Category Archives: Tourism

Sibling Trip to Coron

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Siblings, five years apart, on an unplanned Coron adventure.

May 16, 2015, 5:30am.  Coron.  The city is waking up, and so am I, wondering why my entire body seems to ache.  For a second, I am unsure as to where I am, and then I remember yesterday’s adventure.

This was a sudden, unplanned trip.  My Seattle-based brother Jean Pierre (Johnny) breezed into Manila for a dental visit and to stay a few weeks.  This time, he was alone.  During breakfast last Sunday, we talked about places we’ve always wanted to explore: Vigan, Batanes, Banawe, Coron, and more.  I told him I would love to visit them.  Well, he took it seriously, bought the tickets, booked a hotel he found on the Net, and called me to say the deed was done.

Just three days ago, I was running all over town busy with meetings.  It was a hectic and interesting day, starting at 6:00 am when my driver’s wife called to say he wasn’t coming to work. With an 8am meeting in Ortigas and staff to pick up at the Alabang office at 7am, I quickly changed to flats and drove my car, with Wayz guiding me to meetings in Ortigas then Alabang, then to Makati, back to Alabang and finally to Paranaque in time for the 8pm mass to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. I imagine there were quite a few white-knuckled moments and fervent prayers said. Sometime in between these meetings, Johnny called to announce we were confirmed for the 8am flight to Coron the next day.

I readily agreed to go. The last time, Johnny and I traveled together was 30 years ago. We went to Iligan for his ‘pamanhikan’ and wedding to Tita. I figured a sibling trip was long overdue.

With bags packed, we were off on our adventure!  Arriving at the Busuanga airport, I was surprised to see the Cabuslays, friends from our village who were also visiting Coron.  Sharing a van, we dropped them off at their resort and proceeded to Coron town where One Averee Bay Hotel was. The hotel was in the midst of town facing the plaza.

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Courtesy visit to Fems Garcia, fellow CHSian and mayor of Coron

My friend Wilma Leagogo who owns Julie’s bakeshop came by to greet us. First off, we paid a courtesy call to Hon. Clara “Fems” Reyes, fellow CHSian and mayor of Coron. We then had lunch at Lolo Nonoy’s, then hurried back to the hotel for my 1pm concall with a client.  After that, Johnny and I walked around town, looking for tours to take. The umbrella Wilma lent us came in handy as the fierce sun was beating down on us.

Wth my friend, neighbor, fellow servant parish leader, CHSian and all around nice person, Wilma Leagogo.  Wilma owns the Julie's Bakeshop in Coron and took very good care of us.
Wth my friend, neighbor, fellow servant parish leader, CHSian and all around nice person, Wilma Leagogo. Wilma owns the Julie’s Bakeshop in Coron and took very good care of us.

Coron Town is a sleepy laid-back municipality. We visited small stores, mostly run by Muslim traders. An ancient looking sungka in the shape of a crocodile caught my eye but the proprietor refused to sell it.  We ended up at Julie’s Bakeshop, and Wilma treated us to the most delicious freshly-baked pan de coco. It was so good I ate two of them. The poster said it was nakaka-loco and I wholeheartedly agree! Goodbye, figure. Oh well, I may end up shaped like a dugong later, but the food is hard to resist when it is this good.

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The lobster was so fresh and delicious I almost cried while eating.

After freshening up and taking a stroll by Lualhati Park, we had dinner at Lobster King, as guests of Mayor Fems.  The lobsters in kalamansi butter sauce were divine! Many thanks, Fems!

After dinner, Johnny and I decided on DCC’s tour package and went there to sign up. According to Mr. Kim, the Korean proprietor, we would share the boat with another couple who was going diving.

Back at the hotel, I stationed myself at Breakfast at Sydney’s, the hotel’s restaurant, to work. It was the only place with wifi and I had to complete some forms online for GCG. The website was not very friendly and I was getting frustrated whenever it would suddenly refresh and everything I had written was erased. Finally, by11pm, I was shooed off as they were closing.

That night, Johnny put on a movie entitled “Into the Woods.” The musical was quite interesting and had great actors but sleep took over quickly.

We woke up with much anticipation for the boat trip we had signed up for. But first we had a hearty breakfast of lamayo, Coron’s version of danggit, tapa and eggs. The brewed coffee was surprisingly robust. Wilma came by with a bag of Julie’s Spanish bread and bottles of water for our trip.  What a thoughtful and kind gesture!

After last minute shopping for clear plastic ziplocks for my phones and slathering ourselves with sunblock, Johnny and I were ready to go. We met up with a young couple from Washington who were going diving: Matt who works for Starbucks in the US and handles their airport outlets and his friend Mihee who is a nurse. Matt and Mihee turned out to be from Seattle, so they had a lot of things to talk about with Johnny.

