On May 29, 2026, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada paid Php 90,000 as bail for his graft case in connection with the flood control scam. Merely pittance compared to the estimated total amount lost in the scam: Php 1.089 trillion. Go figure the number of zeroes to the right side of that, uh, figure.
I save the coins I receive as change from cashiers, which gradually builds into a collection of 20, 10, 5, and 1 peso coins, plus the bits and pieces of 25, 10, 5, and 1 centavo coins. I’d then count them and deposit them in the bank. Kind of forced savings for year-end expenses.
But for 2025, I was too lazy to count the coins, and it’s only now in mid-2026 that I’m finally beginning to count them—just when Sen. Jinggoy is facing a scam case for the third time. I’m counting coins, and he’s probably counting billions that are way beyond Scrooge McDuck’s wildest gold-bar imagination.
Whenever I was in Manila, there were times when I’d see uniformed bodyguards standing outside luxury stores, waiting for their bosses who were presumably shopping inside. These bodyguards were already carrying shopping bags of other luxury brands, making it look like the elite had redefined the meaning of shopping spree. Wheee!
Each time I saw them, the first thought that came to mind was that their bosses were politicians. I never had a second thought on that.
Luxury brands are status symbols that one has “arrived” but their stores don’t always welcome the rich and famous.
In 2013, Oprah Winfrey complained about the Trois Pommes luxury store in Zurich, Switzerland, where a $38,000 Tom Ford bag was not shown to her. In 2005, she was not allowed entry at a Hermès shop in Paris because it had already closed 15 minutes earlier. Yes, she should have gone there earlier. But what the heck—she’s Oprah.
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Sharon Cuneta had her own story to tell about a Hermès boutique in Seoul, South Korea which barred her from entering. She later explained that some luxury shops were then imposing a limited-capacity policy due to Covid distancing restrictions. Still, she transferred to Louis Vuitton and had her shopping spree there. Yay. Mic drop.
Even before Covid, luxury stores were already limiting the number of customers inside, like Goyard in Paris, for example. And at the Louis Vuitton nearby, a client had to wait for someone to guide her; she couldn’t just roam around and, uh, window shop.
There are people who do collect luxury brands, and Jinkee Pacquiao and Vicki Belo are among them.
Luxury brands need closets or storage rooms that are air-conditioned, and they require regular maintenance. If one can afford to buy them, it’s presumed he or she can afford to keep and maintain them for the younger generations.
Jewelry used to be the popular inheritance that daughters and granddaughters especially preferred, which they may still treasure these days but would rather have reset to match current trends.
Hermès bags are now the more coveted inheritance for women. Aside from real estate I guess.
By the way, on June 1, a few days after that May 29 bail payment, Sen. Jinggoy was charged again for more of his alleged involvement in the flood control scam, and this time it’s for plunder, which is non-bailable. I could almost see his thought bubble then: been there, done that.
