Benjie Yap's 'red tide'
The Filipino jewelry designer and antique collector turns 80 in a blaze of color and friendship
Published Jan 19, 2026 05:37 pm
With the invitation to his birthday party, bon vivant Benjie Yap, jewelry designer and collector of Asian antiques, requested of his guests, “Please come in red.”
And they did. Happy red, healthy red shining with vitality, they appeared in a red tide of silk, satin, chiffon, and, for the gentlemen, red neckties. It was Benjie’s way of adding fire and heat to their friendship over the years, to mark 80 years of a good life interspersed with philanthropy, a passion for the arts, and all things bright and beautiful.
Elegant setting for elegant dinner at the Manila Hotel’s Fiesta Pavilion
(Seated) Ernesto Chan, Beatrice Ang, and Miriam Cu; (Standing) Manny Sales and Gen. Hermogenes Esperon
Edna Camcam, Benjie, and Marivic Vazquez
Vanessa Calixto, Benjie, Susan Chung, Jacqui Boncan, and Edna Camcam
Ching and Philip Cruz
Manny Sales, Nikki Coseteng, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, and Frannie Jacinto
Stevie and Ivy Yang, Benjie, Nikki Coseteng, and Dolly Ching
The Manila Hotel’s Fiesta Pavilion was warm with touches of red everywhere—lights, candles, flowers, serviettes; even the ceiling seemed to radiate in crimson shades. The menu, printed on red paper, showed a sumptuous nine-course meal that began with a terrine of pâté and ended with red molten lava cake, served with coffee and tea.
Benjie with Marivic Vazquez
Benjie Yap and Rosemarie Arenas
Basilio Yap, chairman of The Manila Hotel
Benjie, Francis Kong, Edna Camcam, and Fermin Reyes
As one guest whispered, “How’s Benjie going to top this next year?”