Biz Buzz: Roque’s riposte
BANCO Filipino lawyer Harry Roque Jr. wrote us last week saying Biz Buzz “deliberately omitted vital facts, thereby betraying the BSP colors of his pom-poms while presumably watching the BSP versus Banco Filipino conflict from the journalists’ box.”
In particular, he said Biz Buzz did not disclose that the P200,000 that he billed his client “was intended for full page ads desperately needed by BF in its critical fight to stave off a bank run caused by a barrage of smear media campaign caused by the Tetangco-led BSP and its paid hacks.”
He added that the amount was disapproved by the BSP-appointed comptroller, hence, no such ad campaign fund was received by my firm and the intended ads did not see print.
“Mr. Lucas has shown keen interest in pesos and centavos and has demonstrated unusual skill and extraordinary talent at obtaining confidential information from the BSP,” he said. “I believe his readers should wonder how come eye-popping billions spent by the Tetangco-led BSP have escaped his keen eyes?”
He goes on to detail the billions of pesos supposedly spent by BSP over the years for salaries for personnel and consultants, travel expenses and other unspecified expenses.
“Mr. Lucas has sadly betrayed himself as a conscious and willing participant in the public vilification of parties who are making a valid claim against the BSP,” he said.—Daxim L. Lucas
We say…
WELL, just a couple of things, really.
Biz Buzz never said Attorney Roque got “paid” for any ads. We only said he “billed” his client for it (although it must be strange to bill a client BEFORE a service is rendered).
Attorney Roque says the P200,000 was meant for ads to reply to a smear campaign against the bank. But the billing statement was dated Feb. 20, 2011… almost a month before Banco Filipino’s troubles began. That billing statement was also made just three days after anti-Tentangco ads were published in the papers, with Attorney Roque as a signatory. Coincidence? Hmmm.
Biz Buzz’s Daxim Lucas has been accused of being a paid hack many times before, especially when writing about the closure of problematic financial institutions like Urban Bank in 2000 and the Legacy Group in 2009. Given how things have played out in those cases, the accusations have always turned out to be badges of honor.—BB
Telco tipples
AS EXPECTED of any major corporate consolidation, the PLDT-Digitel deal is facing certain operational kinks that must be smoothened before synergies could be attained from their combined scale.
For instance, the Visayas-Mindanao network expansion of Digitel’s Sun Cellular is in limbo, given recent developments. Our sources say network vendor Ericsson was awarded the contract for the Vis-Min expansion but with the recent deal, the rollout program has been frozen indefinitely. Some Sun employees are also understandably jittery over possible job cuts and wondering whether long-serving staffers could partake of the Gokongweis’ golden parachute in this deal.
On the other side of the fence, meanwhile, SingTel recently sought a two-week-long set of “closed-door” meetings with local partner Ayala group (spoiling some Ayala execs’ Lenten plans) to calibrate strategic and tactical battle plans against the now much larger opposition. Since the Ayalas and SingTel intend to keep Globe Telecom and know that “mergers of this nature are not without their problems,” they intend to use their rivals’ period of adjustment to gain market share.—Doris C. Dumlao
Survivor
PEOPLE in the telecommunications industry are shaking their heads and clucking their tongues at the luck and skill of National Telecommunications Commission chief Gamaliel Cordoba, who remains head of the regulatory agency despite his apparently close links with the previous dispensation.
Cordoba had previously served as undersecretary at the Office of the President (supposedly serving as the personal appointments secretary of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) and a fraternity brother of Rep. Mikey Arroyo.
Without impugning his abilities as a regulator, our source said Cordoba has the support of an “Influential National Church” group partly to thank for his continued tenure at the NTC.
He was even seen on TV recently sitting comfortably beside Secretary Sonny Coloma during a Palace press briefing.—Daxim L. Lucas
BNPP for sale (parts of it, at least)
WITH Japan facing a nuclear crisis of Chernobyl proportions, anti-nuke individuals and groups are probably rejoicing that our own Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) was mothballed from the start. Never mind that millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money—somewhere around $50 million, even more—is spent each year just to maintain the plant-that-never-ran.
There have been talks of rehabilitating it and possibly running it, but that doesn’t seem all that ideal at this point, given the Japan experience. So what does a cash-strapped nation like us do with a white elephant like that if we’re never going to run it anyway? Why, sell its parts, of course.
That seems like the most logical step, but it is only now, after almost three decades of the plant’s useless existence, that this option is being seriously considered. An American firm operating a plant similar to the BNPP has offered to buy some parts of the mothballed facility, and the state-owned National Power Corp. management is open to the proposal.
Instead of just selling specific parts, however, Napocor wants to sell the BNPP lock, stock and barrel, sans the structure and the civil works. If the American firm agrees to such an arrangement, then the BNPP may finally be of some use to the country.—Abigail L. Ho
Get business alerts and a preview of Biz Buzz the evening before it comes out. Text ON INQ BUSINESS to 4467 (P2.50/alert).
