Exiting the oldies

There’s buzz within the Lucio Tan group of companies that the Kapitan may finally let go of overstaying senior citizens in the conglomerate’s plantilla to give way to new blood. Retiring over-60-year-old employees has always been part of the group’s human resource management roadmap in previous years but it had been difficult to implement. Apparently, some senior staff keep finding reasons to stay even after reaching retirement age.

But as core businesses have now been folded into a publicly listed vehicle and group-wide profit trajectory is under greater public scrutiny, retiring costly senior staff is becoming more imperative. This time, no more extensions may be permitted, our source said. Doris C. Dumlao

Back with the Lopezes?

Since leaving his Cabinet post as head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office last December, former ABS-CBN broadcaster Ricky Carandang has often been rumored to be on the way to rejoining the Lopez group, through its power generation business.

On Friday, Carandang tweeted a picture of himself in a project site of First Gen Corp., complete with a hard hat and an orange vest, both with the First Gen logo. He was poking fun at his own costume, saying he had gone for an audition only to learn that the Village People had been disbanded.

For those not born yet before the Village People’s rise to fame in the late 1970s to early 1980s period, it’s an American disco group known for their stereotypical costumes. There’s a cowboy, an American Indian and, yes, a construction worker.

So we just had to ask whether he’s officially onboard the group (given persistent rumors), to which Carandang replied that he was “just doing a bit of consulting for First [Philippine] Holdings,” First Gen’s parent firm. Doris C. Dumlao

Kim meets Vice

Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares proved she could do almost anything—even face the risk of being ridiculed by comedian Vice Ganda on national television—just to spread the message that Filipinos should pay their taxes.

Known for being witty, Henares bravely served as a guest in one of the latest episodes of “Gandang Gabi Vice.” It’s a talk show where the comedian tries to elicit laughter from his audience by throwing ridiculous questions to his guests and engaging them in supposedly funny antics.

During the show, Vice Ganda, as expected, brought “green” humor by asking Henares questions with double meaning. For instance, the comedian asked about how good her husband was in “shooting” (Henares revealed in the show that she and her husband were into the hobby of combat and rifle shooting, respectively). She said shooting was something she and here husband considered a pastime.

Vice Ganda also asked questions about basketball, which Henares said she and her husband were also into. Her husband is part of the management of the basketball team “Air 21” in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

The comedian likewise challenged Henares, who said she knew how to dance, to imitate an outrageous dance move called “Krumping” performed by a female dancer who was called on stage. Henares said she could not imitate the move, but offered to dance “swing” instead. She danced swing with the female dancer.

A highlight of the show was the airing of a video of “Mommy Dionisia,” who vehemently warned that the Bureau of Internal Revenue would be punished by God for going after his son, boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, for his alleged multibillion-peso tax delinquency. The boxer’s mother was adamant in saying Pacquiao was not a tax evader.

Asked by Vice Ganda for a reaction, Henares said she had nothing to be afraid of because she was simply doing her job. “God will protect me if what I’m doing is right,” she said.

She also said people should not be afraid of the BIR as long as they pay the right taxes.

Vice Ganda asked Henares to never invite him to her office. The comedian said in jest that he was willing to advance the payment of his future taxes just to ensure he would not be invited to the BIR. Michelle V. Remo

SM quizzes DOTC

With the government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program picking up speed in recent weeks (finally!), it seems that rivalries between conglomerates eager for pieces of the action are heating up, too.

Apart from the brewing battle between the Megawide and Filinvest groups over the Mactan-Cebu International Airport terminal project, the “business-only” rivalry between the SM and Ayala groups is now coming to the fore.

The SM group has apparently filed a motion for reconsideration before the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), following the announcement that the Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS) project has been awarded to the AF Consortium of Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investment Corp.

On paper, the AF Consortium’s bid is higher than SM’s by a razor-thin margin of just a little more than P100,000.

But according to SM Prime Holdings Inc. chief Hans Sy, the SM consortium submitted a superior financial bid because it offered to pay the entire P1.008-billion bid amount upfront and in cash.

