AS A GENERAL rule, foreign diplomats operating in the Philippines enjoy immunity from criminal and civil prosecution. But some may be taking this privilege a little too seriously.
Biz Buzz learned that Turkish ambassador to the Philippines Hatice Pinar Isik is embroiled in a legal tussle with her landlord for allegedly refusing to vacate a property in a posh Makati City village despite repeated requests from the property’s owners.
The property in question is located at 82 Cambridge Circle, North Forbes Park, Makati City, which is being rented by the Turkish diplomatic mission.
At present, the Turkish embassy sits on this location, which was part of the estate of the late Beatriz Silverio who died in 1987. In 2010, the son of Ricky Silverio Sr.— Ricky Jr.—executed a deed of sale for the property with Monica Ocampo. A title was soon issued by the Land Registration Authority in favor of Ocampo.
Later, the administrators of the estate got wind of the Turkish ambassador’s interest in renting the property, prompting them to write her a series of letters asking the Turkish representative not to negotiate with Ricky Silverio Sr. (since the property forms part of the estate of his late wife).
Despite this, the Turkish Embassy entered into a lease contract with Ricky Sr., allowing the Turks to rent and occupy the property from December 2010 to November 30, 2014.
In February 2011, Ocampo sold the property to Zee2 Resources Inc. Soon after, Zee2 Resources wrote the Turkish ambassador asking her to vacate the property.
Isik refused, despite court rulings affirming the validity of the early transactions that transferred ownership of the house to new parties.
Naturally, Zee2 Resources asked the help of the Department of Foreign Affairs, prompting Filipino diplomats to meet with Turkish embassy officials last August to remind them of the court’s decisions.
We’re told that the Turkish representative “agreed and expressed willingness to settle the issue in an amicable manner.”
The representative even said that the Turkish diplomatic office would start searching for another possible residence and even intimated its desire to purchase the property if it is open for sale.
Fast forward to October and the owner of the property, along with DFA officials, finally met with the Turkish ambassador. They were “surprised” to find that the ambassador had now changed her position and said that she could not be forced to leave the property, according to our source (despite Zee2 Resources’ offer to extend the lease on the property until December 2013).
It seems that it is now up to the DFA diplomats to settle this issue. Daxim L. Lucas
Game of Grains grows on
SO THE National Food Authority decided early on the importation of milled rice, no thanks to Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”
At 500,000 metric tons, the planned importation is about 15 days’ worth of nationwide consumption—the same volume of buffer stock that the agency is mandated to maintain.
With the NFA dishing out its stocks to calamity victims—let alone supplies ruined by the storm surge and an unfortunate incident of looting—its buffer stock has dwindled to about 12 days’ worth of consumption.
Of the planned purchase, 200,000 MT would go to ongoing relief efforts while the remainder will top up the safety stock.
Considering that Malacañang has executive agreements with Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Hanoi on rice supplies, the three governments are eligible to take part in the bidding. In other words, the NFA is ready to welcome cargo from Vietnam while it has a standing warning for Customs officials to watch out for possible shipments that may come in without its approval.
Last month, in a widely reported transaction, unnamed private traders signed up with Vietnamese suppliers for 120,000 MT. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations observed that prices of Vietnam rice strengthened partly because of the deal. Market watchers at the US Department of Agriculture also took note.
But NFA Administrator Orlan Calayag said nobody applied for import permits. So if cargo under that deal is brought in to the Philippines, especially within this year, they are considered contraband.
Whether or not such private purchases turn out to be legitimate, and despite monster typhoons and storm surges, the black market for the white grains remains (as economists would say) robust and resilient. Ronnel W. Domingo
More help for ‘Yolanda’ survivors
BY NOW, everybody knows that one big problem besetting relief efforts for Supertyphoon Yolanda-hit Eastern Visayas is logistics.
Due to this problem, the local unit of British banking giant HSBC has come up with an innovative solution. We learned that HSBC recently “reoriented” some of its contact center services to serve as a communications hub for various parties involved in the many relief missions to Samar, Leyte and other provinces in the Visayas.
“There are a lot of relief goods and emergency personnel available, but one challenge is to deploy them in an efficient manner,” said HSBC country head Wick Veloso. “That’s what we’re doing now.”
Under the scheme, HSBC’s business process outsourcing unit receives and sends out tasking orders that coordinate movement among agencies like the Red Cross or the social welfare department, among others.
That way, resources are optimized and logistical bottlenecks are reduced.
Meanwhile, another foreign bank has committed to raise its contribution to the relief effort.
Switzerland-based UBS recently doubled its donation to 3 million Swiss francs. This is, of course, in addition to its long-standing matched giving program for UBS employees.
UBS clients in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Germany can donate to the disaster relief program of UBS’ independent grant-making foundation—the UBS Optimus Foundation—which will work together with partners in the affected areas with a specific focus on meeting the needs of children.
UBS has seeded an initial 250,000 Swiss francs to its Optimus Foundation and will match client donations to the foundation, while a wealth management client event in the Philippines scheduled for this week should provide a further major fund-raising opportunity to help with the disaster relief efforts. Daxim L. Lucas
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