Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia celebrated her birthday at the Provincial Capitol’s social hall with a mass of thanksgiving concelebrated by Msgr. Roberto Alesna and Fr. Dan de los Angeles. There was much to thank for as Cebu’s first lady governor has marked eight years of brilliant leadership to make Cebu the No. 1 province in the country. As she says, “debt-free, and insurgency-free.”
Gilles Garachon, France’s new ambassador to the Philippines, made an official visit to Cebu with his wife Isabelle and their two sons, Valentin and Arthur. They stayed at the Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa.
A reception at the Manila Room of the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel marked the 64th anniversary celebration of the State of Israel. In attendance were Israel’s Ambassador Menashe Bar-on and his wife Mme. Esther Bar-on.
The Cebu Chapter of La Chaine des Rotisseurs marked its 18th anniversary with a grand gala held at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel. Presiding were Honorary Consul of France Michel Lhuillier, who heads La Chaine in the Philippines, and his wife Amparito Llamas Lhuillier, head of the Cebu chapter.
The Bank of the Philippine Islands has been in existence for 160 years, and is likely to continue its trajectory for two more centuries, at least. Its first branch in Cebu opened in 1924.