My heart is filled with gratitude and overwhelming happiness. The Red Charity Gala (RCG) last night had the highest number of attendees, all of whom actively participated in the live auction for our beneficiaries—the Philippine Red Cross and Assumption HS 81 Foundation.

As RCG has grown over the past nine years, cochair Kaye Tiñga and I have had to find ways to accommodate the growing number of generous sponsors who want to contribute. Last week, we hosted a special tea affair as a pre-event, held at Club Dusit at the top floor of Dusit Thani Manila. Over tea, Cupcakes by Sonja and Auro Chocolates, we feted the ladies who have supported RCG over the years.

The afternoon tea included a display of W/17 and Ann Ong, as well as the latest collection of Royal Gem, all elegantly displayed for the guests to try and shop for early Christmas gifts.

Facets and settings

Merrill Gaisano, owner of Royal Gem, was present to explain the different facets and settings of the jewelry pieces. Everyone went home with special gifts. We are grateful to Royal Gem for its continued support as auction donor.

The RCG pre-event also allowed us to introduce the ladies to Tasha Rodriguez, associate ambassador of Usana, who talked about its new Celavive skincare line. The products were well received and the guests were excited to try the samples given to them.

For several years now, Sun Life Financial has been one of RCG’s major sponsors. As one of its endorsers, I participate at some of Sun Life’s wellness events. Jaymie Pizarro of Sun Life GoWell joined us at Club Dusit and invited me to its CyclePh bike event on Nov. 18. This is open to the public and will be highlighted by actor Piolo Pascual on his road bike.

Sun Life has been aggressively promoting interesting programs for the benefit of its clients. The most recent was a client forum organized by Sun Life Asset Management Company. The wealth management experts who spoke at the forum encouraged investors to diversify their portfolios and continue pursuing their financial goals by taking advantage of available opportunities.

Investment advice

According to Andrew Gan, managing director of Beacon Holdings, rebalancing one’s portfolio with the help of a financial advisor is the key action to take amid concern about world events.

“Some key themes to invest on are digital disruption, e-commerce and related infrastructure, global consumer, new china, health span versus life span, rising rates, lower oil prices, geopolitical risks and global growth,” he said. “Diversify to capture opportunities, manage risk by controlling the downside and protect yourself against mistakes.”

Viktor Shvets, head of Asian strategy at Macquarie Capital Securities, likewise advised on ignoring the “small waves,” such as issues with China and North Korea.

“Don’t dwell on things you don’t have control over,” he said. “Invest, and when you see that markets are starting to go up, have a passive fund, and entrust your money to professional fund managers.”

Also present was Michael Manuel, chief market development officer of Sun Life Financial Philippines. He stressed that the  Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index (PSEi), gross domestic product and earnings are positively correlated. “When one goes up, the others tend to follow,” he explained. “The PSEi movement takes its cue on the growth of the economy.”

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Lucky Friday the 13th

Last Friday the 13th was a lucky day at the Assumption HS Batch 81’s Pop-Up Bazaar. Over 35 merchants sold interesting and personalized products at what must be one of the most posh locations to host a bazaar, the Swatch Building on Arnaiz Avenue, Makati.

Swatch grand dame Virgie Ramos was happy to support the Assumption HS Batch 81 Foundation by allowing us to use the building. Lots of customers swarmed the merchants and the event was a resounding success!

Some of the merchants at the Pop-Up Bazaar were The Moroccan Enterprise, Flamingo Bros., Three Perspectives, Good Luck Humans, Skylucks Boutique, Nueve, Greenergy, Mich Araullo, Kala Textyle Connexions, Milky Way, Bananarama, KnK Personal Store, Name On Print, Hydration Nation, So True Naturals, Whim, Bagets, Kitchen Mommies, Saco, Aware & Present, Real Girl Toy Kitchen, Ann Ong, Tim Tam Ong, Jeanne’s Plants and Pop’s Home. Swatch also participated by offering special deals, including buy-one, take-one on some Swatch models.

Over at the Shangri-La at The Fort, the main venue for RCG, a stunning Volvo S60 was on display at the hotel lobby. Albert Arcilla of Volvo Philippines generously sponsored the gala this year. One of the perks of being RCG cochair is that I got to be driven to the event in a chauffeured Volvo, along with my hubby Dennis.

I’ll write more about RCG when I’ve had the chance to recover from the buzz. For now, a special note of thanks to Cindy Yeung of Emperor Watch and Jewelry, who donated for the auction our most valuable item this year, a beautiful diamond and sapphire necklace.

Wash SyCip, 96

In closing, let me reminisce about Washington SyCip, a management guru and one of the most charitable men I have ever met. I remember many occasions when I had the chance to visit his office in the SGV Building and admire his collection of turtles, which he treasured for their longevity.

In that sense, Wash at 96 had much to share with his collection, including the wisdom and sure-footedness that the animal is renowned to have.

Over the years, I have also had the good fortune to meet many of the people who, along with Wash, helped SGV & Co. grow into the accounting giant that it is today. Among these are Fred Velayo and Bobby Ongpin, who are the grandfather and uncle, respectively, of my hubby Dennis, as well as the firm’s former managing partners, Gloria Tan-Climaco, who was a ninang when we got married, and Cesar Purisima, who is a fellow alum of my hubby. It is they and the many more they have mentored that are Wash’s true legacy.

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