In contrast, the AF Consortium’s bid involves an initial payment of P279 million, with the balance of P800 million to be paid in transaction fees when ridership volume reaches 750 million transactions a quarter—something that could happen several years down the road.

So from a “net present value” perspective, SM believes its bid is superior.

“Needless to say, an upfront, unconditional payment involves no risk to the government, not being dependent on the happening of any future event to which the payment is conditioned on,” Sy said.

Given its stance on the issue, expect SM to put up a fight and expect more fireworks going forward. But if recent developments are any indication—and if the buzz going around town is accurate—SM faces an uphill fight for this project. Or any other project under the present dispensation, for that matter. Daxim L. Lucas

Twin cats

We’ve heard of Siamese cats and Siamese twins, but in the case of Cats Motors Inc.—the local distributors of Mercedes Benz, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep—the company seems to have combined the two and produced twin cats.

Cats the company has been an institution in the local luxury car industry for more than two decades, growing in impressive fashion, from a car accessory and service center to an internationally compliant showroom and full dealership.

Given its remarkable track record and history of progress, it would seem highly unlikely for company president Felix Ang and chair Greg Yu to drastically change what has thus far been a winning formula. But that exactly what has happened with the establishment of Auto Nation Group Inc. A quick check with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed that Auto Nation’s directors are comprised of the same people behind Cats, namely Ang, his wife Grace, other relatives and Greg Yu. Twin companies, indeed.

But why the sudden parallel importation set up?

The official word from Cats is that it received a directive from Germany to divide importer and dealership functions. “Daimler (the parent company of Mercedes-Benz) prefers that the wholesale and retail functions be split so that all dealers, including Cats now, get the same treatment and follow the same standards,” Yu was quoted as saying earlier.

If industry insiders are to be believed, however, the decision to create a parallel company is an elegant solution meant to satisfy a prying government revenue-collection agency. Let’s see. Daxim L. Lucas

Mining’s PR push

For decades, the mining industry has—deservedly or otherwise—been described to the public mind largely the same as how JRR Tolkien would have portrayed his villains: Scheming wielders of power and defilers of nature’s beauty, like bad wizards and Orcs.

Of course, mining companies would rather picture themselves as ushers of subterranean wealth if not stewards of a well-balanced environment, like Dwarves and Hobbits.

But, as some mining proponents observe, the contest is sometimes more a matter of who speaks louder or who can commandeer more cameras.

Well, times have a-changed. And it took the MVP Group, with its interest in media organizations like TV5, to pull it off.

TV5 started last Saturday the airing of a 12-episode series of documentaries that extol the Philippines abundant resources. The “Yaman ng  Bayan” program raises the question: Why is the country poor when we are so blessed with riches from the earth, the waters and even the people themselves?

As TV5 officials have it, the program dispenses with poverty porn and, rather, digs for the viewers a wealth of knowledge and information.

Even then, given the interest behind the documentaries, it cannot be masked nor can it be denied that the aim is to paint a better picture of mining. Four of the 12 installments talk about best practices in mining, complete with real-life examples—and not just lofty ideas, mind you—from Australia, Canada and Malaysia.

The eponymous top-honcho of the group expects criticisms about using the resources of a TV network (one side of the business) to advance the interest of mining (that is, Philex Mining).

“Critics will surely say that. Alangan namang walang criticism. Ayos lang,” Manny V. Pangilinan told reporters.

Pangilinan asks, which is the greater crime—to allow mineral riches to lie fallow, or to develop these and let them bring benefit to the people? Also, he said the mining industry must communicate better and push the issue for the nation’s leaders to define their economic ideology.

Based on the excerpts shown during the launch and comments from officials, the documentaries push for a clear land-use policy based on the best potential for the land. If there are minerals underground but the land is better-suited for agriculture or tourism, then it’s not for mining. And, of course, if the land is best-suited for mining, let the miners do their thing.

Surely, mining can be sexy, but will it? In any case, that is getting ahead of the game. For the moment, whatever side of the fence you are—it should be worth watching. Ronnel Domingo

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