The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Christmas is just around the corner.
Its spirits are already felt in the air.
Christmas carols are being played on radio and other audio-visual devices.
St. Nicklaus beams with pride as His trees are trimmed with colorful and bright balls.
Mistletoes are adorned practically everywhere.
The blinking of colored lights is beckoning the faithful to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
What is missing, though, is the in-person appearance of Nora Aunor, the Superstar with her Yuletide gifts, melodious and holy songs, the parties she used to host, and many more.
Her generosity was infectious, indeed, posthumously.
It’s good that her kind-heartedness is kept alive by Noranians like Anna Marie Abu, a high- ranking executive of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
By way of the project “The Beary Best Christmas” conceptualized and spearheaded by the GSIS Special Projects Committee, Anna Marie is reminded of the good deeds of her idol.
“Ganito rin si Ate Guy noon. Nagfa-fundraising siya para sa mga tao tuwing Pasko (Older sister Guy is like this when she was still alive. She was doing altruistic projects for the people every Christmas),” recalled Abu, the Head of the Secretariat of “The Beary Best Christmas.”
Remember the roving store Nora initiated before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic where the Nora carts went around to distribute relief goods to communities in Metro Manila.
Something to relish and relive the past although the GSIS program has no reference to the National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts.
It was just a self-appointed homage to Nora.
Anna Marie sits on the table selling teddy bears with a choice of individual belt colors worth P500.00 each.
“Whatever we can raise here will be given to the security guards and janitors of GSIS. We have only two thousand five hundred pieces of teddy bears to dispense until December 5,” informed Anna Marie. The huggable teddy bears are displayed at the foyer of GSIS in Pasah City. (Boy Villasanta)