Distinctions

Philippine Ambassador to Chilé Ma. Consuelo Puyat drew the undivided attention of Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Escobar to the Philippine display of products and gift items at the Patio de los Naranjos of the Palacio de la Moneda. The occasion was an exhibit presented by the wives of the ambassadors, and opened by Chile’s First Lady, Doña Luisa Duran de Lagos.

Proceeds of the charity exhibit, organized by the diplomatic corps, were earmarked for the development of Chile’s youth and children’s orchestras. Enlivening the affair was a performance of the Youth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Fernando Rosas. After the program, President and Mrs. Lagos graciously made the rounds to congratulate the participating exhibitors, visibly taking longer to chat and felicitate our own ambassador.

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For her three-day visit to Manila H.M. Queen Sophia de Bourbon elected to stay at The Peninsula Manila. Her hectic schedule included attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Rizal National Eye Referral Center after which she turned over a check from the Spanish Agency for InternationalCooperation, a visit to the school for indigent children built by Maruxa Pita with funds from the same agency and a visit to Padre Blanco’s Garden at the San Agustin Museum, to which Her Majesty was escorted by Padre Pedro Galende.

Another celebrity, the Academy Award winning film director Sydney Pollack, chose to stay at the Pen Manila, again a distinct honor for the five-star hotel. In 2000, Pollack received the John Houston Award, presented by actor Tom Cruise, for being a "defender of artists’ rights", and earlier, his first Academy award for "Out of Africa" which starred Meryll Streep and Robert Redford in an epic set in colonial Africa.

Pollack, who came to Manila upon the invitation of DTI Secretary Mar Roxas, is best remembered for his candid confession: "I don’t value a film I’ve enjoyed making. If it’s good, it’s damned hard work."

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Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo was recently admitted as member of the Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española in ceremonies held at the Malacanang Guest House. Academia director Jose "Pepe" Rodriguez handed Mr. Romulo the corresponding medal and certificate, after which the latter gave his response in impeccable Spanish.

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Of the many despedida luncheons in honor of Norma Baja, wife of the newly appointed Philippine Ambassador to the UN, that which was hosted by Letty Syquia, wife of Ambassador to Malta, Enrique Syquia, stood out.

Conspicuous among the guests in Letty’s elegant Makati residence were wives of ambassadors and of ranking DFA officials.