Jack a hit in public markets/Aristocrat still a hit at 76

Rising above the din of charges against him, UNA senatorial candidate Jack Enrile has gone marketing, carrying a basket of good will among vendors. This strategy of shaking hands with public market vendors and buying suman, salted fish, puto, mongo beans and salt from their stalls has won votes for political candidates in national and local elections, and this may spell the same success for Jack.

But Jack takes the occasion to ask the vendors, who are happy giving him discounts, questions about the state of the fIt is said that Jack’s passionate advocacy of food security (his slogan is Murang Pagkain, Maraming Pagkain) has enabled him to gain insights to help him push through his program for food for all, if elected to the Senate.

Perhaps, for the first time in his privileged life (he is the son of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile), he sees the logic behind why rice is sold in small P10-worth packages. He is told that a good number of people are unable to buy rice in sacks, which would make the commodity cheaper, so they settle for timi-timi purchases.

Thus, if he is elected, his legislative program will focus on urging the government stop importing agricultural products like rice and vegetables and meats and instead support agricultural production by farmers.

With additional income farmers could send their children to school, while urban dwellers could have cheaper food and fight malnutrition, Jack says.

Jack also champions lowly government employees who are having a hard time getting their pensions from government.

“Let’s not make our government employees who have spent a lifetime in public service beg for their pensions,” said Enrile.

“They have earned it by their honest service in government.”

Enrile also urges government to cut the red tape in giving business permits. International studies show that the Philippines is one of the slowest countries in granting permits to local and foreign investors, he notes.

“That is one of the reasons which have slowed down our economic growth.  If we want our economy to grow faster, provide more jobs and income to our people, we should make it easy for entrepreneurs to do business in our country,” Jack tells crowds of small businessmen and investors in the provinces.

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Us old timers remember where our dates took us for dinner or snacks after romantic rides on the motorco cruising along Dewey (now Roxas) boulevard: The Aristocrat. The food was always delicious, perhaps more memorable than the boys who treated us.

Recently, we were invited to the grand 76th year re-launch of The Aristocrat, with chums and grandchildren in tow. The event was timed with the commemoration of the restaurant founders Alex and Asiang Reyes’ 100th wedding anniversary. The place has been re-designed, and the menu, still well loved Filipino dishes.

The aristocrat is a Filipino owned well-loved family corporation founded by the late Dona Engracia “Aling Asiang” Cruz-Reyes, and her husband, Justice Alex A. Reyes. Aling Asiang’s pioneering spirit coupled with her native genius for cooking Filipino food raised the once lowly and unknown Filipino dishes to well-loved and accepted local and internationally dishes. It began as a snack mobile in 1936, and now has grown into a restaurant enterprise with branches in Metro Manila and some provinces, Jupiter in Makati, SM Mall of Asia, SM San Lazaro, The Block in SM North EDSA, Robinsons Place Manila, SM Manila, Subic Bay, and San Pablo, Laguna, and at Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City. It will open soon at SM Dasmarinas, Cavite.

The company president, Priscila Reyes Pacheco, speaks about the inspiration behind the restaurant’s “rebirth.” Says Priscila: “As we culminated The Aristocrat’s Diamond year, the fourth generation of Reyes’s got tougher and agreed that the restaurant needed to undergo some relevant changes in order for it to continue its position as a renowned icon. We had to come up with a fresh approach that would not only keep our loyal patrons but to attract the younger generations as well.”

With this new direction in mind former Philippine Institute of Interior Designers president Jiro Estaniel was contracted to design a contemporary image of what he calls his “icon.” Jiro said he wanted “to bridge the past and the present in the way the Aristocrat has been serving its customers the past 75 years.”

The newly renovated restaurant features bright colors with spacious and airy ambience to complement its well-known casual dining. Natural lighting is enhanced with glass surroundings, which also enables passersby to see how the diners are enjoying their meals.

Two weeks ago, The Aristocrat celebrated Lola Asiang’s 121st birthday with “Merienda Na!,” a call for diners and passersby to partake of dishes that are usually taken at merienda time. Among these are the ”Big 4,” namely, Lumpiang Ubod Sariwa, Dinuguan at Puto, Arroz Caldo, and Pancit Luglog.

Granddaughter Nancy Reyes Lumen, food journalist and Pinoy Foodie, fondly recalls how her Lola Asiang would announce, “Merienda Na!” and everyone in the house would rush to the dining hall to partake of her home-cooked sumptuous dishes.

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The 16th Congress is being urged to pass SB 2814 that prohibits discrimination, profiling, violence and all forms of intolerance. An urgent message from Atty. Clara Rita Padilla, executive director of EnGenderRights, says the Senate passed the bill on third reading in November 2011.

SB 2814 sought to prevent discrimination, profiling, violence and all forms of intolerance against persons based on ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, language, disability or other status (see attached bill).

“The bicameral conference committee meetings could have been called since December 2011,” said Padilla, “and yet, despite the lapse of more than one year, no bicameral conference committee meetings had been conducted. We fervently hope that the bicameral conference committee will immediately meet so the Senate version of the bill will be approved when Congress holds session in July 2013.

“The bill recognizes acts of religious and ethnic intolerance as acts of discrimination. It seeks to end racial, religious, and ethnic profiling including arrests of religious and ethnic minorities based on trumped up charges. It prohibits discrimination not merely based on, inter alia, employment and education to eliminate various types of discrimination. The bill ensures the right to equality and non-discrimination including in employment, education, and adequate housing, among others, and includes provisions on public information and education to contribute towards preventing discrimination.

“The bill also prohibits discrimination based on health status such as living with HIV. Instead of halting the transmission of HIV in the Philippines, our country has been unsuccessful in its efforts against HIV/AIDs. Part of the reason why there is continued increase in HIV incidence is because of the lack of sexuality education where children, adolescents, and young people can learn about gender relations, safe sex and risky sexual behavior. Anyone who engages in risky sexual behavior and does not practice safe sex is at risk for HIV transmission. People living with HIV are vulnerable to discrimination because of their health status, hence, the need to immediately pass this Anti-Discrimination Law.”

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