nostalgia at fort abad

(with powerful media friends - philippine star's marianne, manila bulletin's fil and bloomberg's cecille. fil and cecille both proved that red was indeed the new black at least for that night. chos.)

it's but fitting that the central bank, which guards the philippine economy by making sure that monetary policy is synchronized with fiscal and other economic measures to spur and sustain growth without resulting in spiraling inflation, holds its annual bankers' night at the historic fort san antonio abad. built in 1584, the fort had played a key role in the country's rich history, witnessing wars and foreign invasions by the spanish, british, americans, japanese.
like the fort, the central bank is the fortress when the country is besieged by global economic uncertainties like the financial crunch that steamed from unpaid housing loans in the united states and the still unresolved european credit crisis.

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but i am not going into the details of the fort's history, that's not what this post is all about. if you want to dig deeper into it, then please use your finger tips and check google. chos. (pls click here for one of the stories featuring the fort during the philippine and american war.)
this is all about the central bank and the famous people behind it, as well as the other players of the country's financial industry.

(central bank governor amando tetangco, former philippine stock exchange president francis lim and finance secretary cesar purisima.)

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some background.
i used to dread the annual bankers' night hosted by the central bank and held at start of the year. i hated shedding off my reporter's uniform (shirt, jeans and sockless sneakers) in favour of a formal attire (barong tagalog and black pants or the much dreaded suit with tie and dress shoes plus itchy socks).
i had not gotten used to all these formalities despite attending several vin d'honneurs at the presidential slash malacanang palace (an even more formal affair where the formal dress code is strictly implemented) during the time of presidents ramos, estrada and arroyo.

interviewing government and banking officials, taipans, cabinet ministers while they are having a great time with their colleagues or networking with other businessmen and investors is also not my cup of tea. i feel like i am intruding on their privacy, or stealing away their time from doing what ever it is that they intend to do on such a rare occasion when the so-called captains of industries, top government honchos, taipans, dignitaries from the foreign community, are all gathered in one place, relaxing, drinking wine, munching finger foods serenaded by live classical music under the blinking lights of the central bank's christmas decorations.
but as the years went by, i got used to it and even looked forward to putting on a dignified outfit to hobnob with the very rich and very famous, both the flamboyant who loves to be interviewed and photographed and the low key who hates being interviewed and having a photo taken.

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after nearly six years of missing such events at the breezy fort abad, just inside the central bank's compound, a very powerful journalist friend pulled some strings and worked her magic to have me included in the guest list. mind you, it's not easy getting an invitation to this strictly formal affair. and it's even harder to get inside the central bank compound on the night itself. you have to go through rigorous security screenings and x-ray machines at the gate before you are allowed inside.
but once in there, seeing the glamourous people in their holiday's best partying, you forget all the troubles away.

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luckily this time, i don't have to worry about getting juicy stories, or of being out scooped by the competition. instead of worrying about what questions to ask, what issues to raise, i had a good time shaking hands with old friends and sources that i used to interview in my past life as a financial journalist for several newspapers such as business star, business daily, manila times, philippine star and finally, the bloomberg news wire.

i also opted for a more comfortable smart casual look ( a very british invention, so i heard) instead of the rather itchy barong tagalog or god forbid a dark suit and tie. confession, until now i don't know how to tie a necktie. how un-gq is that?
some still recognised me even with my receding, greying hair and bulkier figure. others have to check and read my name tag before shaking my hand.
but those that i have covered extensively in the past such as central bank governor amando tetangco, former central bank governor gabby singson, finance secretary cesar purisima, deputy governors diwa guinigundo, nesting espenilla and armando suratos, former national treasurer and now bank of commerce president sergio edza, hsbc chief wick veloso, rcbc president lorenzo tan, pdic president val araneta, east west bank president tony mocupa, finance undersecretary didith tan, monetary board member and former pnb/security bank president peter favila, former central bank deputy governor and now consultant alberto reyes, east west bank's pr executive alan tumbaga and a few others whose names i can no longer recall because i was so tipsy when i saw them still recognised me.

ok. enough of the name dropping. by now, you already get my drift - that i am once a well regarded philippine business and economic journalist. hahahaha. double chos!

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of course, the night won't be complete without meeting old colleagues in the beat and in the industry, as well as eager, new, fresh young faces that have taken our places.

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since i have nothing much to do aside from disturbing the formality of the ocassion, i played paparazzi during the night. here are some of my stolen and not so stolen shots (but obviously, someone else took the pictures of those photos where i was included). while i was taking pictures, finance secretary purisima, who is usually very serious when talking to us, asked me if i have taken on a new job as a photographer. then we both laughed.