Biz Buzz: Smuggler in religious robes
A SMUGGLER in religious robes is reportedly on the radar of Interpol after a number of exotic cars he brought in under the noses of conniving Customs personnel were on its most wanted list.
A Buzzard told us that one of the hot cars shipped in by this brother of a religious organization was a Bianco Avus Ferrari F430 Spider bought by a billionaire in real estate development.
The brother smuggler has deep connections in government agencies that he was able to come out with documents to legitimize the vehicle’s ownership.
The billionaire realtor, on the other hand, realized that he bought a hot car when he had the Ferrari checked and the VIN (vehicle identification number) and chassis number appeared on the watch list. The billionaire, however, sold the car to another buyer instead of confronting the brother smuggler in order to keep his bad purchase hush-hush.
Our buzzard said the hot cars were pilfered from warehouses of financing firms that repossessed these luxury vehicles, which explained why these cars came only with original keys and no spares.
These “carnapped” vehicles abroad are on top of the cars he has been smuggling at a fraction of their market price. These are all proudly displayed at his “showroom” in his Quezon City residence.
The Buzzard said the bureaus of Customs and of Internal Revenue have been alerted by luxury car dealers in the country. But since elections are less than a year away, these agencies have refused to act for fear of offending the brother smuggler’s patrons in the influential religious organization. The religious group apparently will play a key role in ensuring that “Daang Matuwid” will continue for another six years. Gil Cabacungan
Costly miscalculation
SOME people are wondering why the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has apparently refused to heed the advice of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) regarding the agency’s allegedly erroneous termination of DFNN Inc.’s equipment lease agreement (ELA) for lotto betting via personal communication devices, like mobile phones.
The OGCC—after reviewing the possible compromise between PCSO and DFNN—advised that “PCSO may consider the advantages of averting further litigation, or ending those that are pending, as this may in the long run prove beneficial and helpful in the pursuit and fulfillment of its mandate.”
The OGCC’s advice was solicited as the principal and statutory law office for all government-owned and -controlled corporations. It provided the advice last April after the PCSO asked for a legal opinion on the merits of a proposed draft compromise submitted by DFNN.
The OGCC advised that the draft compromise provided the PCSO an opportunity to secure a more advantageous agreement by way of favorable terms and conditions and should continue negotiations on a final agreement since DFNN had practically agreed to PCSO’s proposed amendments to the draft compromise.
But according to our sources, PCSO did not heed the advice of the OGCC, opting instead to rely on ongoing arbitration proceedings, which the government side could win or lose. In the event of the latter, PCSO faces larger monetary damages.
How did it come to this?
Last May, DFNN won the arbitration case against the PCSO, which was ordered to pay P27 million in liquidated damages to technology firm.
However, DFNN said it was insufficient to cover the damages the erroneous termination caused to the firm and its shareholders, considering the length and nature of the legal case as well as the potential financial returns had the contract not been cancelled.
Late last month, DFNN filed a petition for correction of arbitral award with the Regional Trial Court of Makati City. The company wanted P310.09 million in liquidated damages, 11 times higher than the amount PCSO was mandated by the arbitral panel to pay DFNN in its earlier ruling.
The company argued in its petition that the non-inclusion of penalty charge in the damages awarded to DFNN clearly constituted an evident miscalculation of figures.
Aggravating PCSO’s position is an earlier court injunction granted earlier to DFNN preventing the the state lottery agency from bidding out or awarding any portion of its contract, which remains in effect.
The PCSO board, in disregarding the opinion of the OGCC, opened the agency to losing arbitration and payment of P27 million. Unless something is done, it has further exposed the agency to more potential losses at a minimum of P310 million and counting.
Speculation on the street is that some misguided PCSO board members are protecting the interests of entities, which feel threatened by DFNN’s mobile online lotto betting system and are, thus, committed to ensure that DFNN’s contract is not reinstated.
The question is… which party is behind all this? Daxim L. Lucas
New SM treasurer
AFTER a 29-year illustrious career at American banking giant Citibank, treasury veteran Marcelo “Arcus” Fernando Jr. has retired to pursue a new path outside banking, but still in line with his treasury expertise.
The ex-Citibank treasurer is now managing the coffers of the conglomerate led by the country’s richest family, the same one that dominates the country’s banking, retailing and property industries. Fernando was recruited by SM Investments Corp. as its new group treasurer starting mid-June, henceforth reporting to SMIC president Harley Sy and long-time chief finance officer Jose Sio.
When Fernando—son of veteran writer Gilda Cordero-Fernando—retired from Citi a few months ago, he had been managing director for more than six years, heading the global markets cluster for Asean and global markets head/country treasurer for the Philippines at the same time.
The post vacated by Fernando at Citi was filled by Paul Favila, who was previously head of trading at Citi for about a decade. The former chief of the Money Market Association of the Philippines is also the son of a former banker (ex- president of Security Bank and Philippine National Bank) and former civil servant (ex-Monetary Board member and trade secretary) Peter Favila. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
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