YOU own a BMW and you qualify to join the yearly BMW National Golf Final that will select the official bets to the annual BMW Golf Invitational Cup overseas.
That’s what made Dr. Lito Durante, the eminent cardiologist and retired vice chairman of the Philippine Heart Center of Asia, extremely excited to the bones. He didn’t know anything about the tournament that is in existence for so long now until Karl Magsuci, the key BMW workhorse, called him up to break the good news. Karl told the good doctor he is more than qualified for the BMW, Golf as Dr. Durante does not only own a BMW; his doctor-wife (Veron the anesthesiologist) drives a BMW, as well.
It was just unfortunate that Veron doesn’t play golf, in the process missing the chance to represent BMW Philippines to the BMW World Cup. Instead, Kaila Gardiola won that rare honor to be in the charming Australian harbor city of Sydney, besting Erika Bolante in the ladies’ division. Chino Raymundo topped the Men’s A division and Roel de Castro the Men’s B category to join Gardiola in the BMW World Finals in March.
Gardiola won running away with her 44 points against Bolante’s 39, but Wilfredo Valencia absorbed a heartbreaker as his 52 was a mere point shy of Raymundo’s 53 points in the Stableford System of competition. “I am sure the three winners will have the experience of a lifetime when they finally play in Sydney next year,” said Demosthenes “Bobby” Y. Rosales, a vital cog at BMW operations for decades now, during the awarding ceremonies that was expertly emceed by—hold your breath—Karl, in tandem with Carla Aguas.
“That hidden talent of his was unmasked one Christmas party at the office,” Bobby said of Karl. “Karl would soon get invitations to emcee other events but I admonished him he could only do so with express permission from Maricar.”
Maricar, of course, is Maricar Parco, the youthful president of Asian Carmakers Corp. (ACC), who ushered in the 100-plus participants on Monday with a meaty welcome remark preceding the tournament fired off shotgun-style at plush Santa Elena, impeccably run by Junie Ledesma and Mary Grace Estuesta as usual.
In her speech under a bright, sunny sky on behalf of Palawan Gov. Pepito Alvarez, the ACC chairman, Maricar said: “For 32 years, BMW has recognized golf as a discipline that mirrors and celebrates a part of the BWM brand’s identity—athleticism, accuracy and mobility. It is in these values that we have built a commitment to become golf’s strongest partner across the globe and in the Philippines…. It has been 12 years since our last Philippine delegation won the World Final, so we look forward to seeing an exciting game and forming a strong team of national champions who will compete in Sydney in 2015. And amid the competition, we hope that each of you would remain models of sportsmanship and foster camaraderie by encouraging each other to be at the top of their game.”
She also said the tournament will “reinforce the promise to promote golf as an extension of BMW’s passion for excellence, not only in automotive innovation but also in sports.”
In closing, Maricar, a golfer herself with a mean drive, said: “I will not keep you any longer and so, on behalf of the Asian Carmakers Corp., thank you all for your presence and enjoy this year’s BMW Golf Cup!”
So overjoyed was Erwin Gardiola that even if he did not win, he showed his ardent appreciation for the event during the awards by opening a bottle of the famous Macallan single malt whiskey and offered toasts to the victory of Kaila, his niece deserving of her championship trophy.
A day to remember, indeed.
Nlex gets ISO & OHSAS certifications
I raise a glass to the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), builder and concessionaire of the 90-kilometer North Luzon Expressway (Nlex), for recently winning two prestigious certifications for its three globally recognized management system standards in quality, environment, and occupational health and safety by Certification International Philippines Inc. MNTC received the certifications ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007 for the effective implementation of its integrated management systems (IMS) to become the country’s first tollway concessionaire to achieve the awards.
MNTC first received the ISO and OHSAS certifications in 2008, repeating it in 2011 before winning it again this year, after the tollway company had successfully passed yearly surveillance audits.
“We are pleased that our efforts to mitigate our environmental impact, and provide quality service and a healthy, safe workplace for our employees have again been recognized as one at par with international standards,” MNTC President Rodrigo Franco said. The current certificates, valid until September 2017, cover “operation and maintenance management of the toll roads, construction management including outsourced design and construction implementation.”
Certification International Philippines Inc. (ICP) is the local arm of Certification International, a multinational company assessor based in the United Kingdom. CIP has been providing management systems assessment and has certified more than 900 Philippine and multinational companies that are leaders in their respective industry or service sectors since 1995. Again, my heartfelt congratulations!
PEE STOP
Kia will soon allow coaches in the Philippine Basketball Association to buy Kia vehicles without down payment. I doff my hat off to Ginia Domingo, the Kia president, for this breakthrough move, as it will surely revolutionize future sales approaches in the industry. Cheers!