The Russians are coming

Sofitel Philippine Plaza Marketing director Rose Libongco had just come back from Moscow where she took part in promoting hotel Sofitel and the Philippines at Russia’s biggest and most prestigious tourism fair for the winter market. The number of Russian tourists coming to the Philippines is expected to double this year especially with the 21-day visa-free arrangement given to Russian passport holders.

Naturally, one of the favorite hotels not only among Russian tourists is Sofitel and for so many reasons. For one, the five star luxury hotel offers a unique resort setting that is still conveniently located within the city. The hotel was pretty much run down a couple of years ago but now it has been restored to its luxury 5-star hotel category. Credit undoubtedly goes to Sofitel general manager Bernd Schneider who has done a fantastic job with the changes he instituted, with renovations reportedly costing around P2 billion. Virtually everything about the hotel – from the rooms, the service, the staff and the view from the garden pool area has been receiving earnest praise from guests.

The flagship restaurant Spiral has become one of the favorite dining places for both locals and tourists. In fact, it is always filled whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner because of the delectable international dishes offered in the buffet stations – which is why those who have dined at the Spiral restaurant keep coming back. A lot of events are also held now at the hotel due to it spacious function rooms equipped with the latest equipment and technology including wi-fi. It even has a huge tent overlooking the sea which can fit up to 2,000 participants for outdoor events. 

Obviously, Sofitel has one of the best locations due to its accessibility from the international airport, and is just a few minutes away from the SM Mall of Asia, one of the largest shopping malls in the world. It’s really no surprise therefore why the former Westin Philippine Plaza has become a top choice for tourists and most especially for Russians – that’s why they keep coming back.

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‘Chiz whiz’ – Serge Osmeña jumped ship!

Chiz Escudero celebrated his 40th birthday last Saturday without the expected announcement of his presidential bid for 2010. The young politician is playing his cards smartly by deferring his declaration and saying the focus should be on helping the victims of Ondoy and Pepeng, although there are very clear indications that he will be the standard bearer of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

But the momentum for Chiz was slightly marred when his campaign manager, former Senator Serge Osmeña, jumped ship and joined the camp of Noynoy Aquino. Serge had been with Chiz from the onset helping plan the campaign strategy, and the young senator was very disappointed, to say the least, when he junked the NPC whiz kid for an up-and-coming star from the Liberal Party. Despite this slight snag, Chiz says he will get a better, more experienced campaign manager.

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‘Peninsulares’ appalled at Villar ad

By the way, there are reports that Senator Ed Angara is brokering for Loren Legarda to join the Nacionalista camp of Manny Villar to be his vice presidential candidate. Things, however, are still very volatile in the political scene at the moment so you can expect more “surprises” to happen in the next few weeks.

Speaking of Manny Villar – somebody ought to tell his campaign ad makers that the “indelicate” Spanish term in one of his ads does not sit well with many people especially the Peninsulares. And we’re referring to the campaign ad that goes “akala mo coño yun pala laking Tondo…”

Some kids use “coño” as a negative term to describe bratty and spoiled Spanish mestizos and their ignorance is understandable for some people. But Manny should tell off his ad makers for their ignorance in using “coño” because the term has reference to what the French call “organes sexuels femelles” – and I’m sure you can figure that out.

Talking about Peninsulares, yesterday was Spain’s National Day or the Dia de la Hispanidad. Spanish Ambassador Luis Arias texted me that there will be more help coming from Spain for the victims of Ondoy and Pepeng especially those living in Pangasinan where the influences of Spain continues to thrive in many towns as seen in the numerous churches all over the province. An additional P140 million or E2.5 million (euros) in cash is being donated, plus a planeload of relief goods from Spain is due to arrive this week – information that was also transmitted to Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

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Information overload

So many people have been sending us all kinds of stories that we’re now having an information overload. It would be a pity to miss out on those items – many of which are very useful and interesting to our readers – which is why we will be featuring shorter column items for easy reading.

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