THE denizens (especially from the bejeweled and peroxide dyed fraternity) of the swanky gated enclaves of Forbes Park and Dasmarinas Village in the most salubrious corner of Makati were besides themselves with excitement this past week when word went around that the world?s greatest pound-to-pound boxer was house hunting in their midst.
Awash with dollars after his mauling of the best (Ricky Hatton, in case you?d forgotten) that British boxing could offer?though even the sporting Brits do admit in their reflective moments that British boxers are usually born in the horizontal position?national idol Manny Pacquiao has been shopping for real estate in Forbes and Dasma where is sited some of the most desirable and expensive residential properties in the Philippines, several of which are now on the market in the light of the current gloomy economic climate.
Wealth in the Philippines can be classified into three categories? old, new and stolen. And it seems that even the rich and famous (and, indeed, infamous) who inhabit these villages are not immune from the ravages of the global economic meltdown?not to mention the imploring demands of their restive bank managers. We know of one poor fellow in Forbes Park who is now down to his last two houses.
But back to Pacquiao, who is believed to have looked at several properties in the two villages before casting more than an interested eye on a sprawling spread in Dasma-rinas that used to belong to someone from a pawnbroking clan.
However, before titillated Dasma residents start hanging up balloons and ribbons to welcome the new and wildly famous resident, we should point out that the sale might not have pushed through because the last we heard the said property had been bought by an Indian gentleman?proving that in these hard times the 5/6 business might well be more lucrative than the boxing ring! Though informed sources tell us that the Indian buyer may have offered to re-sell the house to Pacquiao.
Apart from his mansions in Los Angeles and General Santos City, Pacquiao also has a house in Brentville in Laguna where his children attend the neigh-boring Brent School.
Moving the whole family to Forbes Park or Dasmarinas Village should be no great inconvenience as far as the schooling of his kids go since a Brent school bus is a regular fixture in the streets of the two villages picking up students in the morning and depositing them back in the evening.
Incidentally, should a sale in Dasmarinas Village be eventually realized Pacquiao will find himself in discerning company since several diplomatic residences of foreign ambassadors are located in that area.
And for sure the socially savvy ambassadors will be more than happy to have Pacquiao as a near neighbor considering that 22 of them, at very short notice, cleared their diaries and headed to the Corinthian Garden residence of Deputy National Security Adviser Chavit Singson on a recent evening to attend a victory dinner that Singson, a close friend and confidant of the world boxing champ, hosted for him following his demolishing of Hatton.
All the ambassadors gleefully admitted to Singson that meeting and pressing the flesh with Pacquiao was one of the more memorable occasions of their tour of duty thus far in the Philippines.
Still on the diplomatic front, we should point out that the hurried exit of popular British Ambassador Peter Beckingham from the Philippines the moment Hatton?s head hit the canvas was purely co-incidental since it was an overseas business trip that had been planned several weeks earlier.
In fact, Peter and his wife Jill met Pacquiao at a previous dinner hosted by Chavit Singson to mark the victory over Oscar de la Hoya. And the proud boast of the Beckinghams is that a picture of them with the Filipino sporting idol has pride of place in their Forbes Park residence?alongside that of Queen Elizabeth II, of course.
For the record, the British Ambassador was represented at the latest post-Hatton victory dinner for Pacquiao by his deputy Colin Crorkin who came suitably attired in black which is the traditional color of mourning in Britain.
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IT?S been well nigh impossible of late to get any sighting of the so called whistle-blower Jun Lozada without a cordon of stern nuns in forbidding white habits and packing rosaries providing him security.
So diners at the UCC eatery in Fort Bonifacio a day or two ago were extremely surprised to see Lozada seated at a table with a couple of chums eating and drinking without seemingly a care in the world. But, more importantly, without anyone representing Holy Orders within sight.
The happy and contented scene at Lozada?s table prompted customers at several other tables to therefore wonder whether the well-publicized scenario of Lozada being constantly surrounded by a pack of nuns was just for public consumption.
One person dining at a nearby table even went further, loudly exclaiming within earshot of several tables: ?How hypocritical.?