Our first stop was CYC Island which was chockfull with tourists. Donning my snorkeling gear, I went swimming but noticed there were so many black sea urchins around with scary looking spikes, so I turned back not wanting to be impaled. I didn’t realize I had gone so far and had a difficult time swimming back to our boat.

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Skeleton Wreck

Next stop was Skeleton Wreck, named after the remnants of a Japanese supply ship. I’ve never seen a wreck before and was a bit nervous as it was in deep water, but with a life vest on, felt pretty safe.

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Hearty meal by the shack with our guide.

We had lunch in a tiny hut on Skeleton Wreck.  It was a simple meal of steamed rice, cucumber salad, grilled liempo and mackerel.  While eating, I noticed a young couple paddle to the shore then climb onto a tall bamboo hut.

Members of the Taganua tribe, guarding Skeleton Wreck.
Members of the Taganua tribe, guarding Skeleton Wreck.

We walked over to say hello and they turned out to be from the Tagbanua tribe. They were assigned by their grandfather to collect fees from the boats that docked there. They told us there were 13 lakes on the island, and they had only seen two of them.

We transferred to Twin Lagoon, which required us to swim underneath some rocks to get to the hidden lagoon. The guide warned us it was brackish water, where fresh water from the lake mixed with salt water from the sea. Johnny and I snorkled, circling the lake’s perimeter.  We were amazed at how the water would turn alternately hot and cold. It was exhilarating!

IMG_6042Barracuda Lake was up next.  Our boat navigated between forbidding grey cliffs, with hardly any vegetation. It was eerie. Johnny commented that it seemed that anytime King Kong would make an appearance. The boat docked and we entered a break in the cliffs, walking on a slim bamboo walkway flanked by tall jagged rock formations on either side. Holding on to the flint-like rocks for support, I found them brittle and sharp.

After a short walk, we were greeted by an amazing sight. I gasped at the beauty of the lake.  It was serene and still, hidden from view by the jagged cliffs.  We jumped from the bamboo platform into the cool blue waters below.  I looked down and hardly saw any fish swimming.  However, there were black dots everywhere, as if someone had sprinkled too much black pepper on white spaghetti sticks. Curious, I picked up one of the black dots and it turned out to be a black spiral shell, much like what my grandmother used to cook as ginataang kuhol.

I relaxed and floated on my back, looking up at the cliffs and the blue sky above, thinking of my loved ones and thanking God for them.  My companions and other tourists jumped from the cliffs, laughing and enjoying themselves, but I tuned them out. It was so peaceful! Soon, our guide told us it was time to go Kayangan Lake.

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Kayangan Lake

Kayangan Lake was the best of all, he promised, with caves to explore, a fantastic view, a beautiful lake, and a mountain to climb. Three hundred steps, he said: 150 up and a 150 down.  Just 300 steps, I thought. I should be able to climb that.  Johnny warned me not to count the steps saying I would just get disheartened, but that’s exactly what I did.  I started counting, and by the 50th step was wondering as I tried to catch my breath if I would make it to the top. And when we reached the top, we realized that the guide was right, there were another 150 steps down to the lake. We hurried down, excited to get into the water.

A bamboo platform ringed half of Kayangan Lake and it seemed that there were people everywhere. We walked to the very end and stationed our things there. We checked out the cave which was but a short one. I started getting claustrophobic as more people entered the narrow cave, and escaped fast. Our guide boasted there was another subterranean way out. He dove into the water and came out a few seconds near the entrance.  I heard Johnny saying he was going to do the same thing. I waited outside and when Johnny didn’t come out after several minutes, I started to worry, imagining him stuck in the rocks under water.  How will I ever explain to his wife and children that I had not taken care of my brother? I was about to go back in to check on him when he appeared. Thank goodness!

Because of this incident and the fact that there were too many people around, I did not enjoy swimming in Kayangan as much as I did Barracuda or Twin Lagoon. But the guide was right. It is a beautiful place and one I would like to visit again during the lean period.

The view from the bat cave
The view from the bat cave

Once again, we had to climb the 300 steps to get back to the boat but not before a quick picture at the very top where the bat cave was.  Our last stop was Twin Peaks where our companions were going to dive.

Donning our snorkeling gear, Johnny and I jumped into the water, discovering a most amazing world down under, with verdant coral, teeming with a myriad of fish in all shapes and sizes, colors and hues, nibbling at the coral. I wanted to take out my paints right then and there and capture the beauty of the seaworld, with its vibrant colors that would put any palette to shame. Various schools of fish passed us by, like ribbons of pulsating color, from matte to brilliant neons.  I could have stayed there forever. Oh well!  Back to reality.  We returned to Coron Town, where we met up with Wilma for dinner and to make reservations for the next day’s tour.

