Banking on success

World-renowned MasterCard International held another successful bash, dahlings, in appreciation of the support of its growing famille of banks. The celebration marked another triumphant year for the company.

With most of the country’s top bank hotshots on its invitation roll, the MasterCard party at the super popular Tavern on the Square became a virtual assembly of the banking industry’s namedroppable personas. Among the invitees, palanggas, were BPI’s brilliant Aurelio Montinola III, the vice chairman of MasterCard Asia-Pacific’s board of directors; sharp Citibank country business manager Nina Aguas; well-respected HSBC’s SVP for personal financial services, Peter Yeates; Metrobank Card Corp. president Cynthia Valenzuela; One Card International chairman and president Jose Luis Yulo Jr.; Philam Savings Bank president and CEO Rolando Tanchanco; RCBC Bankard SVP and COO Oscar Biazon; Security International Card Corp. president and chairman Jose Nuñez Jr.; Standard Chartered Bank’s card services SVP and head Ajay Kanwal; and Smart Communications, Inc. SVP for mobile commerce Dan Ibarra.

"We’d like to thank all of our MasterCard member banks for making this truly fruitful year with us. For all of us here tonight, here’s to even bigger success in the next year," said Poch Villa-real, MasterCard International VP and country manager for the Philippines.

Having a blast with the endless flow of booze and cocktail finger food were the bank’s hot, hot executives who came in full banking force like Josephine Ocampo and Marion Kohchet-Chua of BPI; Cristina Balingit, Tess Silbor and Edmund Chan of Equitable-PCI Bank; James Benoit and Claire Ann Yap of the one-of-a-kind HSBC; Rey Banico and Jasmin Buñag of Metrobank; Annie Umali; Rina Millari and Myla Gonzales of Philam Savings Bank; Elizabeth Legarda and Irene Taylo of RCBC; Alex Ilagan of Security Bank Corp.; Gerry Tiamson, Jerreza Torrevillas, Jacqueline Fernandez and Corinne Go-Astillero of Standard Chartered Bank.

The rest of the MasterCard famille in the country also helped host the event: technical and operations manager Anton Corro and member relations representative Rochelle Leyba.

Naturellement, with a fun having like this, there had to be fabi prizes. Show hosts Vito Lazatin and James Deakin dished out fun games, rounds of raffle draws and awards. Some of the impressive items given away were a Nokia 7650, no less; DVD players; two digital cameras; a digital handy cam; a 29" flat screen TV; and a Pentium 4 PC.

For more laughs there was top comedienne Candy Pangilinan who literally had the bank personas in stitches with her comedy skits. Popular show band Q & A kept the crowd rocking the dance floor with their retro hits.

What a night!

The best of everything

Guests grooved to great live music provided by Flinstone and the Gang, a party band, dahlings, composed of top professional musicians from the popular bands of the ’60s and ’70s like band manager Manuel Fernando; musical director Jun Raymundo; vocalist Tom; Shirley; Ting; and Mon. Guests also enjoyed the guest appearance by Mila Garcia who jetted in from San Francisco (she was popularly known as the "soul" singer during her time).

Movie namedroppables like Tirso Cruz, Cesar Montano and Willy Revillame jammed with Flinstone and the Gang until midnight. All these for our Southern lady with a golden heart, everyone’s palangga, Vivian Sarabia who turned another year more lovable.

Among the invitees were the celebrator’s brother Fred Sarabia; sons Bryan Sarabia Ong, Dr. Francis and Jan Vincent Sarabia Ong; handsome actor Albert Martinez; Shirley Kwan; vivacious Marilou Martinez of Smart Communications; and Woman of Books, articulate and intellectual Girlie Rodis.

Also seen were MOBB Band members, GG Zulueta, Nani and Gerry Reyes, Aton Attilano; Evelyn Golangco-C. and Charlie Cu-Unjieng; Mel and Pol Leoncio; Cheryl Cosin who arrived with Bobby Yan; ERA Realty president Eric Soriano; Amoeba Music partners, Mon Arroyo, Cherry and Roger Go; Matit and Boy Zapata; Philip Sindico; deejay Long Tall Howard with the original members of Bits and Pieces Band; talented beautiful couple Ces and Rock Drilon; the employees of Vivian Sarabia Optical; lawyer Sal Panelo, directors Bobbet Vidanes and Willy Cuevas and Ming Tinama.

For those not yet in the know, palanggas, Amoeba Music Recall is owned by yes (!), Vivian Sarabia. Top live bands play retro ’60s, ’70s and ’80s music in this venue which is open from Monday to Saturday. Among the bands are Flinstone and the Gang (Mondays and Fridays); Route 70 (Tuesdays); and Acoustic Jive with May Bayot (Thursdays). Other retro bands are featured on other days. Well, now you know, dahlings.

To our celebrator Vivian, here’s to only the best of everything the future may bring.

Cheers, palangga!

Siao Haus-1

This young couple, dahlings, is as busy as a bee. She is a restaurateur while he is a mega businessman engaged in copra trading, at the same time pursuing a Law degree. The couple called on their favorite architect, renowned James Jao, to design their dream home which they wanted to be "clean, open and modern" in their 1.3-hectare property surrounded by a coconut plantation in the outskirts of Iligan City.

James Jao took the challenge, opting for a totally new style. Starting with classical influences which he believed provided the foundation for his endeavor, he made a pirouette and created an architectural wonder.

The house plan is simple and the actual space program, straightforward. Feng shui was the most important consideration. Transparency and light against opacity and solidity characterize the 400-square meter three-level house. "The journey around the house constantly reveals a surprisingly dramatic elevation as you move along from one corner to the next," explains James J.

"The ground floor, with two-storey green curtain glass walls and a high-ceilinged living room, constantly changes color throughout the day and seasons. The dining room has a square table for eight while the open kitchen has modular cabinets of wood and a granite countertop. At the end of the hall are the guest room and den."

The second floor has a more intimate environment. There are two bedrooms with modern individual toilet and bath. The family room which is adjacent to the masters’ bedroom has a walk-in closet for him and her. The bathroom has a whirlpool. Soaking in the tub during a full moon while looking out through the picture window sure is a luxury, palanggas.

At the top level is an extremely huge storage room with a roof deck that has an eye-catching bar for the couple’s intimate parties. They can also exercise here. There’s even a powder room for convenience. From the breezy roof deck, one beholds a panorama of the whole plantation and swaying coconut tops.

The Siao Haus-1 is a surprisingly tres seductive house which optimizes the use of light and air while maintaining the clients’ privacy. The polycarbonate canopy in metal frame suspended with steel cable anchored onto two white concrete pillars is the distinct feature of the house. It’s like the weight bridge of a fortress. Balconies on the second floor and on top of the main door are influences reminiscent of the Filipino-Spanish architecture design. The patio on the ground floor provides a link between the indoor spaces and the garden.

This classy award-winning house by James Jao received the distinguished Design Excellence award from the prestigious United Architects of the Philippines during the 28th National Convention of UAP "for his unique design and exemplary space planning of this 400-square meter residential structure and for effectively transforming what would have been a run-of-the-mill project into a classic example of simplicity of clean, elegant lines." James J. is the youngest recipient of such an award.

That’s our town and what a town, huh!

See you!