BACOLOD—I am here enjoying the sun and the smiles of people too friendly and loving not to appreciate them.
The wrath of Typhoon Ompong was about to blast that hard-luck part of Northern Luzon when I set out to fly for this charming city by the bay.
I had initially thought my PAL flight would be canceled. But as God would will it, I got through Ompong’s initial outburst in Manila and I landed here safe and sound.
Thus, when Ompong’s 200-kilometer-per-hour or so winds and driving rains were hitting mostly Baguio, Ilocoslovakia and Cagayan, I was here praying for God’s grace and mercy in that nothing serious would befall to our typhoon-hit brethren.
Still, by the time Ompong had sailed out of Northern Luzon, millions of pesos were lost in devastated farmlands and properties, but thank God there seemed to be only a few casualties reported.
In the news were shown mostly flooded areas in the North, including tourist destination Baguio, whose famed strawberry fields in La Trinidad got submerged, resulting in huge financial losses to growers.
There were horrific scenes of flood-hit cars floating on water-clogged streets in the City of Pines.
I saw on social media crumpled steel and galvanized sheets that collapsed on Doyong Tan’s Toyota dealership in Tuguegarao, Cagayan. My prayers for a quick recovery, Doyong. Legend has it that your resiliency is without equal.
Driving downpour also struck this little corner of the globe while Ompong was doing its things, but none of the winds in Northern Luzon going hundred of kilometers per hour was felt here.
Traffic is worsening as the city is now bursting with people, mostly coming from the rural areas trying to find their luck in urban life.
To escape jams in the heart of the city, many private motorists now look for side streets and alternate routes to avoid the main twin arteries, Lacson and Araneta.
Buildings by Ayala (Amaia and Seda Hotels) and malls by Double Dragon (City Mall) and Ayala are sprouting to compete with Robinsons and SM, further cramping the city that is booming beyond its expectations. As always, one has to pay the price in the name of progress.
Vios Cup on
TOYOTA Motor Philippines will stage the Vios Cup Season 5 tomorrow, September 22, at Clark International Speedway, Pampanga.
Again, motorsports fans will get to watch 53 racers—46 drivers and seven celebrity entries.
Among the participants are celebrities Sam Milby, Diego Loyzaga, Sofia Andres, Chie Filomeno, Japanese-Brazilian model Fabio Ide, Gretchen Ho and Troy Montero.
Again, the concluding Vios Cup is free to the public. Gates open at 9 a.m. See you there.
Vios delivers historic birth
That baby born inside a Vios is marketing gold for Toyota.
The incredible story scores PR points for the car brand by Vernon B. Sarne of Visor.
Just recently, a birth certificate went viral on social media because the blank space reserved for the place of birth indicated “Toyota Vios,” which meant the mother had borne her child inside the popular subcompact sedan. The story was a hit, obviously. It’s excruciating enough just giving birth the normal way—it’s even more so inside a small vehicle.
The incident is the kind of stuff any brand would pay to associate itself with, and the Japanese automaker didn’t have to. You just can’t stage something this amazing. Recently, Toyota Motor Philippines announced a campaign in which it invited customers to share remarkable Toyota stories in celebration of the company’s 30th anniversary. Even with countless people submitting, we bet the firm won’t receive an anecdote half as special as the birth inside the Vios.
The child’s arrival in the Vios was so universally applauded that Toyota just had to have a say in the matter. Here, take a look:
Besides the carmaker’s local distributor, one of its dealerships joined in on the feel-good episode. Toyota Makati, according to General Manager Lee Junia, sent the baby’s mother (Cheoui de Leon) and her fiancé (Luis Bernabe) a pair of child seats for both baby Sabrina Leaouis and her brother Sammy.
The dealership also offered the couple free preventive maintenance service for their Vios, and today Cheoui and Luis brought the car (and their kids) to Toyota Makati. Of course, everybody wanted a photo with the young family.
Some might accuse Toyota of shamelessly taking advantage of the viral story for its own gain. We say the company simply knows how to make a happy ending even happier. Congratulations to Cheoui and Luis on the birth of their second child. We have a feeling she will grow up riding only Toyotas.
PEE STOP Congratulations to Robert Uy for recently unveiling his sixth Toyota dealership in nearby Talisay City, Negros Occidental. It is in addition to his previous dealerships in Tangub, Iloilo, Roxas (Capiz), Kalibo (Aklan) and Puerto Prinsesa (Palawan). The new Talisay post is but another screaming proof of Robert’s impeccable dexterity in running a Toyota dealership. Six branches! Wow! And do you know that his Talisay branch is the biggest Toyota dealership in Western Visayas, as well as the nation’s second -largest, next only to the Toyota Antique dealership in San Jose City? Cheers, Robert! You are one of a kind!
Image credits: Lee Junia