Coke-itis Part 2: I am not alone

Sometime ago, I got invited to take part in a small panel discussion for avid Coca-Cola collectors, where we could show our merchandise and share personal insights on the significance of our collections to Coca-Cola’s 100-year story in the Philippines. It was an informal roundtable discussion held at the social hall of The Coca-Cola Export Corporation Office in Makati, with no less than its president and GM Guillermo Aponte and public affairs and communications director Atty. Adel Tamano (also a Philippine STAR columnist) dropping in to join the lively discussion.

How Coca-Cola Philippines, which organized the meeting through its agency Ogilvy Public Relations, got wind of my “affliction” came about in a circuitous way. I wanted to expedite an application for a Coke cooler for our restaurant Bale Dutung in Angeles City (which I haven’t gotten as of this writing, ahem, ahem), and who better to ask than our ever-reliable Lifestyle editor Millet Mananquil? She gave me the number of Cat Avelino, Coca-Cola’s corporate communications director in the Philippines. Anyway, a few days after having spoken with Cat, I received an e-mail from Ogilvy inviting me to join the said event.  I was hesitant at first as I barely qualify myself as a serious Coke collector with my meager finds so far. 

Seeing red: Midel Lacorte is a businessman from Lipa City, Batangas, who started collecting Coke memorabilia in 1992. He became fascinated with the art of die-casting Coke red toy cars. That started him collecting other Coke items. During the collectors’ event, he brought with him a red 1950 Chevrolet sedan die-cast toy car and pictures of his Coca-Cola memorabilia collection.

But attend I did, and boy, was I glad! Meeting the other five collectors and hearing their stories was like an affirmation of what I was doing. Di pala ako nag-iisa (I am not alone). Through the group, I found out there are more like us who share the same passion, and though there’s no formal Coca-Cola club in the country, they all belong to a Facebook group called Pinoy Coke Fanatics (PCF), with over 200 members. Sub-groups meet regularly once a month, swapping stories of their latest finds, trading in, or buying and selling from each other. They also open their houses to any member who wants to view their respective collections.

The day after the event, I was readily included in the PCF group: I got more than 20 posts from members welcoming me. Thank you, all, it feels like finding a second home.

Here are the stories of other Coke collectors in their own words:

Norman Lontoc, a businessman from Pasig City, started collecting Coke memorabilia in 1995: “From 1992 to 1998 I worked for Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. and every now and then some Coke merchandising materials would come our way. Being employees we felt an immediate attachment to the brand. We would keep these items as souvenirs and slowly but surely it started to build up. During a trip to Thailand, I noticed that the Coke packages there were different and brought some home again as keepsakes and I guess that’s how I started my collection. With every foreign trip I would bring some Coca-Cola items I found there home as mementos. With the explosion of social media and particularly Facebook, it has been easier to share my passion for collecting Coke items with relatives and friends, and soon I was receiving Coke pasalubong or gifts from them. It was also easier to connect with fellow collectors both here in the Philippines and abroad. I was added to a group called Pinoy Coke Fanatics a year ago by a co-collector friend and from then on we would meet around once a month to trade, buy or sell Coke items among ourselves. I would also trade with foreign Coke collectors who I met on Facebook. I have successfully traded with Coke collectors from Taiwan, Spain, South Korea, Malaysia and Argentina.

My most precious Coke memorabilia is a Coke bottle commemorating the July 29, 1981, the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. It was given to me by a friend. It’s quite a unique bottle with its shape and large re-sealable cap. It’s also a rare bottle that most collectors would want to have in their collection and I am also a Lady Diana fan.”

Marriage made in Coca-Cola collecting : Bong Estiva and Alyn Belizario from Biñan, Laguna, were collecting Coke items even before they were married, unaware of each other’s passion. It has grown since by leaps and bounds. The couple’s favorite Coke memorabilia is a toy airplane and Coca-Cola polar bear.

Joel Bulatao, a businessman and former Coke employee from Sta. Rosa, Laguna: “It is not by chance nor by choice that I became a Coca-Cola collector. It is by accident that I became one — literally — because I was involved in an accident inside a Coca-Cola manufacturing plant. A glass shard from the vial was extracted from my palm. It is not just an ordinary glass fragment. I have a special connection with it. I got it while I was on duty when I was still a quality control technician at the Calasiao Plant in Pangasinan. I could clearly remember the date — it was Labor Day, Wednesday, May 1, 1989, a special non-working legal holiday. I was assigned to work then, because bottling operations had to go on. I was taking a sample from the line for routine analysis, but my attention was diverted to this odd, freak bottle of Coca-Cola that managed to pass through a series of inspection posts and got filled and crowned. I ran to catch it on the conveyor but unfortunately, before I got it, I slipped on the wet bottling floor with the sample bottle on my left hand. The bottle shattered in my hand as I hit the floor. My determination prevailed, however, and I still managed to get up immediately to grab hold of this odd Coke bottle. I was rushed to the hospital and in the emergency room they cleaned and explored my hands to remove all the glass fragments that had found its way into my flesh. Since that incident, I became more cautious at work. My wound healed and I came back to work a week later. In 2002, after 13 long years, however, my left hand felt numb and I could hardly move it. Part of my wrist is swollen so I went to the doctor and they found out that there was a hard, solid foreign object in my palm, as revealed by an ultrasound as the x-ray cannot detect glass. They prepped me for a minor surgical operation immediately and took out this glass fragment that had lodged itself in my palm for 13 years. I was relieved after that operation, and I realized that nakaukit na pala sa palad ko and pagiging Coca-Cola collector ko!” The scars are still there from that surgical procedure and I developed a passion all the more to collect. Pinanindigan ko na and the rest is history. I am still collecting to date, not only because I adore and admire the best brand in the world but also because I believe that I have a deep-rooted personal experience with Coke. It brings much love and joy to me personally, to my family and friends who share my interest in doing it together. There’s no stopping me now. No way!”

Bong Estiva and Alyn Belizario from Biñan, Laguna, began collecting Coke memorabilia in 2000 and 2004, respectively, even before they were married. Alyn relates, “My collection started in late 1990s when Coca-Cola Philippines was then releasing Coke cans of different designs every Christmas. I had less than a dozen cans (one for each year). Bong and I were already a couple then but we didn’t know that we were both collecting. Bong had been casually collecting Coke memorabilia over the years. His family each has their own collection (i.e. cats, dice, chickens, sunflower designs, etc.). We only discovered our shared passion when we were preparing for our wedding in 2006. We combined our collection, starting with only one cabinet to keep them. But since then we’ve moved it to the living room, then to a room and right now we are moving to a (slightly) larger place. We do not focus on any specific item. As long as we like it and there was effort on how we got it, we love it (more!).  Our favorite items are the ones that have more details. We have a Coca-cola plane with a polar bear inside. The propeller works and the biplane sways from side to side with the polar bear waving. This one was given to us by a friend of Bong’s sister in the US (for free!) in mint condition and with the original box and price. Honestly, a couple of our favorites are the ones that took effort in procuring and those which did not cost us at all. It was given to us out of love. They enjoy seeing us giggling and excited. A major part of our collection came from gifts from relatives and friends. For Christmas or birthdays this is their default gift, something they know we will enjoy. Most of them are also (now) trained to distinguish the genuine from the ‘fake’ Coca-Cola brands.”