Ber-na

It seems that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Berna Romulo-Puyat has seeped into the Filipino psyche (or perhaps more into the local business psyche for now) as one of the early harbingers of the Philippine Christmas season, alongside Jose Mari Chan and his Christmas ditty.

At the start of this month, my fellow business columnist Ron Jabal posted a lovely photo of the BSP official on his Facebook page with an intriguing comment of “Time flies! (Wykyk).”

Of course, a lot of his friends and followers, including me, were initially intrigued about what new gossip may be swirling around Berna, and if she was being elevated to a new position, particularly since she has had a stellar rise in the government over the past couple of years.

From initially starting as a consultant  with the  Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council  from 2001 to 2002, and then moving on similarly as a consultant to the Presidential Management Staff from 2005 to 2006, Berna quietly but efficiently climbed the government ladder.

From her PMS post, Berna easily transitioned in 2006 to become the Deputy Cabinet Secretary at the Office of the President and after a year, she was appointed as  Agriculture Undersecretary – a post she held from 2007 to 2018.

She finally reached the Cabinet Secretary level when she was appointed by former president Rodrigo Duterte as head of the Department of Tourism, a post she held from 2018 to 2022.

Without missing a beat, Berna – who actually holds a degree in economics – was subsequently appointed as a deputy governor of the BSP, overseeing financial inclusion, regional operations, and the BSP’s Program Management Office.

Thus, we were all wondering if there was some new Cabinet reshuffle.

Gradually, however, it dawned on most of us that with the start of the long Philippine Christmas holiday season upon the start of the ber-months, Ron’s message was a plain and simple Ber-na!

So, for you who are not in the know, a photo of Berna, very much like the photo of Jose Mari Chan that starts popping up when September rolls in– is now a clear indication that the four-month-long Christmas season in the Philippines is starting.

And indeed, the malls are now decked with twinkling holiday lights and Christmas decors, although the Christmas tree lighting festivities will come a bit later when the official start of the Christmas holidays -- after the raucous ghouly parties on Oct. 31 – are held.

With all that has been going on lately – the month-long rains that resulted in widespread flooding and renewed criticisms about flood control projects and other major projects that may be contributing to the massive flooding and almost day-long stranding of vehicles  along the North Luzon Expressway – coupled with our own political circus over the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, and further complicated by geopolitical events that has caused oil prices to rise – we all need perking up.

My daily exercise walks around the malls in the metro raises my spirits even as I am horrified when I occasionally attempt to look at an item of fancy and see the four to five figure price tag attached to the piece of clothing.

Jesus, my Lord! The price is equivalent to the pay of a good household help nowadays. I would rather pay that price to keep my hard-working household help than indulge in an item I will dispose of after it gets worn out.

A recent supermarket run for a couple of imported items in preparation for the Christmas holiday and hoping to avoid the almost sure mark-up of such items, resulted in a pitiful basket of ingredients that cost me what in the past would have been equivalent to the value of a cartful of groceries perhaps 10 years ago.

Greenbelt 5 redevelopment brings back luxury

I have to give it to Mariana Zobel that the redevelopment of Greenbelt 5, portions of which are now slowly being unveiled, is bringing luxury back to Ayala Malls, especially since it is now facing formidable competition from SM’s Mall of Asia and Aura mall in Taguig.

I had previously written that I was impressed that Hermes, which has stayed in Greenbelt 5, is now venturing out to MOA with a small boutique beside the Massimo Dutti shop on the second floor level – a move that says volume about the shopping clout of MOA where other luxury brands that used to keep to Makati have now migrated to the hoi poloi Manila-Pasay area.

Perhaps, Ayala Land realizes that premium development is its forte and that simply going head to head with SM malls is not the appropriate competitive approach even in a more difficult consumer market.

It has to be noted that with foreign travel now truly a privilege for the rich – what with the eye-watering cost of airline travel – the next best thing for Filipinos is to spend a couple of hours at a richly-scented, marble floored, glass-enclosed connecting corridors, and even a open-aired bridge-walkway at Greenbelt 5, with a tempting array of restaurants that open out to the open space to view who’s who.

SM has already adopted the scent-enhanced shopping experience in its Aura mall and has even upgraded its grocery options at its SM Supermarket, which is patronized by the tenants of several high-end Ayala Land development in the area.

In comparison, Ayala Land’s Market! Market! is having an existential crisis as development plans remain clouded by the forthcoming re-development plans of the BCDA for the property, which is intended to become a transport hub and will also connect to the ongoing subway project.