Walking to Julie’s, we wondered why the streets were dark. Apparently, there was a brownout which had been going on for four hours. Luckily, electricity came back on as we made our way to Bistro Coron.  Dinner was pizza, pasta and Hungarian sausages.  I must say that their crusty French bread was very good.  Tired, we went back to the hotel and promptly fell asleep.

The next day we were up early once more. This time around we were joiners at the JY tour. The trike picked us up and brought us to the Pantalan where we boarded our boat and met our companions for the tour.

New found friends.
New found friends who warmly welcome us into their group.

Ryan and Michelle are psychiatric nurses at a Riyadh Hospital on vacation. With them was Kaycee, Michelle’s sister who is a home-based software programmer and their cousin Knarf who was visiting from Canada. Then there was Randy and Abby who were celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary, and a young couple April and Ryan who were honeymooning. This was the second tour of our companions together so they were pretty friendly with each other already and warmly welcomed us to the group.

Henderson, our amiable tour guide, briefed us on what to expect. He was much more knowledgeable than our guide on the first day.  He pointed out the sleeping giant, asking us to hazard a guess as to whether the giant was male or female. We all agreed it was a “she.”

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Johnny and I perched on the side of the boat, trading stories of our childhood.

The boat ride to Malcapuya was and hour and a half away. Johnny and I sat by the side of the boat with our toes touching the me water, reminiscing childhood memories.

Malcapuya has a long stretch of white sand beach, perfect for lazing around. The beach was dotted with nipa huts.  Our group settled on the farthest nipa hut, set down our things, and went straight into the water.  Johnny showed me a bed of giant clams, their membranes opening and closing, each one different from the other. Some were tiger striped, others had green or blue or red mouths.

Try and get me out of this hammock.
Try and get me out of this hammock.

We had a veritable feast for lunch, with sinigang na lapu-lapu, grilled mackerel, grilled squid, chopsuey, adobong pusit, steamed rice, and an amazingly delicious salad of apple, mango, banana and Chinese petchay prepared by our guide. Henderson refused to share his recipe no matter how much we begged. Fresh coconut in their shells and sweet mango rounded up the meal. We were ready to hit the hammocks after lunch, but was given only a few minutes, so we tredged back to the boat. We must have all eaten so much as the boat refused to budge when we were all on it. The poor men had to disembark to push the boat out into deeper waters.

Banana Island was our next destination, but on the way there, our boat’s engine sputtered then died. Henderson asked us to help him call for help using our mobile phones, but there was no signal where we were. I texted the situation to my chidren and Wilma, hoping they would ge the message. Somehow, we were able to reach Banana Island’s bamboo raft, and we all disembarked to ride the bamboo raft to shore, while the boat captain and his assistant tried to fix the engine while waiting for help to come.

On the hill at Bulag Dos
On the hill at Bulag Dos

Luckily, the other boat was at a nearby island and they came over to check on us. Soon, we were on our way to our last stop, Bulag Dos. Our guide warned us that we had lost too much time and that we could only stay half an hour. This was enough time to have pictures taken and check out the beach. We climbed the little hill for a better view of the surroundings.

As we were about to board the boat, we learned from our companions that there were a lot of clown fish popularized by the movie “Nemo” in the area. We just had to take a look at them. While we were all hunched looking at the clown fish swimming in and out of their stone house, I noticed a much larger fish circling the stone, seemingly agitated. It suddenly attacked me, nipping me in the leg. Apparently, it is a territorial fish intent on defending its stone house which it shared with the family of Nemos.

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Sunset on the way back to Coron

We headed back to Coron. Wilma was patiently waiting for us at the dock with a trike that would bring us to Maquinit Falls. We were glad we went, despite being terribly tired. Wilma had packed a picnic dinner of grilled liempo, roast chicken and pinakbet from Lolo Nonoy’s. It was dark by the time we reached the resort, but there were still a lot of people there. We ate at one of the rustic picnic tables and made friends with the people at the next table who reveled us with stories of hidden treasures discovered in Palawan.

Basking in the warm waters of Maquinit Falls
Basking in the warm waters of Maquinit Falls, I felt all the pains and aches slip away.

