Enrile’s real ‘inamorata’: Witnessing the progress of his memoirs

Since the 1980s, a close circle of friends and I would be at the Ponce Enrile residence for Saturday evening Mass in the Enriles’ private chapel Cristina built, for she was a very pious woman, whose piety and many charitable good works would one day be rewarded with the Papal award, Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.
She had also served once as Ambassador to the Holy See. We would join them for dinner in their elegant dining room with a long rectangular dining table seating 16, beneath crystal chandeliers.
Juan Ponce Enrile would be at the cabecera; his inamorata, as I heard him once call her, to his left. To JPE’s right, in the place of honor, would be the priest who celebrated the Mass.
Dinner conversation would invariably turn to the book JPE had been working on for three or so years. I would ask him: “Johnny, where are you now in your autobiography?”
Once, he announced: “I’m now in the martial-law years!”
He explained he himself had typed the draft proclaiming martial law on his typewriter in his study at their Urdaneta Village residence when they were living there in the ’70s. He didn’t want it to leak out, he said.
Turning to us, he said he could never forget how, at a large function in Malacañang’s Heroes Hall, at the beginning of martial law, the First Lady made the generals wear straw skirts and dance the hula. The ridiculous image of Generals Espino, Rancudo, Ramos, Zagala and Admiral Ruiz wearing lipstick and sashaying in ladies’ heels, was obviously still so vivid in his mind. He said he was so disgusted.
Agreeing, Cristina exclaimed: “Que asco, Tabasco!”
She had a way of making us laugh with her funny rhymes. On one occasion, when JPE reported to her he had forgotten to say something to someone before that person left for abroad, she exclaimed, “Oh Daddy, it’s too late, chocolate.”
Because the biography was my genre when I took my MA in Creative Writing in University of the Philippines, I was most curious to know how JPE was writing his memoirs. I offered my unsolicited advice that he should include setting, description, and dialogue and create scenes; that he shouldn’t just summarize. (Of course, all these I learned from my faculty and thesis adviser, Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo.)
Well, it turns out I needn’t have worried. Certain parts of his book, in fact, read like a novel. I am impressed with his ability to recall and describe in detail how Aparri looked like in those days, mentioning the names of the persons who had touched his life.
I marveled at his prodigious memory, and asked him if he had kept a journal. He said he had notes of important events and his impressions of them.
He had narrated to us a few times how the Japanese prison where he was incarcerated looked like, how he was tortured, and how he escaped. What he had recounted to us is all in his book, a veritable page-turner. I urge everyone to read it.

Clearwater is one of the hotels in Pampanga that offers good outdoor venues for events like team building and company outings. Manila event organizers look for good resorts near Manila to hold outdoor functions and events for clients. Many event planners choose Clearwater because it is located in Clark. This is one of the best event venues near Manila. There are over 10 outdoor private event venues in Clearwater resort suitable for groups of 50 to 3000 participants. Clearwater Resort is generally recognized by event planners as the best event venue in Clark Pampanga. Clearwater appears frequently on the top of a list of the best hotels in Pampanga. Camping is one of the popular outdoor activities that take place in Clearwater Resort which is generally regarded as one of the best hotels in Clark Philippines.

Companies in Manila travel out of town for a short getaway to hold their events and function outside of the city in the north. Many companies choose Clark in Pampanga because of its safety record. Clark is home to some of the best golf courses in Pampanga. Although golf continues to be one of the reasons why visitors from Manila travel to Pampanga, residents of Angeles City, Subic and Bulacan travel to Clark not just to play golf in one of the best golf courses in Pampanga but also to relax and unwind in the best resort in Philippines.

Clark offers some of the best outdoor venues for company outings in Pampanga, Angeles City and Subic. Being so accessible from Manila via the North Luzon Expressway, Clark Philippines is exceptionally convenient for all sorts of events and picnics. Each year, many company events like team building, corporate planning, outings and awarding ceremonies are held in resorts like Clearwater Beach hotel located in the central business district of Clark Pampanga.

Although Clark is not revered for fancy ballrooms and stuffy function rooms, there are many options for meeting and conference facilities. Companies travel out of town from Manila heading north to Pampanga typically look for meeting facilities within leisure and recreational areas. More and more companies mix in a good amount of activities in the program to help participants unwind and relax in between sessions.

