The unveiling of Manny’s Lammy!
Soon after the Vespa Club‘s visit to the headquarters of Laguna Choppers in San Pablo City in Laguna, Wawel (our club president) quickly arranged for the unveiling of Manny’s Lammy (The Manny Pacquiao-themed Lambretta) here in Manila, before being transported to GenSan, the boxing champion’s hometown. The scoot made its inaugural debut last week in-between sets of the mod/soul band Juan Pablo Dream which has a regular Thursday night gig in Eastwood City.
Transporting this one-of-a-kind scoot has been a logistical challenge, but Wawel did it despite the time constraints. Since our president was out-of-town the night of the unveiling, I was tasked to emcee the simple ceremony. Tops — our ride director — has been tasked to take the official photos which you’ll see here. 
from left: Elmer Reyes of Laguna Choppers, Warren Manilay who commissoned this project, and me! 
Read the project brief:
A successful entrepreneur in General Santos City, who was originally from San Pablo, Laguna, decides to give Manny Pacquiao an unforgettable, one-of-a-kind gift, and comes up with the idea of a custom Lambretta upon learning of his town mate Elmer Reyes’s exceptional work at Laguna Choppers. He commissioned Elmer to restore and customize a 1962 Lambretta Li 150cc Series 2, with it’s engine upgraded to 175cc.
The result is a true masterpiece! Elmer features the life story and career highlight of Manny Pacquiao until his devastating knock out victory over UK’s Ricky Hatton. The Lambretta is full of jaw-dropping details, and filled with artworks. The inside of each cowl and the bottom of the floor board are painted with artworks, too. Elmer himself did most of the paintings on this scooter, then later was assisted by two other artists. The leather seats were hand-embroidered by the barong artisans of Lumban, Laguna using the same technique that they used on barongs, applying it this time, on leather. Amazing!
The Lambretta was commissioned by power couple Warren and Sarah Manilay. Warren and Sarah own and run Goldenstate College in General Santos. Warren was the former Tourism Officer of GenSan, and is the brains behind the Tuna Festival, which has become key to promoting General Santos as a top tourist destination in Mindanao. Warren is also Chairman and CEO of Golden State Colleges. Together, Warren and Sarah have steered their Golden State Colleges towards achieving phenomenal growth in the past 3 years, gathering numerous awards, forging partnerships with facilities in Singapore, and transforming the school into a world class educational institution for the youth of SOCSARGEN.
Warren and Sarah are avid car restorers as well and have a 65 Mustang, a 62 Falcon and two Lambrettas, while their only son John has restored a 1917 General Motors truck.
It was the couple’s friendship with Manny Pacquaio that prompted them to have a Lambretta custom-made for the Pound-for-Pound King. Like Warren and Sarah, Manny is deeply committed to the people of General Santos, investing heavily in the city and promoting it as a tourist destination. Manny’s Lammy is in fact, destined to be delivered to General Santos City, where it will surely add color to streets of this fast developing community.
Last Thursday was my first time to watch JPD’s gig in Eastwood City which started this year. The band has always been supportive of the local scootering community so it’s easy to understand the support it gets back from the riders. By accounts of Bing Austria (JPD’s frontman) and Bryan Garcia (the band’s manager), last Thursday’s gig has got the biggest scooter turn out thus far. The special parking near the stage is pack as seen in the following pics.
Eastwood City is not just pet-friendly, it's scooter-friendly as well!
this shot captured the ambiance in Eastwood Central Plaza that night
Elmer has printed a few souvenir shirts to mark the occasion.
After JPD's gig, scooterists had more time to admire Manny's Lammy
a souvenir shot of Juan Pablo Dream abnd members with Manny's Lammy
the riders who witnessed the unveiling, and listened to good music in a very, very 'Nice Place'
- More photos taken during the event can be viewed in the multiply ablums of Tops Marin and Darwin Andres.
Members of Vespa Club of the Philippines came if full force. Our friends from EuroScoot, Vespinoy, and independent riders showed up to enjoy the music in the company of friends.
We would like to thank Warren Manilay, Elmer Reyes of Laguna Choppers, MotorcyclePhilippines.com, Juan Pablo Dream (special mention to band manager, Bryan Garcia), and to Eastwood City for making the unveiling possible.
Maraming Salamat!
~ABET
john[dot]rana[at]gmail[dot]com
i like the lambretta in the photo. nice to see another restored and loved lambretta. here in the UK it is getting near impossible to find a lambretta to restore as just about every single lambretta is now owned by a real enthusiast who has restored it and wont sell it, i have a lovely AF GP200 in full stage 5 race spec. i’m looking for a SX to restore, but the asking price for a running SX is about 4000gbp now, that is for a scooter that needs a full restoration. when they have been restored they are now fetching up to and over 10.000gbp, how much are lambretta’s being sold for in your country ?
You can also check out the Motorcycle Philippines forum for their prices in the Philippines. Here are a few that are currently for sale:
http://www.motorcyclephilippines.com/classifieds/showcat.php?cat=15
Prices seem to range from 1,200 to 2,000 British pounds for Li125 and LD150 models.
Hi Kevin! It’s also not that easy to find a Lambretta here in the Philippines. A resourceful seeker may still find one rusting and abandoned somewhere in the countryside.
I have no idea what the current market price of a Lammy here. I guess it’s best to ask Elmer of Laguna Chopper. Just visit http://lambrettaresto.multiply.com and send him a message.
Hi i want to join your club. I own a 2000 gilera runner 180sp. please let me know if you have an upcoming event. Is this every thursday at eastwood? More power. Jomel Gonzaga(0922-9372018)
Jomel, we’ll have our Chinatown Foodtrip Ride later this morning. Visit http://www.vespaclubph.com and checkout the ‘Club Rides and Events’ section to see other activities you may want to join in. See you!
John,
Nice to see you back in your blogging mode =)
Pretend i’m a newbie in your your page and first time to comment haha.
Greetings from the windy city, Chicago!
We’re a group of scooterists in Chicago who love rare soul, reggae, revival, and other sounds from the scooterboy scene. We ride nice looking bikes – no rattle cans – and anything bolted on is CHROME! Dressing sharp is part of it, but don’t think we can’t work on a bike either. We do that too, and we do it damn well. We’re the MayDay SC: More Than Genuine!
check out http://www.maydaysc.com to keep up with future events! See you on the road or on the dancefloor…
Jordan5
MayDay SC