Maquinit Falls has three pools, catching the hot spring water from Mt. Dalara, a dormant volcano. They say the 40-degree Celsius water has healing powers, and that an egg left there will actually get cooked. I enjoyed dipping into the pool and letting the hot salt water ease away my aches and pains.  I

Johnny walked around and came back saying it was beautiful at the other end of the resort. Curious, I went around to the other side of the pool, and walked on the bridge by the mangroves. It was dark and I was alone. True enough, when I looked up, I saw the vast expanse of the sky, twinkling with an array of stars, arranged by constellations.  A shooting star crossed the skies. Moved by all this beauty, I praised the Lord, and thanked Him for all the many blessings I’ve received, praying for all the people He had sent my way, for those I have loved and have gone ahead, and most of all, for my family. And at that very moment, I felt one with all the generations of people everywhere who have looked up to the sky and felt an upwelling of emotions. We have an awesome Creator!

That night, Johnny and I put on the movie, Into the Woods, again, intent on finishing it.  As you can imagine, we both fell asleep from being so tired.  Someday, I will finish this movie, but for now, I’m glad I took this sibling trip to Coron with Johnny. There is still so much to discover about Coron and more adventures to experience, but those I will keep for another day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When in Davao, explore!

I’ve been to Davao twice before to organize events for clients, and in both instances, it was a case of arriving at the airport, going straight to the hotel, organizing the event, then leaving for the airport. I remember one time, it was my son Niccolo’s 5th birthday, so Mike and I decided to bring him with us.  While I was working at the hotel, father and son had a great bonding experience visiting all the interesting sites, including the Philippine eagle sanctuary and the crocodile farm.  They told me they had a grand time, and so this time around, I made sure I had an extra day in Davao after the Tourism Industry Board Foundation, Inc. (TIBFI)’s 3rd Tourism HR Summit.  Problem was I was too busy in the months leading to the event that I never had a chance to research where to go.

IMG_3899After the summit, the congress organizers and speakers hied over to Mary Ann (Baby) Montemayor’s Habi at Kape for dinner and relaxation.  True to its name, the cafe was surrounded by displays of the best handicraft and local products that Davao had to offer.  I wish we had more time to browse around and shop, but we were all terribly tired from all the conference preparations the day before and from managing the conference all day, not to mention lack of sleep.  And since I skipped lunch to work on my afternoon talk, I was ravenous as well.

The dinner Baby served was outstandingly delicious, as usual.  I chatted with Baby about her various initiatives to help women-led SMEs in Davao gain access to the market. What a noble endeavor!  She really is an admirable woman.

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Joji Ilagan Bian and me at Habi at Kape

I sat with Pa Putu Laksaguna from Indonesia and Gina Jiraporn of Thailand.  That night, I learned that Pa Putu had a beautiful singing voice as he gamely serenaded us.  This after he told me that he only sang in the shower.  I also met the lovely and gracious Joji Ilagan Bian, founder and chairman of the Joji Ilagan Career Center Foundation, Inc., who had allowed her students to take part at the Summit.

As we were driving back to the hotel, we got around to discussing what to do the next day.  Most of my companions were interested in going shopping at Aldevinco, buying pomelos, and doing a quick city tour.  The others wanted to stay in the hotel and work.  There was talk of going to the crocodile farm, the eagles’ reserve, and  to the Malagos farm that made its own chocolates and cheeses.  I’ve sampled the latter before and they rival the best.  These options beckoned, but no one seemed interested to go as the drive was quite long given the distance.

Before I slept, I asked my Facebook friends for recommendations on what to do and where to go.  My vibrant Facebook community was extremely helpful, and I had a number of great suggestions, mostly revolving around food.  My daughters, meanwhile, advised me to skip the shopping and go on an adventure instead.  Besides, I already had a box of pomelos, a gift from Myrna Padilla, CEO and president of Mynd Computing / Outsourcing Services Philippines.

To this day, Myrna is one person who I greatly admire and am honored to count as a friend.  Three years ago, she spoke at the International Outsourcing Summit, an annual conference that we organize for the Information and Technology Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP).  An unassuming lady, she went up to the stage to share her story as an OFW in Singapore and HongKong, learning how to use the computer from her young charge, then coming back home to Davao to set up a BPO.

Myrna touched the hearts of the 500-strong international audience composed of CEOs and senior level executives from the industry, so much so that they got on their feet to give her a standing ovation, with a few shedding tears.  Myrna’s story reminded everyone that behind the numbers signifying the rapid success of the IT and BPO industry in the country, there are real people struggling with seemingly insurmountable challenges and dreaming of a better life for themselves and their families, people whose lives are improving because of the industry.

The suggestion to have civet coffee at the crocodile farm seemed the most adventurous so after a quick swim I went down to breakfast to make arrangements for transportation.  Luckily, I met a few of my friends and they decided to go with me.  So, off we went to the Crocodile Farm.

