| Wednesday 19 November 2003 |
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Mariah still in RP, takes detour to Palawan
Instead of flying off to New York City last Tuesday, international pop diva Mariah Carey hied off to Amanpulo in Palawan. Mariah, who held a one-night show at the Fort open field in Taguig, will stay in the exclusive resort until Sunday, according to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) assistant general manager Angel Atutubo.
Mariah canceled her Singapore Airline flight to New York City on Nov. 17, but her 35-man entourage left Manila at 1 p.m. on that day via China Airlines, Atutubo told Inquirer Entertainment yesterday. She flew to Palawan onboard a private plane, and was accompanied only by her manager and two bodyguards, Atutubo added. Amanpulo is on the private island of Pamalican, 200 km east of Palawan.
Guests from Manila are flown in to the island by a chartered plane, which lands directly on Pamalican. The exclusive resort supposedly charges each guest between 600 dollars and 1,000 dollars per night. "Owners of the place practice strict security," said Jofelle Tesorio, Inquirer correspondent in Palawan. "They will not welcome visitors who go to the island through private yachts. Guests have to be flown in by their own plane."
Only guests are allowed to roam around the resort, Tesorio said. Hired entertainers are restricted to their rooms, she added. Hollywood personalities who had visited the resort are ramp model Naiomi Campbell and award-winning actors Robert de Niro and Tom Cruise.
Mariah performed in Manila for the first time last Sunday as part of her "Charmbracelet Tour 2003". Manila was the last leg of her six-city tour. The singer will reportedly pass through another international airport when she returns to the United States on Sunday to avoid a repeat of an incident at the Naia Centennial Terminal when she arrived last Saturday.
The singer's body guards sent airport general manager Edgardo Manda and other airport officials out of the NAIA's presidential lounge while the singer retouched her make-up. "Our intention was just to give her VIP treatment," Manda said in an earlier interview with the airport press. "It's part of our Filipino hospitality to make sure everything is okay and (ensure that celebrities) are welcome here in Manila."
Manda said that he instructed airport personnel not to give VIP treatment to Mariah and her entourage, which included back-up dancers, singers and band members, when they left NAIA last Monday. They joined the queue at the departure counter and personally checked in their baggage, Manda said. Another American singer, Mandy Moore, arrived in Manila on Monday to perform Thursday, at 8 p.m., at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. (Philippines Daily News - Mariah Connection)
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