"They truly love their country."
"They truly love their country."
(Part 3)
This is the conclusion of my three-part listing of the greats and near-greats for the decade just past.
I begin with Manny Villar, often called the “brown taipan” having been listed as the richest Filipino, He is definitely a nation-builder, hero and patriot for building low-cost and middle-cost housing for Filipinos.
Together with his wife, Senator Cynthia Villar, he is an advocate of “Sipag at Tyaga”—hard work and perseverance. They have made a name for themselves on mass housing, which is their core business. They have also expanded to retail, water and infrastructure.
Villar is the compleat businessman and politician. He became Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate President. In 2010 he ran for President; unfortunately, he lost.
I recall that at one time, Manny sought me out to seek my advice. He wanted to be Speaker. I told him that the bottom line was money. Santa Banana, he must have taken my advice to heart!
Next on my list is lawyer Felipe “Henry” Gozon, part of the triumvirate that bought out Bob Stewart’s Republic Broadcasting System, which became GMA 7. The other two in the triumvirate were Menardo Jimenez and Gualberto Duavit.
Soon after taking over the GMA 7 radio-television network, Henry Gozon transformed it into a giant network, competing with ABS-CBN. GMA 7 has been rated as the most viewed network by Nielsen.
I can believe that. I too prefer to watch GMA 7 when it comes to news. It has no biases, no prejudices and no vested interests to protect. Gozon’s management is legendary.
There is also the husband-and-wife team of Lucio and Susan Co. They have both made Puregold a truly national brand.
I first met Lucio and Susan when they started their duty-free shop in Clark. Soon, Lucio bought the Philippine Bank of Communications to become chairman. Both he and Susan have remained my good friends.
Also on my list is lawyer Alfonso “Boy” Reyno, who partnered with the Ayalas to build a mixed-use complex in the Tayuman district, near Tondo.
Boy took over the biggest racing club—the Manila Jockey Club—and relocated it to Carmona, Cavite. Boy is also in online cockfighting which gave birth to the Manila Cockers’ Club, not only for business purposes but to promote cultural gaming. History tells us that cockfighting started in the Spanish colonial days.
On the side, I made Boy Reyno chairman-president of the 365 Club which I co-founded with the late Doroy Valencia, the late Makati Mayor Nemesio Yabut, businessman Pat Dayrit, BIR Commissioner Joe Viterbo and Yabut’s assistant, Biding Sibug. The 365 Club, which now holds its meetings at The Holiday Inn and Suites, is still alive and kicking.
And then there is Joey Antonio, founder of Century Properties, who succeeded in using prominent names for his developments—Trump Towers, for instance, or Paris Hilton. Joey is blessed with two sons who are now in business with him.
The last, and certainly not the least, on my list is George Yang. He revolutionized the Filipino taste for hamburger and fries by bringing McDonald’s here. The first store was on Morayta Street in 1986. That was right after the Edsa People Power Revolution. McDonald’s is now a 50-50 enterprise with Andrew Tan.
If there is one common denominator among these taipans, it’s their corporate social responsibility where they share their blessings with the poor and the needy. They are patriots and heroes, indeed.
* * *
After criticizing President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on illegal drugs as a massive failure, Vice President Leni Robredo now wants to appear in Congress to reiterate her allegations against the administration’s fight against the drug menace.
Clearly, she has two intentions: First, she wants to preempt a move at the House to impeach her. Second, she wants to portray herself as a critic of the President. She believes that the more publicity she gets, the more she will get people to follow her.
To some extent, President Duterte has succeeded in his fight against illegal drugs. A survey shows that 75 percent of Filipinos believe this partial success, too.
I think the President cannot completely eradicate the drug problem. Still, Robredo’s claim that the campaign is a massive failure, after she herself spent only 18 days on the job as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee Against Drugs, is fake news.
Even after Duterte steps down in 2022, the illegal drug menace will continue. It’s a matter of supply and demand. So long as there is demand, syndicates will continue to provide supply for that.
Similarly, Duterte’s campaign against corruption will outlast him. Corruption is embedded in the government system where human discretion is involved.
* * *
I have a few questions on the move of the President to have another concession agreement by Maynilad and Manila Water. This is supposed to be crafted by the Department of Justice.
First, will the new agreement mean fairer water rates for consumers? Will there be assurance of water distribution?
Second, will Maynilad and Manila Water now pay income and other taxes due government instead of passing them on to consumers?
Third, will Malacañang make public the new concession agreement for the benefit of consumers?
I ask these questions in the wake of Duterte’s threat to nationalize water distribution if Maynilad and Manila Water do not accede to the new concession agreement.
In fairness to Maynilad and Manila Water, both Manny Pangilinan and the Ayalas have already dropped their claim from government, an amount close to P11 billion, even though the arbitration tribunal in Singapore had ruled in their favor.
I also believe that the agreements entered into with the concessionaires during the time of Presidents Fidel Ramos and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were fair enough. But if Duterte wants the terms renegotiated, the proper way to go is to bring the case to court and let it decide. That is due process and the rule of law.
* * *
In the wake of Duterte’s move against the oligarchs, perhaps it is time for government to review all the contracts it had entered into even before the current administration.
Times have changed, and normally speaking, what was proper years ago when government contracts were formulated cannot in every sense be valid and normal these days.
Along with this move of Malacañang to review all government contracts, I suggest that both Malacañang, government anti-corruption agencies and the Office of the Ombudsman should also look at the anomalous—I’d even say rotten—contract entered into by the Bases Conversion Development Authority with the Malaysian firm MTD Capital Berhad in the construction of sports facilities in Tarlac for the Southeast Asian Games.
This involves a joint venture agreement.
It’s basic in JVAs that both partners contribute equal shares. With this deal, however, the BCDA gave so much to the Malaysian firm.
