OPINION
Bulong
Pulungan
By Deedee Siytangco
Reprinted from Manila Bulletin
Angel Thoughts
“Be careful who you vent to; a
listening ear can come with a flowing
mouth.” Anonymous
For devotees of the miraculous
image of the Infant Jesus De
Providencia in BF Resort Village in Las
Piñas, there will be a healing mass on
Jan. 27 at its home at 8:30 a.m. to
mark its 26th anniversary.
There will also be a motorcade and
concelebrated mass in the afternoon
at the Mary Mother of the church in
the area. Everyone is welcome to
attend the activities.
* * *
We journalists in the Bulong
Pulungan media forum at Sofitel, the
longest-running weekly forum in the
country, decided to close the year
with a thanksgiving Christmas lunch.
Thanks to the efficient staff of general
manager Adam Laker, events director
Cynthia Esteban and her assistant
Marian Soplan, events manager
Assisa Daourova, director of sales
and marketing, and public relations
Yasmine Hidalgo, our event was as we
wanted it to be—Christmas-themed
with real poinsettia plants all over the
Davao room and on the tables.
The buffet table groaned with
goodies prepared by the hotel chefs
and our tables were filled with new and
old friends and supporters of Bulong
Pulungan. Like Maria Montelibano
and her top media team, Full Circle
Communications, Manila Water, Ayala
Corp., Inner Wheelers, Soroptomists,
all thanks to our very own Beth Tagle,
Rachael Arenas, and her MTRCB
staff, Bobby Joseph and his tourism
friends, Phiippine Airline’s president
and CEO Jimmy Bautista with his
top henchmen, including my friend
Fred Mison, PAGCOR’s chairman
Andrea Domingo with her corporate
communications people led by
Twinkle Valdez, Rep. Karlo Nograles
with his vivacious and creative wife
Marga, and early bird San Juan Mayor
Guia Gomez in baby pink seated with
best buddy Charo Yu.
We presented our Exemplar
(Outstanding in their Fields) to a
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY December 16 - 31, 2017
Bulong Pulungan Exemplar
Awardees Honored
choice group of four performers
in public service and the private
tourism industry.
They are PAGCOR chair Andrea
Domingo cited for her dynamic and
straightforward leadership resulting
in the agency’s contributing record
revenues to government coffers for
school buildings, health facilities,
livelihood programs, and other
socially relevant projects. PAGCOR
successfully transited to ISO 9001:
2015 barely 10 months after it received
the International Organization for
standardization (ISO) 900; 2008 for Andrea Domingo of PAGCOR, Jaime Bautista of PAL, and Mayor Guia
Quality Management System (QMS). Go¬mez of San Juan
This was a job well done for the state
gaming agency as they were able to
establish necessary systems assuring
checks and balances. As Domingo
noted, it’s difficult to raise revenue
for government but they were able to
transform the funds to projects that
help uplift the lives of poor Filipinos.
And the first local government
official we cited in our forum was
Mayor Guia Gomez of San Juan. She
was singled out for her many sterling
achievements such as Best Performing
Local Government Unit (with Makati)
for funding its own projects out of
its own revenues, getting the seal of
Good Local Governance in 2016 and
this year from the DILG, and before
that San Juan was cited as “first” in
Highly Urbanized City in 2012 for
good fiscal housekeeping.
Mayor Guia may look soft and Exemplar Hall of Famer Bobby Joseph is given a birthday cake from the Bulong
dainty but she is a touch cookie when Pulungan
it comes to running her San Juan
is also president of several prestigious
City. Its financial revenues also hit and
tourism organizations like SKAL
most of the time it topped the year’s
attesting to his leadership qualities.
previous records, especially in real
Rep. Karlo Nograles of Davao
estate property taxes. Her city has been
got the nod for his tireless efforts as
cited as child-friendly and in anti-red
chair of the House Appropriations
tape and disaster-risk management
committee in securing the budget of
and risk reduction practices.
P40 billion to fund the free tuition act
Jaime Bautista received his
in State Universities and Colleges in
Exemplar Award in Tourism (like
the 2018 budget one year ahead of its
the others, a heavy glass trophy
scheduled implementation and this
with an angel with a red heart) for
young hard-working congressman
his management of the Philippines Exemplar in Public Service, Rep. Karlo who is now on his last term has the
Airlines (PAL), proudly Asia’s first Nograles
gratitude of all parents. (mb.com.ph)
commercial airline. As president and airline, vastly improved its in-flight
CEO of PAL Jaime and his team have services, and upgraded its staff’s skills
expanded the routes of the premier on the ground and in the air. Bautista
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