The guest list at the state dinner given to US President Barack Obama at the Malacañan Palace was a mix of friends, foes, and everything in between.
Presidential Table
President Noynoy Aquino and Obama were seated side by side at the head table.
In that very same table were former Presidents Joseph Estrada and Fidel Ramos. Estrada was one of the twelve senators who voted against the RP-US Bases Treaty in 1991.
Vice President Jejomar Binay was also in the same table along with heads of the other branches of government, namely Senate President Franklin Drilon, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, and Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno.
Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, Philippine Ambassador to US Jose Cuisia, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice, US deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors, and US Ambassdor Philip Goldberg were also with them.
PNoy’s Sisters
President Aquino’s sisters Maria Elena “Ballsy” Aquino-Cruz, Aurora Corazon “Pinky” Aquino-Abellada, Victoria Elisa “Viel” Aquino-Dee, and Kris Aquino were, of course, present at the state dinner.
READ: They served polvoron at last Obama state dinner
Senators
Senators Loren Legarda, Cynthia Villar, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Gringo Honasan and Juan Ponce Enrile (also one of the twelve senators who voted against the RP-US Bases Treaty in 1991) were at the event.
Veteran journalist Alan Robles—in his South China Morning Post article, “Guess who came to dinner: Obama’s Philippines reception featured a colourful cast”—pointed out the following beyond-ironic details:
1. “During the dinner, Obama paid tribute to Aquino’s parents, Ninoy and Cory, and their sacrifices that ‘the nation might be free’ of the martial law dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. [But], seated nearby was the dead dictator’s son, Ferdinand Marcos (Bongbong) Jr. Near him was Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, notorious for being the elder Marcos’s right-hand man.”
2. “Obama praised Aquino, saying, ‘You bear the scars of those who would have taken this nation backwards.’ He was referring to five bullet wounds Aquino suffered during an ambush in one coup attempt in 1987. That putsch was led by yet another one of the dinner guests, Senator Gringo Honasan…’
Supporting Cast
“Not to be forgotten is Interior Secretary Mar Roxas who was among those who welcomed Obama when he arrived onboard the Air Force One in Manila. Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales also shared a photo with the Presidential sisters, uploaded on Instagram by Kris. Other Cabinet members and congressmen also attended the event,” reports Kristine Angeli Sabillo on Inquirer.net.
Sabillo likewise noted: “Guests from the business setor included Tessie Sy-Coson of the SM Group and Jaime Zobel de Ayala of Ayala Corporation.”
Song Number
Not to be outdone, Cabinet Secretaries Florencio Abad, Rene Almendras, and Rogelio Singson were also there and they serenaded Obama with a terrible rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?”
READ: Guess who sang to Obama?
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