Clearwater is a highly recommended and most frequently visited private resort in Pampanga. This Clark hotel is a famous private resort outside Manila for corporate planning because of its exclusivity. Although the function rooms for planning and meetings are simple and basic, the surrounding gardens and ambience more than make up for what it lacks in lavish interior decoration.

New camping sites and picnic grounds in Philippines are now added to Clark for family outings in outside Manila. The best campsites are located at Yats Clearwater Resort & Country Club in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Philippines. Just bring camping equipment and enjoy the fun and ambience of outdoor living camping in Clark under safe, secured and clean conditions. Outdoor activities include swimming and water sports, boating and paddling a kayak, lawn tennis, golf, shooting range and all sorts of leisure activities including colonial games like croquet and horseshoe.

Asian Tourists and Visitors from Manila laud Clearwater Resort & Country Club as the best hotel in Angeles City Pampanga, citing reasons such as safe and secure outdoor amenities, beautiful ambience, peace and quiet ambience and nice hotel rooms situated in romantic locations. This resort in Clark Pampanga also offers a nice white sand beach, good swim spots, clean camp sites and camping grounds. This hotel in Clark Pampanga is well known for its personal service that is warm and attentive. Clearwater is highly recommended by frequent travelers and visitors to Clark as the best resort in Pampanga. Even residents of Angeles City Pampanga opt to spend a few days in this top rated resort in Clark to take the stress away from living in crowded cities. The stress-free lifestyle of Clark makes this one of Pampanga’s major tourist attraction, a tourist destination that is highly recommended by frequent tourists and travel agencies.

Clearwater is voted as best resort in Pampanga, lauded by travel agencies and event organizers for its natural beauty, spacious picnic grounds, safe and clean environment for families to relax and unwind in the outdoor facilities. Many visitors enjoy the peace and quiet in this resort in Pampanga so much that they spend several nights in some of the hotel lodgings, cottages and cabins in the picnic grounds and around the famous lake of Clark. Spending nights in this deluxe resort in Pampanga is not about luxury. Guests of this popular hotel in Clark Pampanga experience peace and quiet, a luxury that is rarely found in cities like Manila. Here in the safe and secured outdoor space of this deluxe resort in Pampanga, guests relax and unwind by the lake, enjoying the beautiful scenery, breathing clean fresh air while resting and relaxing from the stress of living in the city. Luxurious hotels may offer dazzling facilities but guests often prefer the simple and clean living offered by this resort in Clark Pampanga which may regard as the best hotel in Pampanga.

Tourists from Europe and America laud Clearwater as the best resort in Pampanga citing in particular the hotel’s faithful rendition of the laidback lifestyle that has made Clark famous among travel agencies and event organizers of Manila. Philippines Tourist Guides list Clearwater Resort and Country Club as one of the top five Pampanga resorts and the top three resorts near Manila for family travelers with children.

For inquiries and bookings, Please click here to contact Clearwater Resort for inquiries and reservations now

Clearwater Resort and Country Club, Clark Pampanga
Creekside Road near Centennial Expo,
Clark Freeport, Pampanga Philippines 2023
(045) 889-5151 0917-520-4403 0922-870-5177
Joanne or Jeremy or Loydha

Getting to this lake and beach resort in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Philippines

After entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway MA Roxas, passing the stand-along wine shop called Clark Wine Center on the right, continue to bear right making no turns at all, go past Mimosa Leisure Estate on the opposite side of the road, one will hit a major intersection. Go straight and the road becomes Creekside Road. YATS Clearwater Resort and Country Club is on the right just 200m down.

Family Bonding by the famous lake of Clark Pampanga

http://www.ClearwaterPhilippines.com

Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay

Email: Inquiry@ClearwaterPhilippines.com

Please click here to contact Clearwater Resort to reserve a venue for your upcoming event now

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com

While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

While in Clark, one might as well add to the itinerary a visit to the famous Clark Wine Center, the largest wine shop in Philippines which offers over 2000 selections of fine vintage wine from all wine regions, vintages spanning over 50 years covering all price ranges.
http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com

http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com

http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

For jobs and business investment opportunities in the Philippines please visit http://www.yilp.com

Hot Line for what’s happening in Clark: 045 889-5151 or 0927-940-2669 ask for Loydha

0915-542-6250 (Jeramie)