Rosemarie Arenas
Rosemarie "Baby" Arenas is a Manila society figure who featured prominently in the political scene of the Philippines in the 1990s. She was a relatively unknown socialite until 1993, when the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that she had a past intimate relationship with the then-Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos.[1] The scandal grew when within days after the revelation, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission ruled against the owners of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a dispute involving one-third of the stock ownership of the newspaper. It was widely reported that the adverse ruling came about due to presidential displeasure over the report, although no concrete proof of such ever emerged.
President Fidel Ramos never publicly acknowledged a past relationship with Ms. Arenas, although neither did he emphatically deny the report. The scandal, though widely reported at that time, had no visible impact on the Ramos presidency, and quickly passed. For her part, Ms. Arenas attempted to parlay her unexpected fame into electoral victory, running for the Philippine Senate in 1995 and for the House of Representatives in 1998.
Ms. Arenas is also known for her considerable philanthropic efforts and support for the arts. She famously convinced the legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti to perform in Manila for the first time.
[edit] Family
Arenas was born Rosemarie Bosch Jimenez to an opera singer and a relatively middle-class man from Pangasinan. Due in part to her well-connected mother who sang in the prestigious opera galas in Manila and abroad, Arenas was exposed early to Manila's high society.
She married the late Ramon Arenas, from the old Arenas clan of Manila. Ramon's mother is the very wealthy Doña Julieta Hofileña Lopez, sister to industrialist Don Eugenio Hofileña Lopez (ex-owner of Meralco, Negros Navigation, ABS-CBN) and former Vice President Fernando Lopez (owner of the University of Iloilo). The Lopezes were one of the wealthiest clans in the Philippines.
Although an adopted child, Doña Julieta was the only recognized daughter of Doña Presentacion Hofileña and as such was an equal beneficiary of all the Lopez assets and haciendas when Doña Presentacion and her husband died.
As the favorite daughter-in-law of Doña Julieta who inherited much of her own heirloom jewelry, this may explain why Arenas is one of the very few females outside of the tightly-knit Lopez clan to own such select Philippine jewel sets.
[edit] Wealth
Arenas is an effective businesswoman. Although she was a Blue Lady of Imelda Marcos, much of her wealth came before her association with the Philippine first lady. From her husband Ramon she received numerous houses in Forbes Park and Dasmariñas Village on top of priceless jewelry and personal effects from her mother-in-law. After 1986 and essentially on her own, Arenas dabbled into supplying the Philippine Military with footwear and other essentials, adding more to her family's assets on her own stewardship.
