THE WHO?S WHO ROSTER OF MANIla Golf and Country Club members has been reduced by at least one prominent personality after businessman Benjamin Bitanga was ?removed? from the elite group last month.

The termination of Bitanga?s privileges came after it was discovered last year that a Manila Golf share he had sold to the brother of businesswoman Bernardine Siy was, in fact, also used as collateral for a soured loan from Metrobank.

According to our source, Bitanga had been using a ?rented? Manila Golf share while supposedly ?refusing? to settle the foreclosure issue with the club.

Biz Buzz spoke with Manila Golf officials who confirmed the move, explaining that there was ?misrepresentation? when the businessman sold the share?which now goes for around P19 million each??without disclosing that it had an existing encumbrance.?

?There were two encumbrances, and only one had been cleared by the time of the sale,? a lawyer for the group said, adding that this was uncovered around August of last year.

He said Bitanga was given until Dec. 31, 2009 to correct the situation, either by settling the conflicting claims or providing a security deposit or bond.

?We gave him four months and none of these were fulfilled,? the group?s lawyer said. ?So we had no choice.?

Meanwhile, the buyer of the golf share is now a happily paying and playing member.

What happened to the creditor who had a claim on the share? ?The creditor must now go after Bitanga,? the lawyer said. Daxim L. Lucas

Meralco flip to MVP

IF THE TANCO/STI group sells the 4-percent stake in Manila Electric Co. that it had bought from the state-owned Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to First Pacific Co. Ltd. of Manuel V. Pangilinan, it may be because the block had already been ?pledged? to MVP?s group.

Industry sources claim the transaction was structured in such a way that ultimate ownership of the old GSIS block would accrue to MVP?s group, which will then be able to lay claim to a solid majority voting block in the country?s largest power retailer (at around 52 percent, together with the Lopezes? diluted interest).

According to the business grapevine, Tanco/STI acquired the Meralco block via a securities borrowing-like transaction courtesy of MVP?s financial muscle, with the shares expected to eventually fall into the PLDT chair?s hands ?perhaps when calls for a tender offer in Meralco have died down.

The Tanco/STI group is expected to reap the economic benefits from the minority Meralco block, such as the cash dividends alongside higher earnings, even if the group bought in quite late in the merger and acquisition play.

Everyone is awaiting the next move of the San Miguel/Global 5000 block, which has been sidelined by MVP?s aggressive moves to cement control of the power distribution utility.

Meanwhile, the stake acquired by the Tanco/STI group in geothermal power crown jewel Energy Development Corp. is another story.

With EDC rated as a ?buy? by many analysts, alongside the rosy outlook on renewable energy, the market expects the STI/Tanco group to hold on to the newly acquired stake in EDC for a much longer time. Doris C. Dumlao

Informant?s rich reward

THE CONTROVERSY surrounding the P7.3-billion tax levy being imposed by the government on the imports of Pilipinas Shell has taken an unusual turn with ?shakedown? undertones.

According to our sources, a ranking government official??well-connected, closely-related??has staked a claim on the 20-percent reward that is mandated by the country?s Tariff and Customs Code for whistle-blowers and informants.

Given the government?s expected revenue haul of P7.3 billion (assuming that the courts rule in the state?s favor), this ?informant? can expect to receive at least P1.4 billion as his reward.

The only problem is that this person is a high-ranking official who works closely with revenue-raising officials, according to our sources.

Can anyone spell ?conflict of interest?? Daxim L. Lucas

Banking reshuffle

ING BANK N.V. Manila branch managing director Cesar Zulueta will soon retire from the Dutch financial giant ahead of its global restructuring. On the other hand, former Chinatrust Commercial (Phils.) Bank treasurer Roland Avante has plucked himself out of retirement to rejoin the treasury business through fast-growing Sterling Bank, the thrift bank of the Tiu family.

Meanwhile, state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines is losing two young executives?Alex Macapagal and Dante Tinga Jr.

Macapagal, who heads the bank?s treasury unit, has been persuaded by his dad to help out in the family?s Toyota dealership business on Pasong Tamo beginning March.

Tinga, on the other hand, left at the end of January to join his wife (a doctor) on a year-long fellowship stint in Singapore. Doris C. Dumlao