Will and Bam

Children and adults are blessed to be listening to the words of Will Graham, a Christian evangelist who is coming to the Philippines next week to spread the Gospel and talk about the saving power of Jesus Christ.

The grandson of the late world-famous Billy Graham and son of also well-known Franklin Graham, 47,  will start his 15-day tour with the Greater Pangasinan Celebration with Will Graham Feb. 9-10 at the Capitol Beach grounds in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

The Metro  Manila Celebration with Will Graham  starts on Feb. 11, from 5:30 to 9 in the evening, at the Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City.

Donita Rose and Jordan Escuso will host the Cuneta event  themed “Let’s Talk about Pagibig.” There will be special participation from Venus Raj, the Perkin Twins, and Musicians on Fire.

Will will speak to children and young adults at the Quirino Grandstand on Feb. 16. The “doors” will open at 6 a.m., and continue till afternoon.

In the evenings of  Feb. 15, 16 and 17, The Metro Manila Celebration with Will Graham will be held at the Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta in Manila.  Again, Christian personalities will be participating in the three-night  events.  Hosts will be Dan Andrew Cura and Amy Perez. Guest artists and personalities will be Mark Christian, Kuh Ledesma, Venus Raj, and Papuri. The bands providing expectedly beautiful, victorious sounds will be Building Bridges, the CCF Band, Victory Worship, and Celebration Chorale.

All the celebrations are open free to the public.

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Politics being what it is, Sen. Bam Aquino has been the subject of non-stop online bashing from internet trolls and online administration allies. The senator has 35 laws to his name, including the landmark free tuition law, whose accolade  the internet trolls  are taking away from him and dubbing  him as “credit grabber.”

Luckily, the legislator has Sen. Panfilo Lacson on his side. Lacson, a veteran member of the Senate, credit him for his hard work on the landmark law. Bam, he posted on his Twitter account – “Before anybody else from the Senate grabs credit” – principally authored/sponsored the free tuition bill, did all the hard work by conducting committee hearings where he gathered all the stakeholders and got their positions on the measure.

After submitting the committee report to the plenary, Senator Lacson said Senator Bam had to defend  the measure from the intense questioning of his colleagues, who scrutinized it up to the smallest detail.

We have Senator  Bam to thank for 35 measures he authored. First the free college law, then the Philippine Competition Act, which was languishing in the legislative mill and gathering dust for almost three decades before he took the helm of the committee on trade, commerce and entrepreneurship in the 16th Congress.  In the 17th Congress, he led the committee on education which gave Filipinos a chance to earn a college degree.

Then he worked for the passage of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act or the free college law as its principal sponsor. Several measures providing free college education were submitted in past Congresses, but it became a reality through Senator Bam’s hard work.

The law provides free college education in state and local universities and colleges (SUCs and LUCs) as well as TESDA-run Technical Vocational Institutions (TVIs).  Aside from free tuition, miscellaneous and other mandatory fees, the law also strengthens scholarship and student loan programs of the government.

Senator Bam’s job is not yet over. He is determined to introduce more reforms that will help further improve the quality of education in the country and boost employability of our countrymen.

As he seeks a second term in the Senate, Senator Bam plans to push for the establishment of Trabaho Centers in schools nationwide to help graduates get employed faster and address the problem of jobs mismatch.

Senator Bam manages to keep up with his busy schedule by drawing inspiration from his ever-supportive wife, Timi, and their two daughters, Rory and Coco.

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Since we moved residences from Valle Verde in Pasig to Gingoog City a few months ago,  we’ve flown to Manila from time to time to attend meetings.  It’s gratifying to know that friends have missed us – as we have missed them – and their welcome gestures have been heartwarming.

The latest fete was an intimate dinner for me and my hubby attended by our media colleagues Rina Jimenez David and Deedee Siytangco, who was the evening’s hostess. Venue was XO restaurant at Conrad Hotel at the MOA. XO is owned by Deedee’s daughter Sandee and her husband Andrew Masigan, and like their other numerous eating places, it offers a fusion of European and Asian cuisines. Quite remarkable is its reinvention to make them look classy, of Filipino dishes like ukoy,  alimango sa aligue, sotanghon, and   salmon sinigang – which we all devoured with gusto, and ube and cassava pastries topped with ice cream for dessert, and fine  Spanish wine.  The latest entry of the Masigan couple in the food business  is take-home boxes of pan de sal and other rolls  for travelers at the Manila domestic airport, which we are told, are selling like hotcakes.

XO at Conrad, incidentally, was the venue of a birthday party for Ethel Soliven Timbol given by her friends in media. The affair was very lively. Belated birthday greetings, Eth.

We spent two nights at Dusit Thani Hotel, courtesy of Evelyn Singson, the smart, fashionable president of Manila Dusit. The rooms were splendidly sweet-smelling, the breakfast buffet a-plenty. We had a relaxing time at the hotel’s spa. Our thanks also go to Shariza Relova for her  good public relations work.

Our thanks, too, to Diamond Hotel for honoring gift checks dated two years ago, for an overnight stay and free breakfast. The hotel is very accessible to functions we attended, like at the PICC, Bulong Pulungan sa Sofitel, and, of course, to The Philippine STAR office at Port Area where colleagues and security guards welcomed us with open arms.

Our thanks to Flor Tarriela, chair of Philippine National Bank and a former partner in a capiz-lamp manufacturing business, and husband lawyer Ed Tarriela, who made good his promise to become more than just a retired lawyer, but to put up a project that would benefit farmers. After spending one night in their lovely home in Valle Verde, we hied off the next day to Antipolo to visit Ed’s Farm which is planted to mangoes and other fruit-bearing trees and vegetables. Ed designs most of the buildings at the place, including an attractively structured house for guests and attendees of seminars on organic farming. Of course we visited Flor’s Garden, right next to Ed’s Farm. Flor’s Garden is included in a tourist-recommended destination for its planned gardens and seminars on organic, sustainable farming.

Another friend who leaves her home open for us anytime is Gibet Antonio Bascara, whose table is always full of delectable dishes. Gibet comes from San Carlos, Negros Occidental where her father once served as town mayor, and was head of a guerilla unit in Negros during World War II. Gibet studied at Silliman University in Dumaguete which  her and my siblings attended.

I must mention being housed, too, by my niece, Zonito, and her husband, Jojo Tamase. The couple has a successful food production business, including M2 juices proven to promote good health and camote, taro and banana chips, potato chips with salted eggs, and pizza pie crusts made with coconut flour. Would you believe they are now producing my sans rival cake with improvements,  using organic eggs and sugar, and naming it Domini’s Sans Rival? Their products are sold at their Keto stall on Pioneer street and Andoks’ grilled chicken stores,  and some have found their way to markets in the US and London. Zonito grew up under my care, but she has surpassed me as an entrepreneur. Her success in business, she says, is due to her and Jojo’s abiding trust and service to the Lord.

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