Metrobank Group Chairman hosts a Chinese banquet at the Grand Hyatt Manila on the eve of Chinese New Year and spends the following morning distributing gifts to the poorest of the poor.
The night before Chinese New Year, Metrobank Group Chairman George S. K. Ty hosted a dinner at the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Manila. Besides the officers of Metrobank and the Metrobank subsidiaries, guests included government leaders, business associates and partners, family and friends of long standing. They sat around the tables decorated with gold symbols of good fortune and prosperity.
Red lanterns, which are symbols of prosperity and life, hung from the ceiling amidst the crystal chandeliers, that one woman likened to jewelry with a multiple diamond setting. Red lanterns festooned lighted trees around the Grand Hyatt ballroom, adding to the festive atmosphere.
First Chinese Banquet
Metrobank Chairman Arthur Ty, together with his brother Federal Land Chairman Alfred Ty, welcomed the guests before the dinner began. It was going to be the very first time that the Grand Hyatt Manila was going to serve a Chinese banquet, which was no mean feat, considering that there were 500 guests that night.
The lauriat dishes came in succession and inconsiderable servings. The Grand Hyatt chefs prepared a combination of familiar and new foods. Jellyfish, wild black fungus, barbecued pork was served with olive oil together with snow pea, water spinach and black vine. Braised crabmeat and dried scallop were stirred into the corn soup.
Seven main courses included prawn in black rice vinegar and honey, wok-fried pork neck with garlic, braised angus beef with bean sprout, cabbage and chili oil, braised grouper, and deep-fried lamb chop, with spiced herb and macadamia nuts among others. The multiple course dinner was a foretaste of the Chinese restaurant outlet No.8 China House, scheduled to open in March.
Guests went home with red envelopes of lucky money.
Nationwide Sharing
The following day, the celebration of Chinese New Year continued in the morning in General Trias, Cavite. Dr. George S. K. Ty, together with his family, distributed Bags of Blessings to families from marginalized communities surrounding the Lancaster New City, where the gift giving was held.
The Bags of Blessing is the traditional gift giving activity, which Metrobank Group Chairman George S. K. Ty began in 2010. The project, conceived as part of the Chinese New Year celebration was another way that Dr. Ty wanted to share with the community. The Metrobank Group Chairman is a known philanthropist who institutionalized corporate social philanthropy through the Metrobank Foundation long before the term CSR was even coined.
Dr. George S. K. Ty allocated Php10 million to buy food items,which are distributed to 10,000 families identified by the local governments in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Bags of Blessings supports the goals of the DSWD to help particularly the poorest of the poor who are non-Pantawid Pamilyanf Pilipino Program members and street dwellers. The program commences on February 16 till February 23 in selected areas nationwide.
Young Gift-Givers
The Bags of Blessing project has since been organized by the GT Foundation, which is the family foundation of Dr. George S. K. Ty and the Metrobank Foundation, together with the Metrobank Group and the GT Capital Holdings, the primary vehicle for the holding and management of the diversified business interests of the Ty family in the Philippines.
They work with institutional partners such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The activity in Lancaster New City kicked off the nationwide distribution in 21 different locations, eight in the National Capital Region and 13 in the countryside.
Residents from the nearby barangays were brought to the basketball covered courts of the Lancaster New Activity Center. The children and grandchildren of Dr. George S. K. Ty helped in the distribution of the gift items. It has been an annual family activity for them since the Bags of Blessing project began. The gift giving is now a tradition in their Chinese New Year celebration.
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By Anna Isabel C. Sobrepeña
