MARIO P. CHAN used to fill his garage with Benzes. He was so madly in love with the German marvel that he wouldn’t settle for any vehicle other than the Chedeng. And can we blame him for that?
No one can deny that the Benz has always been known as a premium car, the most fancied ride for many generations—and even up to now, if you ask Felix Ang and guitar-collector Greg Yu, not to mention Emy Arcilla.
I, myself, had cantankerously coveted a Benz when I was a young boy just starting to appreciate the beauty and magic of the four-wheel wonder. In fact, when my sister married this Benz-driving guy from Gagalangin, I boldly badgered my sis: “When your hubby decides to buy a new car, let me be the first to have a crack at his Benz, please?”
It didn’t happen.
I had no money.
I was in college.
And my sis (Dear God rest her soul) was paying for my tuition.
When my brod-in-law sold his Benz, he got a ‘matic black Buick.
End of my puppy love.
Back to Mario P. Chan.
Like him, my dear friend Benny Gopez, the exclusive Mizuno Golf dealer in the Philippines, also never allowed a non-Benz to intrude into his Benz-borne garage in his plush Los Angeles home in California. Benny, who also happens to own one of the biggest car-parts businesses in LA, Guam and Saipan, was one of the first to buy the Kompressor the very minute the model rolled out of the assembly lines. But when Benny, finally falling prey to the puzzle of Volvo’s famous safety feature, bought a Swede muscle “to test the waters,” he got hooked on it.
He’d soon be a repeat Volvo buyer—but that’s another story.
So, again, back to Mario P. Chan.
One breezy night, while Mario was drinking with his pals after a round of golf at swanky Santa Elena, a guy in the group rose and made an oration of “the beauty of Lexus.”
In what the dude termed as a sterling testimony to his discovery of “the most beautiful car in the world,” John Lao said, “The minute I rode a Lexus, I knew right there and then that this will be my car till the end of time.” As proof, he is now one of several multiple Lexus owners in the land.
But was John already drunk when he said that?
“I have yet to see him get drunk,” said Mataas na Kahoy’s Edwin Gardiola, who swigs only double-black. “Tough to topple, wrestle down.”
Hearing that, Mario smiled. Then he said, “Hey, John. I believe you. I am aware of Lexus’s superb reputation. But I am also aware of its allegedly being too pricey. Only for the rich. I can’t afford it.”
John, smiling back at Mario, said: “How wrong can you be.” He turned to Lester, his nephew seated next to him, gestured at him to hand over what would turn out to be a checkbook.
All eyes were on John as he scribbled something on a page of the checkbook and, after tearing the page out of the pad, he stood up and said, “Here it is, a blank check for you to buy your first Lexus. It’s been duly signed.”
Mario would see himself buy a Lexus the next morning. Next, he’d become a Lexus loyalist for life, replacing his Benzes with Lexus models. “But for sentimental reasons, my first Benz remains in the garage.”
That John Lao-authored check incident was narrated again by Danny “Sir John” Isla during the awarding ceremonies of the Fifth Lexus Invitational Golf Cup.
Said Sir John at the podium: “Who wouldn’t be touched by your show of support to our brand, not to mention to our dear tournament, too? I couldn’t thank you enough.
“One of you pierced the heart and made a moving move by joining the event even if it’s his birthday on January 23. Thus, let’s all give a birthday cheer to our friend, Mario P. Chan!”
Standing ovation.
His 55th birthday was a classic: Mario celebrated it at the Lexus Invitational, capping the day with gulps of countless rounds of beer and single malt shots at the Santa Elena clubhouse in the company of glass mates too touched by his grand gesture to stick around on this the most important day of his life.
But who said he was done that day? And who said he had done his family wrong?
Two days later, Mario was with his wife and their dearest ones, finally, hosting a huge crowd that included, among others, 10 of Mario’s most beloved high-school mates at San Sebastian College to a super-lavish celebration at the Edsa Shang Grand Ballroom.
I missed that one. Gosh, I was too fagged out after the Lexus bash that, antibiotics and all, the prudent thing to do was, as in a poker game, fold. Colds, cough and fever had conspired to knock yours truly down.
Mario’s text to me after I informed him of my ailment: “Get well soon, Superman!”
Typically Mario.
Pee stop. Baguio Country Club (BCC) will hold its Member-Guest golf tournament from February 4 to 6, and Manila Golf Club on February 5. Again, as is common in many other tournaments of that nature, cars will be staked as hole-in-one prizes. Good luck, fellas, especially to BCC General Manager Anthony de Leon. Anthony, whose love for the Fortuner is legend, is hands-on once more to ensure success of the annual BCC golfest even as he is also chairman of Baguio’s famed Panagbenga Flower Festival. Cheers!…Again, my gratitude to Diwa Guinigundo, the deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He’s done me something profoundly good, which BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr., my neighbor of 20 or so years now, should be proud of. Thank you again, Diwa. May your tribe increase.