Lito Camacho’s newest gig

Have you seen 1: After a thankfully short-lived stint (particularly for wife, Sotheby Phils. representative Clara Acuna Camacho) as a concert singer, former Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho is trying out another profession – that of a celebrity endorser of Pascual Laboratories.

As everybody knows, Lito Camacho doesn’t take anything outside of vitamins to keep him going like an energizer bunny throughout the day.

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Have you seen 2: Mandaluyong Mayor Benjamin Abalos Jr. has placed a huge sign near the Sevilla Bridge, asking the Department of Public Works and Highways to complete repairs of the Mandaluyong to Manila bridge started in August of last year.

The appeal to DPWH has been echoed by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (on the Manila side), which has admitted to a significant drop in business as would-be Mandaluyong patients go to other hospitals.

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Have you seen 3: Construction is picking up at Northgate, the IT economic zone being developed by the Filinvest Group of the Gotianun family in Alabang.

Why, there’s even a de luxe hotel called Bellevue and a country club called The Palms, which cater to the need of executives, expatriates, and entrepreneurs south of Makati for power lunches as well as for much-needed R&R.

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The local representative of United International Pictures is Selina Gecolea de Venecia, a former Banco de Santander officer who was recently featured together with husband Jose de Venecia III and son, Jaime de Venecia in a recent Asian Wall Street Journal story on Asian parents.

As everybody knows, UPI has just signed a film distribution license agreement with Solar Entertain Corp. headed by Wilson Tieng. The man who will run the day-to-day operation, however, is Solar’s theatrical and home division executive vice-president and chief operating officer Lucas Pasiliao.

Before Solar, UPI dealt with Viva’s Vic de Rosario.

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In a letter dated April 2, Assumption College Admissions Office unit head Rita Teresa Berba writes (in summarized and more coherent form):

"Assumption College has been educating young women for social transformation for more than a century now and we are taking up that challenge for the next generation. The quality of our graduates can attest to that unique brand of Assumption."

Ms. Berba attached advertisements dated Feb. 8, 2004 in two newspapers, which basically stated the school is accepting college enrollees for the school year 2004-2005.

My reply: That’s not what your superiors tell your high school alumni and what they, in turn, tell their husbands, many of whom are – to use your words for Assumption alumni – "decision makers, thinkers, movers and shakers of this country."

Oh yes, thank you, Ms. Berba, for the in can of Assumption tarts. The can is very pretty.