Biz Buzz: Oh, brother!
THE FALLOUT from the $81-million money laundering scandal has reached the realm of journalists.
Now, it’s no longer just Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito who has been suspended. The career of another veteran television-radio personality has been put on ice as well.
Biz Buzz learned that this TV-radio guy—known for his hard-hitting on-air commentaries—was slapped a 30-day suspension by the broadcast network he works for last week in relation to his program where he tackled the issue of RCBC’s involvement in the biggest money laundering scandal ever to hit Philippine shores.
Now, to be fair, this journalist has made a name for himself defending the downtrodden and taking up the cudgels on behalf of “the little people” going up against big-name politicians, businessmen and the like.
And so it was when TV-radio guy forcefully took the side of Maia Santos-Deguito in his program last week, spewing mouthful after mouthful of impossible-to-print words against RCBC and its president and CEO Lorenzo Tan.
TV-radio guy may have been just a little too passionate in defending the seemingly oppressed Deguito as he went on to call Tan some impossible-to-print names again, and even at one point, urging RCBC’s clients to take their money elsewhere.
Well, TV-radio guy has been known to go overboard at times—just like his equally hard-hitting brothers who are also journalists—but, in the heat of the moment, he probably forgot that there are the usual “ties that bind” that link the broadcast network he works for with RCBC.
You see, RCBC chair Helen Yuchengco-Dee also sits in the board of a big company that owns and controls the broadcast network that employs TV-radio guy. Whoops.
And so, after a flurry of phone calls among the broadcast network’s top management, TV-radio guy was suspended for a month. It’s a shame because, we understand, he was supposed to serve as one of the panelists for yesterday’s Comelec debate on the presidential candidates.
The more worrying thing for TV-radio guy (and his fans among the viewing and listening public, we suppose) is that his contract with the network is nearing its conclusion and will be up for renewal soon. Uh-oh. Daxim L. Lucas
Romero vs Romero
THE GROUP of businessman Reghis Romero II is contesting his son Michael Romero’s deal to cede close to 80 percent of maritime gateway Manila North Harbour Port Inc. to conglomerate San Miguel Corp.
To recall, father and son have battled for control of Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI), the family-led holding firm that used to control 65 percent of Manila North.
The younger Romero’s legal counsel, Rivera Santos & Maranan Law Offices, wrote to us to explain that there was no legal obstacle to their client Michael’s deal. The law firm noted that in an order dated May 6, 2015, issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila, the court affirmed Michael’s 68.1121-percent ownership over HCPTI.
Such ownership by Michael, the order said, originated from the two notarized deeds of assignment dated March 2, 2011, executed by Reghis’ R-II Builders Inc. and R-II Holdings Inc. A motion for reconsideration was filed but was denied. “In a subsequent order dated 4 December 2015 the RTC Manila further affirmed the ownership by Dr. Michael Romero group over HCPTI and recognized the legitimacy of the group…”
The law firm said that in another case, the RTC Quezon City had issued an omnibus order dated Dec. 22 denying Reghis’ application for preliminary injunction to stop the son’s group from “misrepresenting themselves as stockholders of Harbour Terminal. Another case sought to restrain Michael’s group from acting and performing acts of ownership over HCPTI.
Michael’s group has also filed a criminal case against one Jerome Canlas for alleged falsification of public document and perjury: “In claiming [Canlas] was corporate secretary of HCPTI and authorized to file the complaints-affidavits for qualified theft against herein complainants (from Michael’s group), did respondent deliberately and willfully make such falsehood” based on a Department of Justice resolution dated Nov. 9, 2015? The law firm noted that the Department of Justice had issued a resolution dated Nov. 9, 2015, which found probable cause for the filing of five counts of crime of falsification of public document in relation to this family feud.
So for now, the law firm said there was no hindrance to the SMC deal. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
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