The crocodile farm had its many charms: from its ménage of feathery and leathery friends from the animal kingdom, its various cement figures that invite guests to have their photos taken, its locally made ice-cream and civet coffee (which I yet have to try), to its various outlets selling traditional handicraft.  They were even selling oil that came from the crocodile, which ostensibly cures all sorts of skin problems, since it contains Crocodillin, an antibacterial substance found in crocodile blood.

20150324_102102I spied a large plastic container on a table near the entrance, and was surprised, when the cover was lifted to see a baby crocodile with its snout bound tight with rubber.  I asked if I could touch it and have my picture taken. Its caretaker agreed, and I gingerly extended my hand.  When the baby croc gamely stayed put, I became more courageous, and came nearer, wondering if it would turn into a prince, just as the frog in the fairytale did.  Inspired by my action, Leni Ogarte of the National Union of Workers in Hotel Restaurant and Allied Industries (Nuwhrain) wanted to have her photo taken with the baby croc too, but when she came close for the photo, the baby croc jumped at her.  It was so fast I was not able to take a picture.

The bigger crocs of which there were so many lying  in various pens looked sleepy and lethargic.  It felt safe viewing them from the other side of the fence, but knowing how swift that baby croc was, I would not want to be near any of the larger ones.  What looked like green lumps on the water turned out to be the back of the crocodiles, as once in a while, one of the lumps would move.

I don’t much like feathered creatures, but the colorful parrots were pretty, the peacock majestic, and a myna called out “Panget” when I passed, so I am assuming the poor thing has lost its eyesight.  Whenever I see a peacock, I wonder why God had granted them such beauty while the peahen looked nondescript, brown and dowdy.  I guess because the male birds need the trimmings to attract the females, while the females were confident enough to know their real beauty was inside.

There were other birds but how could I not write about those huge ostriches that lackadaisically sashayed around the field?  One of them walked right up to the fence where I was, looked me in the eye, then dismissing me, turned aside and walked over to some sheep that had gathered in the field.  I was trembling with fear, being deathly afraid of chickens, much less monstrous ostriches.

20150324_102701And there was that yellow boa lying on the ledge.  Four of us summoned the gumption to have a photo taken, with the boa draped across our laps.  It was heavy, but it didn’t seem to be big enough to swallow us, so I felt quite safe.  The tiger, in the meantime, was having a morning snooze, and didn’t budge at all.  It looked quite content in its cage.

20150324_112219 We all had a field day having our photos taken with the various cement figures in the park.  Some of us sampled the crocodile pandan ice-cream (not a fan myself).  I was thinking of sitting down at the café to have a cup of civet coffee, when I saw a line of shops selling traditional clothing.  I loved the explosion of colors of the woven fabric made by the Matigsalog and T-boli tribes, and so decided to treat myself to a complete outfit, including the heavy belt with tinkling bells.  The kind lady at the store even taught me the proper way of wearing a malong, which included biting the edge of the cloth before tying the ends in a knot.  Next time I am asked to attend a function wearing Filipiniana, I intend to wear it.

11013282_10152632986336556_7988614686115207717_oSoon we had to meet up with our other companions who had stayed behind to work. Lunch turned out to be at the Blue Post Boiling Crabs and Shrimps.  The restaurant’s name was quite descriptive as it was a boodle meal with a refreshing pomelo salad, boiled crabs and shrimps cooked in garlic.  Oh, was it good!  Nay, it was great!  And we even go to write our names on the walls.  I took the opportunity to quickly draw a woman’s face inside the lifesaver in the foyer.  I was having so much fun.  So this is the high that graffiti gives to its creators!

IMG_3912Reminiscing on the day gone by, I am so glad I took the day off work and went on an adventure instead.  There is still so much to explore in Davao, and I hope to visit once again and perhaps next time, have that civet coffee, Malagos chocolates and cheese.  C’est la vie!

Do we need women in corporate boards?

 

Do we need women in the Board?

This was the interesting question posed during the WomenBiz Talks organized by the Women’s Business Council Philippines at the Dusit Thani Hotel today, and which sparked a healthy debate.  Aside from being inducted as a member of WomenBiz, I was glad I attended the talk, though I missed attending the Amcham General Membership Meeting next door.

After a hearty lunch of ginisang munggo, laing and adobong manok, and the inevitable photo taking, the intimate group of powerful women tackled the day’s theme.   Chit Juan, president of Echostore Sustainable Lifestyle, opened the discussion with a premise that we need a law to ensure seats in corporate boards, as the addition of women corporate directors results in better decisions and more diversity in outlook.

