An 'Imperial' blessing

MANILA, Philippines - The affair last Monday, Feb. 6, was not intended to be a blessing of Regal Matriarch Mother Lily’s new “baby,” the Imperial Hotel & Resort in Barangay Tulo, Taal, Batangas.

According to Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos, the guest of honor who cut the ceremonial ribbon, she asked Mother Lily if she could use the resort for a meeting with more than 70 soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Mother Lily said, “Why not?”

“It turned out that Mother had another idea in mind,” related Vilma. “She wanted to take advantage of the occasion and push through with the blessing that is delayed for one year and a half. So I reset my meeting with the AFP.”

The hotel/resort is located at a cozy area of Barangay Tulo. It has a condo building three villas, a swimming surrounded by playground for kids, a social hall, a spa and other amenities. It’s built around coconut trees — “Not one tree was cut,” assured Mother Lily who saw the place (a coconut groove) during the shooting of a Regal movie there. It was Taal Vice Mayor Pong Mercado, who once worked with Regal, who negotiated the sale of the place.

That’s where Mother Lily spends weekends, her “little paradise” so near yet so far from Manila. The hotel/resort is open to the public at affordable rates. (Call Mother Lily’s assistant Lalaine Villavicencio for details at 0922-7772710.)

Here’s Mother Lily’s speech:

Good morning!

What inspired me to give birth to this baby? Of course, one big factor is my admiration for Gov. Vi’s accomplishments in Batangas.

Ito po ay hindi sipsip. I’ve known her since she was young. She is like a daughter to me. Our relationship goes beyond business and profession.

Taal Imperial Hotel & Resort is here today as a testament to the kind of friendship Gov. Vi and Mother Lily have built through the years.

I would like to thank Vice Mayor Pong Mercado for all the help and support he has given me and my staff.

Lastly, I would like to thank my friends, family and members of the entertainment press who came all the way from Manila to be with Mother Lily.

I hope you enjoy your stay and promise, this won’t be our last. God bless Taal Imperial Hotel & Resort, God bless Gov. Vi, God bless Mother Lily, God bless everybody!

In her response, Gov. Vi acknowledged the presence of Marichu “Manay Ichu” Maceda, “who is like a second mother to me.”