MANILA, Philippines - After a three-year hiatus from the social scene, philanthropist and fashion icon Imelda Cojuangco is back, and literally stronger than ever. The society grand dame is recuperating from an aneurysm in the heart.

?I have excellent doctors,? she said, beaming, during the press conference for the Beloved Encore dinner-show at the Red restaurant of Makati Shangri-La. ?I followed their instructions very faithfully. I did not go out for three months. In the other months, I paced myself. Some people might get offended. But what can I do? I have to take it easy because I needed to.?

Aside from her annual Cofradia dela Inmaculada Concepcion fundraising event (which will be held on Sept. 30), she is at the helm of the Beloved Encore dinner-show on Oct. 17 at the Makati Shangri-La ballroom.

The beneficiaries are indigent patients with heart or liver ailments. As the chairperson, her job goes beyond selling tickets and getting donors. She?s like the good luck charm and an invincible force in any charity undertaking. The project is close to her heart, literally and figuratively, because she was born with a congenital rheumatic heart and has recently survived a heart ailment.

Angel

Asked how many charities she?s involved in, Cojuangco humbly replied, ?I don?t tell people.?

Marietta Santos, the prime mover of Beloved?s project management committee and her longtime executive assistant of sorts, interrupted.

?She gives to everybody who comes in. I said, ?Now you have to prioritize the most important things.? She also gives money to the church.?

Cojuangco?s latest project involves the restoration of the Sta. Ana Church.

?She?s the angel of everybody,? said Dr. Francisco Dizon of the Philippine Heart Center, the main beneficiary of the cause. ?She?s the angel of beauty,? added Bulletin?s Julie Yap-Daza.

?I like that,? Cojuangco agreed.

At the press conference, the society doyenne was dressed in a printed floral chiffon dress. Her hair was pulled back in her signature bow to reveal her swan neck, emphasized by her drop pearl earrings. She had maintained her supple skin with coconut oil.

?I keep myself relaxed. I don?t hassle
myself. I eat fruits, vegetables and seafood. Ever since I heard about the benefits of coconut oil, I?ve been putting it on my face. I leave it overnight. But it?s not for married couples. The husband will find it too messy.?

We watched her generously spray her broccoli and asparagus with salt as the press conference went on.

Cojuangco is also assisted by Philippine Long Distance and Telephone company chair Manuel Pangilinan and Josine Elizalde. The committee has also tapped First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.

Medical aid

Eight years ago, Santos received the Golden Heart Award from the Home Reach Foundation of New York and was named the Gift of Life coordinator in the Philippines. This foundation has given medical aid to indigent children with heart and liver ailments. In the past years, some 8,000 indigent patients have been helped.

The Beloved Committee is organizing a concert featuring the New York Opera singers, Martin Nievera and composer Louie Ocampo. Tickets are at P10,000 to P20,000 per head or P200,000.

Two years ago, the first ?Beloved? show, with designer Inno Sotto presenting a fashion show with opera music, was a sell-out.

At those prices, and in the context of a shaky economy, will the Beloved Committee meet its quota?

Dizon said they are banking on the credibility of the organizers and people?s generosity of spirit.

?If people know they are helping, then those who can afford will come forward and help support. We still have some good-hearted people. Once they see the project is meritorious, they will come.?

Have they heard of donor fatigue?

Cojuangco admitted that she has had her share of rejections.

?Sometimes I feel like crying, but they know it?s not for myself. I know it?s a beautiful project. They know the money goes straight to the beneficiary. We don?t subtract anything.?

Santos added, ?Some people are more generous because they can see it is for a good cause.?
Hopefully, the kindness will have a rippling effect.

For details, contact Chevy Salvador at 0908-3268408; Angel Unson, 0917-7955909 or 817-5926; e-mail belovedencore@gmail.com.