Atty. Lorna Kapunan, senior partner at Kapunan Garcia & Castillo Law Office, roundly disagreed citing the case of Norway that had passed legislation mandating a 40% woman-man ratio on public limited companies to disappointing results. Because there were not enough competent (aka trained) women corporate directors available, companies forced to take on women to comply with the mandated ratio, quickly saw their stock prices plunge.  To protect themselves from this legislation, about 70% of public limited companies delisted since 2003; while new companies incorporated outside of Norway to avoid this requirement.

Because men and women are wired differently, it was observed that women in boards tend to push for property acquisition rather than leveraged organic growth.  And then there’s the issue of women having other interests, such as having children and taking care of their families. This is not to say that we cannot have women corporate directors, especially in the Philippines.

In the case of companies of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs), it would be disastrous not to have women on the board as they would represent the interests of the consumers, being the ones with the buying power.  There are also industries where women dominate.  One such example is the Tourism Industry, to which I belong.

In the country’s Tourism Promotions Board, for instance, three of the five private sector directors are women: Margarita F. Munsayac, VP of Maribago Blue Water Beach Resort (Representing Accommodation Sector); Margarita F. Villarica, president and general manager of Destination Specialists, Inc. (Representing Travel & Tour Services), and me (Representing Meeting, Incentives Travel, Conventions, Exhibitions & Events Services & Facilities M.I.C.E.Sector).  And on the public sector side, we have Usec. Laura del Rosario of Department of Foreign Affairs, Usec. Fe Reyes of the Department of Trade and Industry, and Usec. Catherine Gonzales of Department of Transportation and Communication.  Clearly, TPB is a woman-dominated board.

According to the International Business Report (IBR) released by local audit company Punongbayan & Araullo and global firm Grand Thornton, on average women comprise about 34% of company boards in the Philippines, which is way above the global average of 19%.  One advantage Filipinas have is the availability of househelp to assist in taking care of the house and children, freeing women to pursue careers in the corporate world.   And I’d like to add the social support system of families.  I don’t think I could have gone very far in business without my beloved mom being there to supervise my yayas in looking after my children and my home.

What advantages do women bring to the board room?  According to a study by Professor of Strategic Management Bart of the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University which polled 624 board directors in Canada, women were more likely to use “co-operation, collaboration and consensus building” when dealing with complex decisions.   Also, women were more likely to take into account interests of multiple stakeholders as they viewed fairness as an important factor in their decision-making.

A Credit Suisse report on gender diversity and corporate performance indicates that companies with women on the board exhibited higher return on equity (ROE) and better average growth.  Catalyst Inc. (2007) showed that Fortune 500 companies with more women on their boards were found to outperform their rivals with return on sales and return on equity.  What could possibly be the reason for the better financial performance?

Credit Suisse proposes that gender diversity signals a better company, with greater effort across the board, a better mix of leadership skills, access to a wider pool of talent, a better reflection of the consumer decision-maker, improved corporate governance, and risk aversion.

Lorna was emphatic that there should be no legislation to mandate appointment of women on corporate boards.  Rather, competence was the only reason women should be on corporate boards.  I totally agree on this point.  And that’s why I am seriously considering Chit’s recommendation to take the Institute of Corporate Directors Course, and help in raising awareness of women to aspire for board seats for greater diversity.

Making a Difference in MICE Cebu

10417651_10152616926567415_7993313962092797639_nAugust 23 and 24. Frenzied, fun and fulfilling is how I would characterize the past two days I’ve spent in the company of Philippine M.I.C.E. Academy colleagues Tinette Capistrano of Primetrade Asia, Inc., Marisa Nallana of PETCO, Jing Lagandaoan of Globallink MP, Anton Magpantay of Creatif Foire PRO, Joel Pascual of PEP Group and Sonia Sayaman of ATN.  Teaching has always been a passion of mine, and so three years ago, I joined industry friends in setting up the Philippine Meetings, Incentive, Travel, Conventions, Exhibitions/Events (M.I.C.E.) Academy.

Envisioned to be the training arm of the Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers (PACEOS), the Academy is meant to answer the need for continuing education to upgrade the quality, competence, and excellence of M.I.C.E. professionals and practitioners in their delivery of tourism and trade services and to make them globally competitive.  Who best to provide industry practitioners better knowledge, updated techniques, and latest trends in M.I.C.E. than those in the trenches, like us?  The problem is getting all these super busy individuals to pry themselves away from their events to actually get to teach.

And so it was almost a miracle that everyone’s schedule converged for last weekend’s Event Management 101 Workshop for the Cebu Association of Tour Operators (CATO).  Under the able leadership of its president Marget Villarica who sits with me on the Tourism Promotions Board, and its VP and project lead Alice Queblatin, CATO had applied for a training grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The workshop was designed to help CATO members learn how to plan, organize, promote, manage and evaluate conferences, exhibitions and events; identify and form strategic partnerships with customers, suppliers, sponsors and other events organizers; know current global trends and marketing approaches in the M.I.C.E. industry; learn how to prepare bid proposals for international conferences and meetings; and develop competitive and winning incentive travel packages.

