BSP’s home-made Christmas

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Adhering to President Marcos’ appeal to all government offices to refrain from extravagant Christmas parties this holiday following the flood control corruption scandal that continues to hang over the current administration, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, for the first time ever, decided to tap its very own, home-grown talent for its annual Christmas party instead of hiring professional entertainers who, in the past, included Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez.

Moreover, the talents it chose to entertain the BSP community this year were not just the regular and reliable rank and file in-house singers...no..no... this was something more special!

According to SMIC chairman Amando Tetangco Jr., who is a former BSP governor and had been invited to this year’s festivities, no less than the policy-making members of the Monetary Board stepped up to provide the Christmas party entertainment, providing a much applauded and appreciated performance for the BSP community.

Among those who bravely stepped up to provide the entertainment for the BSP employees were Monetary Board members Benjamin Diokno, Rosalia “Leah” de Leon, Romeo “Romy” Bernardo, Walter Wassmer and Jose Querubin.

Gov. Eli Remolona Jr. opted to give way to his more talented colleagues in the Monetary Board and just chose to be part of the appreciative audience. However, Gov. Eli did agree to passively participate as the Wizard in the 10-minute video presentation and poster  of the staff of the Office of the Governor, with the theme of the stage and movie musical “Wicked.”

No wonder members of the press were not invited to join the festivities and appreciate for themselves the “hidden” talent of the MB members. Perhaps, the MB members were scared of being “discovered” and a video of their performance going viral -- truthfully, no luck there because word of mouth has spread about their performances.

Unfortunately, since I write for a print publication I cannot share the videos, but I surely can give you teasers.

Although Gov. Say did not provide details of the performance, I did some further sleuthing to find out more about the individual performances of the MB members and Deputy Gov. Berna Romulo-Puyat filled me in on the details of the  boisterous BSP Christmas party.

Perhaps most of you are not aware that DG Berna, in the past, had dabbled in the entertainment industry and has a legitimately good singing ability. She sings a very good version of “Manila.”

So it was not really a stretch for her to provide one of the more applauded performances that was a combination of a 10-minute video and live musical performance of Mama Mia, with the kicker being the cameo role by Leni Robredo in the video.

What made DG Berna’s Mama Mia video clip more special, apart from the surprise cameo of Leni, was that it was inclusive of all the BSP regional offices and stakeholders. Hand it to DG Berna for being so creative, fun and inclusive.

But going back to the unexpected participation of the Monetary Board members, Ben Diokno had fully prepared for his song number with a pianist to accompany him. He reportedly sang three songs.

Leah de Leon opted to show off her dancing prowess with the help of other BSP officers, while Walter Wassmer and Jose Querubin chose to sing a medley of Christmas songs together with their respective staff.

However, the real scene stealer turned out to be the usually evasive Romy Bernardo, who in a previous stint in government had been Finance undersecretary. He chose to perform solo and showcase a really good Frank Sinatra Christmas classic — “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” but with a timely twist in the lyrics!

Based on his Facebook post, this was his lyrics to Sinatra’s Christmas classic:

“Have yourselves a stable little Christmas

Let our rates stay tight

From now on, our peso might just hold its flight

“Have yourselves a cautious little Christmas

Growth is not too grand

Thanks to Gov, BSP will guide with steady hands.

“Here we are, in uncertain days

With fiscal haze and debt  —

“Doubting  friends in the IMF

Say “Don’t overspend just yet”

“Through the years, we’ll aim for a soft landing

If  (spending) reforms take root

Hang a star on prudent policy pursuit

And have yourselves a merry little Christmas now.”

Megaworld’s Mega Carnival Christmas

Another Christmas celebration that brought a real Christmas carnival experience to members of the media last week was hosted by Alliance Global Group Inc. president and CEO Kevin Andrew Tan at the soon to be branded Movenpick Grand Westside Manila Bay Hotel.

It was truly a carnival experience with clowns on stilts, mime clowns, a magician, jugglers, acrobats and contortionists.

However, what was more celebratory during the party was the tourism outlook of Tan and AGI’s continuing positive outlook for real estate and property development outside of Luzon and Mega Manila and tourism prospects.

In a brief interview as he went around to greet members of the media, Tan remains optimistic that tourism will continue to improve as the Department of Tourism pursues its initiative to grant electronic or e-visas more efficiently to prospective tourists from India and China, which he believes could potentially attract millions of tourists.

Based on that optimism, Tan said that AGI and Megaworld continue to plan and proceed with its real estate, property and tourism developments outside of Luzon to the Visayas.

So, while the BSP may be a little more cautious about the country’s economic prospects going forward, it is the industry movers like AGI who continue to move and plan ahead to be in pole position when the economic winds shift and its full speed ahead!