MANILA, Philippines?The closest of pals and famille trooped to the sprawling residence in Dasmariñas Village of Sen. Johnny Ponce Enrile for the farewell dinner for the country?s new ambassador to the Vatican, Cristina Castañer Ponce Enrile, dahlings.

The so-called ?Morado Group,? led by Diana Hernandez Santos and Cristina?s long-time pals from high-school days at St. Paul College, were the evening?s hosts, palanggas.

Diana also arranged the catering by Lynn Sunico?s well-known resto, Makati Skyline.

The honoree greeted her well-wishers warmly. She was her usual elegant self, dressed in a most flattering below-the-knee red cocktail dress.

Since high school, Cristina and Diana have been friends. The three of us have been gang mates all through the years.

Here?s wishing our beloved Cristina all the best as she assumes the ambassadorship to the Vatican. Godspeed, palangga!

Sleepless at Embassy

Embassy?s phenomenal Saturday night concept, Sleepless, is now 3 years old.

Sleepless had been dreamed up by Stephen Ku, the main man behind Eventscape and the World Wide Womb, and the man who brought to Manila hot DJ acts like superstar Tiesto. He teamed up with his close pal, GP Reyes, the advertising, PR and events maverick, to organize Sleepless.

Now that the Taguig government has relaxed its curfew law from 9 p.m. to midnight, there are more reasons to enjoy Embassy nights. So our town?s beautiful faces and accomplished, young movers and shakers have been flocking to Embassy?s fantastic happenings.

The third anniversary of Sleepless was sponsored by New Zealand?s smooth 42 Below Vodka, natch!

42 Below hotshot Rajiv Ghumman said, ?Our brand is enjoyed in the world?s hottest bars, like Volar and Drop, in Hong Kong, in the Beverly Hills Hotel in LA; Bungalow 8 in New York; and Buddha Bar in Paris. We are extremely proud to be part of Sleepless Embassy.?

Check out Sleepless every Saturday at Embassy.

Martinis? first year

Martinis at the Mandarin Oriental turned a year younger and held a celebration whose theme relived the Prohibition era.

In partnership with Globe, Martinis transformed itself into a hip nightspot of the 1920s and ?30s, with silent films shown on the flat screen TV, dahlings.

Eye-catching flapper and cigarette girls went around the bar. Also seen were an Al Capone-like gangster, a policeman, and a gruff bouncer, who asked the invitees for the password before they could be allowed to enter the bar.

Guests walked past flashy vintage cars parked at Martinis? driveway. Whisky boxes lined the steps to the entrance.

With a fun bash like this, moi couldn?t miss one of the invitees who wore a wow mini skirt. If her dress was any shorter, it would be a collar, ooops.

While circulating, moi bumped into a friend moi hadn?t seen in ages,

?Hey, you married now??

?No, Maurice, I?m happily separated.?

Ooops again.

Martinis? SpeakEasy band, led by Kat Aggarado and David Starck, dished out cool blues, palanggas.

There were superb wines and fantastic cocktail-concoctions from Future Trade International, mixed by Martinis? manager and mixologist, New York boy Jim Michael dela Fuente, naturellement.

Mandarin Oriental?s well respected GM Helmut Gaisberger, along with my favorite traffic-stopper Tessa Prieto-Valdes, raffled off tons of prizes.

The first anniversary of Martinis was fun, colorful and tres interesting.

Martinis, anyone?

Yes, dahlings. Stir it, don?t shake it.