CATO opened up the workshop to their partners in the industry, and so we had 80 participants, consisting of tour operators, hotel and resort sales executives, a sprinkling of MICE professors and students, tourism promotion officers, tour guides and event organizers.  I was surprised to see amongst the participants the famous Patricio Primor, Jr., better known as Junjet.  The artistic force behind most of Cebu’s major event productions, Junjet I felt strongly should actually be one of the trainers.  Representatives from the Department of Tourism and ADB sat in to evaluate the workshop.

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Our group of trainers.

Despite their hectic schedules, the trainers readily agreed to spend their precious weekend and rest time to travel to Cebu for the workshop.   All seasoned industry experts, the trainers shared their knowledge and best practices, drawing on their vast experience in organizing MICE events. A quick survey showed we had at least 150 years of consolidated MICE experience represented in the room. Joining the Academy trainers were Raquel Tria of the Tourism Promotions Board, Clang Garcia of Jeepney Tours, and Albert Lafuente of Shangri-La’s Mactan Hotel and Resort.  And because we were all busy with our own events and companies, we all had a big laugh when we realized that we had crammed preparing the slides the night before.

Most of the trainers traveled to Cebu Friday.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t join them because TeamAsia was organizing Globe’s Digital Lifestyle Expo at the SM Megamall Fashion Hall Friday night.  While waiting for the event to begin, I hurried over to Forever 21 to get a white t-shirt for the second day of the workshop.  The Academy had decided to liven up the workshop by asking the participants to dress up according to the day’s theme.  Day One’s theme was beach wear, while Day Two was all white shirts which we would ask the participants to color as an icebreaker and networking activity.

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The stragglers arrive at the Cebu airport to a VIP welcome.

Going home late Friday night, I agonized over what beach wear to don, given that I was going to teach.  I can’t really wear a swimsuit on stage, right?  With very little time to plan my wardrobe, I quickly threw a few things in my bag, hoped for the best, and started working on my slides for the next day.   I noticed Joel’s post on FB wearing the welcome lei he got at the airport.  I was jealous, but happy to get my own lei when I arrived at the airport Saturday morning with Raquel and Anton.  Cheap thrills to be treated like a VIP at the airport!

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Presentation 101: Surprise your audience.

Operations Management was my assigned topic for Day One.  How to keep audience interest in the early afternoon with such a boring, yet important and incredibly detailed brass tacks topic?   Inspiration hit me just as I took the stage.  I decided to remove my huge overshirt to reveal a modest tank top and sarong underneath.  Presentation 101 technique: surprise your audience with a mini strip tease.  Now that worked like magic!  And quick-witted Sonia snapped up some photos too.

By the end of the day, we were all tired from serious teaching.  With a few minutes to spare, we took out mobile phone cams and decided to have our photos taken in fun.  A serious photographer (who had an all access pass at the recent Bench underwear show and lots of stories to tell), Joel gave us some tips on how to emphasize our curves for photo shoots.  I am too embarrassed to include my shots here, and will just keep them for my future grandchildren to know that their lola was once a hottie (borrowing Coke’s term).

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Dinner at Lemon Grass

After hamming it up for the cameras, we hurried over to the Redemptorist Church to attend the anticipated mass, and then went to Ayala Mall to buy white t-shirts, coloring pens, stickers and sparkles for the next day’s fellowship activity.  Dinner was at Lemon Grass, which sadly did not have the strong Thai flavors I was looking forward to.  But the camaraderie more than made up for the food.  Still wired up, we ended up at the Marco Polo Lobby Lounge for a nightcap, which was accompanied by a lot of ribbing and teasing about dating and relationships at our age.  After all, we were all single people sans Jing who had to fly back to Manila, and some of us, beginning anew to relearn skills long lost.

The second day of the workshop had the participants preparing their pitches for their assigned events, and dreaming up the most creative incentive packages that would put Cebu in the limelight and attract tourists and investments.  In between learning sessions, we all had fun writing messages and drawing on each other’s white shirts, forging friendships in the process.

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Scenes from the workshop: group discussion, Marget receiving our Events Planning Guide, certficates, the winning team with Junjet at the helm, and ramp of colorful shirts.

From fiestas to conferences to sports events and concerts, the participants gamely defended their proposals for events and incentive packages to the panel of discriminating judges.  Several of the presentations were gems, but one group shone brightly. No surprise that it was Junjet’s group that bagged the best presentation for both the event and incentive package.   Come to think of it, the fact that Junjet stayed for the entire two days and participated wholeheartedly and actively was the best measure for the success of the workshop.

