggest hotel and by November, they’ll have 1,000 rooms in Bohol. So the people of Bohol is also thankful, Henry, not only the people of Aklan. He is also a trendsetter because his hotel was the first high-end hotel in this part of Boracay. This Station 2 and Station 3, where before we just had small cottages. He built the first hotel to cater to high-end visitors.”
Henann’s growth, he said, is also the growth of tourism in Boracay.
“From a mere few thousands in 1997 to almost 2 million in 2018 before the closure. The growth of Henann is synonymous to the growth of Boracay. So we in Aklan is especially thankful to Dr. Henry for his investment, for his vision about what Boracay can be in the future.” — Videos by Deni Bernardo, with reports from Kathleen A. Llemit
