I got a chance to join former Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson to a breakfast in his “modest” mansion in Corinthian Gardens very recently and everything that I learned in that fateful visit was simply amazing.
Let’s start this episode with the question – how rich is Chavit Singson?
Many years back, he was asked that particular question.
And his answer was direct to the point – my net revenue every month is 120 million pesos.
And this was followed by a narration of the sources of his stupendous income.
If his revenue is increasing, one wonders how much he is earning these days.
* * *
The moment you enter the gates of Corinthian Gardens, you will right away realize that you are about to enter another world.
There is that very strict protocol required for entrance where the visitor is asked the name of the resident he wished to visit, the appointment is validated by the guard who calls the concerned resident, before entry is allowed.
In other words, if the resident does not know you, entry is barred. That simple.
Along the road, there are assorted vehicles that are parked. Not your ordinary vehicles, mind you, but the high-end Land Cruisers, Lexus, BMWs and Mercedes Benz, among others.
And the mansions, my goodness, it seems like there are no houses in the area but all mansions, huge edifices and all bedecked with affluent concrete and glass ornamentals.
The land valuation alone must be colossal which bars ordinary souls like you and me from residing in that area, tsk, tsk, tsk.
* * *
When we reached Gov Chavit Singson’s mansion, one visible feature that immediately caught my attention was the presence of so many high-end vehicles and one rugged-looking vehicle.
Armored vehicle kuno to nga custom-built, dunay marka nga BMW.
When I looked closer, Baluarte Motor Works diay ang BMW, pastilan.
By the way, Baluarte is an 80-hectare interactive wildlife sanctuary that is also a prime tourist destination in his home province.
There were scores of guards milling around, some were in uniform, the others were just plain civilian-looking but with huge jackets. One can just imagine the contents of those combat jackets.
Because my friend/companion was known by the guards, our entry was a breeze.
Right beside the door, I immediately noticed an ATM-like contraption, anha daw siya mo-transact online sa iyang mga international transactions.
* * *
We were ushered inside and I immediately noticed scores of visitors who were already comfortably seated and served with coffee or water.
The sala was huge.
And there was a halo-halo of pictures and paintings of Chavit Singson in various stages of activities, mostly beside big lions, tigers and other exotic animals during his animal hunting spree possibly in Africa.
Beside the huge stairs, a barong tagalog was put on display. It was dirty, soiled and obviously, been there for sometime.
When I asked the significance of the barong, an aide told me that that was the same barong he was wearing when he was assassinated many years ago.
Obviously, he survived, though the aide was silent if the assassin is still alive.
* * *
As an aside, my companion narrated an incident involving Chavit Singson.
He was under threat and the threat became alarming so he reported the matter to Chavit.
Two days after, the person threatening came to him in tears and sought his forgiveness.
The tears were genuine and obviously, the guy was very, very afraid of his life, my friend told me.
Unsa kaha ang gihimo ni Chavit nga hilabihan man ang kahadlok sa maong tawo?
* * *
While waiting for Manong Governor, that’s how my friend called him, I was given a quick briefing of the various objects inside the sala.
There was a big golden cattle around the corner, the body adorned with colored paper and only the head and the feet were visible.
Kana, solid gold na, referring to the object.
Dunay gold smelting plant si Manong Governor sa US, so kanang imong nakita hinimo na nila didto. Kanang iyang mga gold buckle para sa iyang belt, hinimo ra pod na didto, my friend told me in Tagalog.
Susmariosep.
Anyway, I won’t bore you with details about his richness, because if you’re interested, our friendly Google is there to help.
* * *
By my reckoning, there were about 4 groups waiting for him, excluding our group.
In my mind, it was guessing game as to which group would get his prime attention.
Not long after, I saw him going down the stairs and the nearest group immediately rose up and greeted him. But while he talked to them, his eyes also roamed around until he saw us and he immediately waved his hand to my friend.
He left the first group and came to us and obviously, my friend was a regular in the mansion because they were very chummy. It didn’t take long for Manong Governor to invite us to join him for breakfast.
And he led us to a nearby building where we seated around a huge banquet table.
* * *
One question that was playing in my mind then was – unsa man ang pamahaw sa usa ka bilyonaryo?
While waiting for the food, I chanced upon his cellphone case which was very unique.
It was a real pistol-like case, an iron pistol with a space for his cellphone. So when you see him walking, you would think that he was carrying a gun, only to find out that it was just a fancy iphone case.
When his pamahaw was served, I was in for a shock.
Mao diay ni iyang pamahaw, mao ni pamahaw og bilyonaryo?
Unsa diay iyang pamahaw?
Steamed nga udlot sa camote, 5 pieces of tinapa nga isda and 1 sunny side up egg.
Mao ra na. No rice or anything more.
And he wet his throat with plain water, no coffee or tsokolate, just plain water.
Pagka simplihas kinabuhi, noh?
* * *
While eating, we talked about various things, bits and pieces of politics in between.
He said he was happy that Vic Rodriguez was booted out as executive secretary and this was followed by an expletive.
Breakfast done, and our mission accomplished, we stood up and bade our farewell but he insisted on some pictures.
That was very generous of him of course.
And he pointed to a huge flat TV screen on the corner, from Samsung. And in whisper, told us that he would be flying to Korea soon to finalize a huge deal with the Koreans.
The deal would involve the marketing worldwide of a computer application that would ensure total secrecy of the users, not even the spy agencies can penetrate, he told us.
After the photo-shoot, we proceeded outside but to our amazement, he also went out, telling his guest nga magsipilyo lang ako.
And my friend told me that Manong Governor would not be returning, the “magsipilyo” thing was just a convenient excuse.
Luoya sa naghulat, daghan ra ba to sila.
Before we separated, he reiterated his invite for us to visit him in Baluarte on the 25th. Baluarte is in Vigan.
If that will push through, then that would entail a similar episode.
