The Philippine Tatler Ball is by far the most prestigious event of the year and it is definitely the most difficult to penetrate no matter how much one is willing to donate or, at times, even gatecrash. After a three-year break, managing director Irene Martel Francisco was able to pull it off once again, albeit with a smaller guest list of 280 persons compared to the past that hosted a bigger crowd of 450-480. As Irene explained, “It’s a night of relevance and purpose, elegant and glamorous, but not over the top. In the interest of safety, we wanted to have a smaller number of people and invited those we featured in our magazines, those who made a difference and whom we dealt with in the last three years or so.”
It took five months to meticulously plan the affair for Irene, Anton San Diego, Steffanie Genato, Isabel and Dowee Untivero and the Tatler team to refine all the steps ensuring that the evening would go smoothly.
Refined taste and flair were the bywords of the evening with top Philippine designers dressing their muses and clients, proving that the Filipina is definitely one of the most stylish women in the world.
The Philippine Tatler awardees were:
• Cultural Icon Awardee Ronald Ventura, in recognition of his art that is sought after by international collectors and the high prices he commands in the Southeast Asian field.
• Impact Awardee Kara Magsanoc Alikpala, who wears many hats but makes a difference by being the founder of I Can Serve, a breast cancer survivor group that helps afflicted women with early detection, treatments and community programs.
• Diamond Awardee and well-known businessman/philanthropist Ramon Ang, whose sense of duty is improving the future, valuing people and prioritizing the Filipino and the Philippines.
• Since a college degree in a low-income family can make a difference in securing a better-paying job, the beneficiary of the evening was U-Go Philippines headed by Mariana Zobel de Ayala and U-Go Global founder John Wood. As of this writing, donations have reached P40,380,000 with more coming in; surpassing the original goal of P8 million thereby ensuring an education for 1,000 deserving Filipinas.
The evening ended with a boisterous bang as Bituin Escalante enchanted the well-heeled crowd with her Tina Turner hits that had everyone on the dance floor till the wee hours of the morning.
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Philippine Tatler’s lead partners: Tiffany & Co and The Estate. Supporting partners: Belo Beauty, HSBC Premier and Mercedes Benz.