What's On & Expat - Philippines

MURRAY HERTZ

SCAM WATCH: It’s not a new scam, just an old one popping up again, or maybe it never left so it did not have to pop up. It just keeps going on and on. Seems there is always someone who falls and falls over and over again. This one is a cell phone scam and Globe just sent out an advisory, but I am sure it happens on all of the networks. It works this way: You get a text on your cell phone. It says you’ve won a generous prize and in order to claim your prize you must send a designated number of prepaid loads to a certain cell phone number. They don’t ask for a huge amount to be sent, but when you multiply that amount by all of the loads sent by unsuspecting people, it amounts to a lot of money and those loads can easily be turned into cash by selling to cohorts. Just follow Globe’s advice. “We never ask our winners for cash or prepaid loads to claim a prize.” It’s as simple as that. No doubt, if you own a cell phone (and who doesn’t these days?) you will soon be offered your “prize.” Be smart (no dummy. I don’t mean Smart network) and don’t be a victim. And then send me a thank you note for saving you all that money. Better yet. Send me the load!
 

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  PEEPING IN KEYHOLES: Bill Hopson, former President of AT&T Philippines and now a recently retired VP from Lucent Technologies, based in Dallas, Texas, is in Manila for his semi-annual sojourn back to his favorite adopted country. Bill will hang around and soak up the fun and sun for a month or so… Edwin Macapagal, long-time manager of Louie Ysmael’s Nuvo Restaurant in Greenbelt 2, has switched jobs and moved down the walkway to Italianni’s in Greenbelt 2. Nuvo’s new GM is Jun Doydoy. And speaking of Nuvo and Louie Ysmael, I am particularly impressed, not only with Nuvo’s good food and wine, but their great collection of old songs that would make any aging guy weep from nostalgia. I even heard Andy Williams sing “Moon River,” or was it Sinatra or Dean Martin? Hell, I dunno. I am too old to remember. They say that the second thing that goes bad with an old guy is his memory. Whaddya mean, “what’s the first?”… Lookalikes: Bill O’Reilly, former FBI agent who now heads up Spectrum, OSO, Asia, and Hollywood actor Christopher Walken. People hit on Bill for autographs on a regular basis. Does he tell them? Silly question. Depends on who is asking.
 

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  THOUGHTS WHILE BRUSHING MY TEETH: I like singer John Arcilla’s resonant voice when he sings Filipino love songs… Ditto for actor/TV host Edu Manzano’s glib gab in his movies and on TV… Martin Nievera is a world-class singer and entertainer. He has proven himself both in the Philippines and by his various successful stints in Las Vegas, USA, as well… Actress Carmi Martin, a very cute chicken with plenty of feathers, has been around for a long time, but she is still a sexy, good looking lady and I hope she will be around even longer… I have to give my vote for

one of the greatest party givers in the Philippines to Tita Trillo, she of Titania Wines and La Vigne restaurant. Tita tossed another successful bash at Paparazzi Italian eatery at the Edsa Shang last week. If you were lucky enough to be invited you would have met Tita’s honored guest, Martina Piccini, the super charming Italian lady who runs a high quality Italian winery in the Tuscan wine sector… Hmmn! Have you ever noticed that it is very hard to buy VHS blank tapes? But then, why would you want to?... Wonder why most parking lots charge motorcycles and motorbikes the same price as they charge cars. You can easily squeeze four or five bikes into the same size space. ‘Tain’t fair. Rise up and roar your engines in protest. Have tantrums! Do something!

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  ATTENTION IMMIGRATION OFFICERS at all international terminals: There are two types of Special Investors Residents Visas (SIRV). One is issued by the Board of Investments (BOI) and requires an ID card to go with the visa. The other is issued by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and does not require an ID card. There is a lot of confusion about this and it takes a fast tongue to explain why you don’t have that ID card if your visa was issued through the Department of Tourism. Save us poor souls and send out some memos to that effect so I don’t have to wait so long to get out of the airport… Lest I forget (remember what I said earlier about your memory going) The Fuego Hotel Group tossed a huge bash at the Rockwell Center the other night. Great Spanish wines and food. Wow! I pigged out on all the stuffed green olives. But don’t go away. As I was just about to get on the elevator to go home, I heard my name called. I won one of the raffle prizes. Emcee Cory Quirino chuckled and said, “You just won a set of free flamenco dancing lessons.” Just what I always wanted, but the old bones won’t give in all directions anymore. Cory looked me up and down, shook her head in dismay at my tired old body and mercifully whispered in my ear. “Why don’t you put this prize back in the bowl and take this one night stay at Punta Fuego instead? Yes, mother. There is a Santa Claus.

 

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  FILIPINO SIGNS OF THE TIMES: From a surplus store in Tondo: “New Used Surplus.”…From a rest room (CR, loo, toilet, WC) in Guadalupe: “Please help us maintain cleanliness of comfort room. Do not use newspaper and other hard objects.” …At a highway work project: “Slow Men At Work.”…In the window of a Baguio restaurant: “Wanted: Boy Waitress.” At a shop in Divisoria: “The Zipper That Helps Keep Your Most Intimate Part…And that, dear reader, is why I love the Philippines.
 

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