The participants obviously enjoyed the learning opportunity tremendously, with many coming up to us with words of appreciation and the inevitable request for a photo souvenir.   It was truly a rewarding experience not just for the participants, but more for us trainers.  I really believe that the more you share, the more you get in return.  Circle of life.

Image (3)During the awarding of certificates, I learned from Tinette that we had to wear the CATO shirt we were given earlier for the group photo, so I rushed back to the room to put it on.  Arriving back at the venue, I heard everyone laughing only to realize that they had been looking for me to say a few final words to close the workshop, and bubbly Alice had said that Monette was probably still undressing.  Will I ever live down my new reputation?

At the airport, we were told that we could not hand carry the Cebu chorizos we were given, so Marisa and Anton put their loot into my check-in luggage.  I was glad for Anton’s company on the Tiger Air plane ride back to Manila.  Highly claustrophobic, I worried if I could get through the hour long flight without screaming.  Anton offered to exchange places so that I could have the window seat.  We started talking about work, clients, family and life, and soon I had forgotten about the cramped space.  Anton is an amazing person, kind to a fault, highly accomplished and driven yet very low-key.  Another hero from this industry to look up to, and one I am glad to call a friend.

It was funny, but Anton’s first question was, “How long were you a nun?” I was taken aback only to realize that Anton didn’t know me as long as the others did and only picked up from the ribbing that had taken place in the past two days.  The new Monette had emerged, they teased.  Who once was a formal, reserved individual (aka madre) was now a daring individual, doing things they never would have imagined me to do.  I guess my shirt said it all.

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Today’s Hard Hat, Sneak Peek Experience

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Fresh before the tour.

My interest was piqued by Marriott’s invitation to join today’s hard hat tour of their Grand Ballroom. Reported to be the largest pillar-less ballroom in the Philippines, this was going to be a most sought after venue, and I was excited to see it.

According to Bruce Winton, general manager of Marriot Hotel Manila, the Grand Ballroom would fit 2,500 people seated for a banquet or 4,500 guests for a performance or concert.  With 20 meeting rooms and state of the art equipment, it would be perfect for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions/special events (M.I.C.E.) events. I was surprised to learn that several weddings have already been booked there, well in advance of its slated March 15, 2015 opening.

IMG_2106Together with industry stalwarts from the travel and tours industry (Felise of T.R.I.P.S. Travel, Kristine of Shroff and Joanna of Rajah Tours) and accompanied by Arangkada Philippines’ John Forbes, we donned hard hats and masks to enter the site where construction was in full swing. Dust swirled about us and sparks flew from soldering equipment as we carefully navigated the site, avoiding metallic sheets being carried and gingerly stepping over heavy wires on the floor.  Everywhere we went, work hummed as busy-bee construction crew raced to meet the deadline.

IMG_2111Amazed at the massive high-ceiling ballroom on the second floor, we noted six sky boxes on the fourth floor overlooking the ballroom. Equipped with their own private toilets, these sky boxes could each fit 12 guests. Imagine having your own private party with special guests enjoying a concert from way up there.

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The foyer.

Lights would be retractable, according to JP Gutierrez, senior sales manager for MICE at Marriott Hotel Manila, who kindly toured us around.  Catwalks marked the divisions where the ballroom could be divided into four smaller 700 sqm ballrooms.  My imagination was in full swing thinking of all the events that could take place there, from international conferences and exhibitions to concerts, and social gatherings. Finally, Manila would have a fitting venue for large scale employee engagement events!

Outside the ballroom, a large hallway ran the length of the structure… a massive pre-function area for exhibits, cocktails, pocket events, and the like.   Looking through the floor length glass windows, you could see Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

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Lower lobby

On either end were two smaller functions rooms that could accommodate up to 200 guests, perfect for weddings and social events. East and West, they were called. Parking would be a breeze with three parking levels available.  On the ground floor, three restaurants would cater to the needs of exhibitors and organizers. Marriott Hotel Manila however, would be the sole caterer for dining requirements in the function rooms, but with the delicious repast we just had, that seemed just right.

IMG_2127Dusty and hot from our hard hat experience, we went back to Marriot Hotel Manila, to be pampered with cold towels and cold refreshing water.  Now, if only my fairy godmother could wave her wand and fast track the opening to February, John and I would be grinning like Cheshire cats.

Here’s a YouTube video from the Marriott Manila channel for a “Grand Sneak Peek” on things to come http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bTJHva_mdI.

Pretty nifty, right?