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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider C'mas Country

C'mas Country

Published Dec 18, 2024 04:14 pm

Medium Rare 

Jullie Y. Daza

Taking a trip to Baguio is like going to a foreign country – different weather, different temperature, a park-like environment of living trees and gardens – yet the traveler has no need to carry a passport with visa. This time of year, the lure and allure of “the city of pines” is stronger than at any other time during the past 11 months (even if you’re not a golfer).

Baguio, with a temperature four or more degrees cooler than the lowlands, is what children consider their Christmas country, December or not yet December. I remember, the first time my grandchildren saw the fireplace at Baguio Country Club (BCC), they were so disappointed that the fireplace had no fire. Now that they’re older, they have other, just as important stuff to look at.

Breakfast on the Verandah, for example, now includes “taho,” and just as we were all busy feasting on the food, I spotted two prominent gentlemen making their entrance. Gen. Romeo Brawner, chief of staff of the Armed Forces, and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, himself a former general, took separate tables in the wing named after Potenciano “P.I.” or “Nanoy” Ilusorio. The other wing is named after Justice Ramon Ozaeta.

Dec. 15 being our last day in the city, I considered it serendipitous that it was the birthday of Mr. Ilusorio, BCC chairman emeritus and president for life, whose love for the members-only BCC was legendary. Among other things like giving the place a million-dollar facelift and improving his beloved 18-hole golf course, he brought in Israeli engineers to upgrade the mountain resort’s water supply. Also on Dec. 15, 2024 I discovered a street named after P.I. at an intersection where stands a sculptured gold bust of the man.

In whatever golf haven he may be, P.I. will be pleased to know that BCC’s five-star penthouse suites are constantly being renovated or upgraded, each and every one of the 10 of them. His daughter, Lin Ilusorio Bildner, is proud of the board room, which seems to float over the golf course like a glass cube, almost gravity-free-like. It used to be called the Fair View; my guess is they changed the name because every other room commands the same fantastic view.

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Jullie Y. Daza Medium Rare
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