Wed at elegant afternoon rites in the Cebu Cathedral were John Cunanan and Ays Randrup, who met and fell in love in Singapore where they have their respective jobs. They chose Cebu for their wedding as John has a number of kin here.
He is the son of Jose Cunanan Jr. and Merle Padilla Cunanan, who used to head the regional office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ays is the daughter of August and Lenorre Randrup, of Dutch ancestry.
Officiating the nuptial Mass were John’s uncles: Archbishop Osvaldo Padilla, papal nuncio to Korea; and Archbishop Francisco Padilla, papal nuncio to Tanzania, where he recently survived a bombing.
The Padilla brothers are two of only four Filipino nuncios in the Vatican’s diplomatic service. The others are Archbishops Adolfo Tita Yllana (Congo) and Bernardito Auza (Haiti). All of them took up their theological studies at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
Principal sponsors were close family friends and relations such as Ambassador Francisco Benedicto and Anita Yu Sanchez; Honorary Consul of Belgium Enrique Benedicto and his wife Helena; Roy Emil Yu and Cielo Mierkiewicz; Herbert Tubia and John’s aunt Aida Padilla; Roberto Palmares and Rufina Tanchan; Dr. Silverio and Dr. Rosario Ceniza; Lorenzo Padilla and Jane Padilla Ayaay.
The bride was attended by matron of honor Eleanor Barbra Bascon and maid of honor Elaine Gay Randrup, while John had two best men, Justin Anton Sevilla and Mark Anthony Vasquez.
Also in the bridal entourage were bridesmaids Diovie Ann Arcilla and Chanel Marie Randrup, groomsman Joseph Gilbert Madera, flower girl Leillianne Randrup, and the pages: Joshua Abad, Clark Michael Randrup and Joseph Padilla bearing the rings, coins and Bible, respectively.
Serving as secondary sponsors were Mark Ronald and Jaimee Therese Samonte for the candle; Michael and Isabel Kintanar, veil; Florante and Emily Abad, cord.
To celebrate the happy occasion, there was a reception at the Casino Español de Cebu. Cocktails were served at the foyer, followed by dinner at the main ballroom, Salon de España.
John and Ays made a grand entrance to great applause, danced a waltz, and proceeded to slice out a slab from the wedding cake before settling down at a special table on a raised dais.
Dinner was served and while desserts were passed around, the newlyweds went table-hopping to collect good wishes and pose for photos. They will make their home in Singapore.
Santacruzan
Two days later, the Casino Español ballroom was once more “en fete” for another grand occasion. The Quota Club International held its annual traditional Santacruzan with a procession from the nearby Sacred Heart Parish, winding up at the casino.
Welcoming all were Quota Cebu president Victoria Calderon, Santacruzan 2013 chair and president-elect Elisa Estenzo Torres, district governor Connie Mapeso Garcia, district secretary/treasurer Maria Dee del Rosario, VP Angie Divinagracia, secretary Myrna Quisumbing, treasurer Elsa Lucero Yared and past president Loreta Calderon who joined the club when it was chartered in Cebu in 1977.
Crowned Reina Emperatriz was Maria Teresa Guevara Taylor who lives in Arlington, Virginia, US, by her predecessor Evelyn del Rosario, VP of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.
Past president Maria Luisa Veloso was this year’s Reina Elena, with Matt Jacob Balankig as the Emperador Constantino. Also crowned in the ceremonies were the following:
Sophie Nouel Tan, Reina del Santacruzan; Anna Rita de la Torrie, Reina de las Flores; Rhenelyn Cahntahvysouk, Reina de los Angeles; and Rouela Turno, Reina del Cielo.
There was a royal dance for all the participants, and there was dancing for everyone else after that. This year’s Quota Santacruzan was smaller than those of other years, it being an election year.
The Quotarians intend to make it bigger next year. The annual Santacruzan helps raise funds for the club’s various civic concerns, one of them involving hearing-impaired children.
The Quotarians also maintain several daycare centers in Cebu City which also serve to give the children their first lessons in reading and writing. They are grateful to their benefactors, foremost among them Jonathan and Jenny Go of Dunkin’ Donuts in Cebu, who were present on this occasion.
A random enumeration of Quotarians present at the Santacruzan gives us Lillian Patalinghug, Antonietta Fuentes, Magdalena Romero, Corazaon Po, Christine Yu, Evelyn Ramirez, Merinisa Arinasa, Angelina Villareal, Cristina Balankig and Aida Castro.
More: Lourdes Garcia who sat at one of the presidential tables, Araceli Mercado, Jessamyn Villamor, Vivian Librando, Marie Esparcia, Niema Fuentes and Cheryl Ligutom, president of the Quota Club of Metro Cebu.
CIS JS Prom
The Cebu International School (CIS) held its Juniors-Seniors Prom at the Santa Maria Ballroom of the Radisson Blu Hotel with a James Bond 007 theme. That had the CIS band playing the theme from “Skyfall,” the latest Bond saga, during the program.
Grade 11 and Grade 12 students made their entrance with their escorts as Jennifed Basa, faculty member, welcomed one and all. A ceremonial candle was lit to symbolize the passing of the flame of leadership.
The Key of Responsibility was handed by Student Council representatives Lieve Faye Aurelio and Kharyma Gonzaga of Grade 12 to Jade Kosbergen and Julie Park of Grade 11.
Awards were presented to Erick Kim and Lieve Faye Aurelio, prom king and queen; Jey Mondarte and Sunny Park, prom prince and princess; Ki Jun Park and Kharyma Gonzaga, best dressed students; Robert Barry and Annabel Mabunay, best dressed teachers.