Bulacan tobacco firm gets backing from church exec

PHOTO FROM MIGHTYCORP.COM.PH

MANILA, Philippines—A church official in Cagayan expressed support for the owners of a Filipino cigarette firm based in Bulacan province, which is now under siege for its low prices.

In a handwritten letter quoted in a statement by Mighty Corp., a tobacco firm operating in Bulacan, Archbishop Emeritus Diosdado Talamayan of the Archdiocese of Cagayan said the Wongchuking family, which owns the tobacco firm, was helping build churches and promoting devotion to Our Lady of Piat.

“For the past many years, I have known personally Mrs. Nelia Wongchuking, chair of the board of trustees of Wong Chu King Foundation Inc.,” said Talamayan in his letter on

Nov. 28.

“She, together with the entire family, are great devotees of Our Lady of Piat,” the bishop said.

Talamayan said the Wongchukings built a chapel for Our Lady of Piat in Malolos, which was a gesture of their devotion.

The firm’s spokesperson, in the same statement, complained about efforts to link the company to a US case.

Oscar Barrientos, Mighty Corp. vice president, in the statement asked the firm’s competitors to do battle in the sales market and not resort to dirty tactics.

Mighty Corp., Barrientos said in the statement, “has not, at any point, sold its products in the US.”

Barrientos, a retired judge, said Mighty Corp. was dragged into the US cases, completed in 2003, without its knowledge.

“We were never served summons, which is why we failed to respond or take proper action,” said Barrientos.

“We are not a party to these cases, as far as we are concerned,” he added.

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