Biz Buzz: Property shakedown?

One would think that a large property developer—a part of a conglomerate owned by one of the country’s richest families, no less—would have no problem fending off attempts by scammers to shake it down for money, but such is always the case.

Federal Land, which is part of GT Capital Holdings of taipan George Ty, is facing huge roadblocks in its bid to complete and market its P5-billion Four Seasons Riviera condominium project in Binondo, Manila, no thanks to the efforts of parties who claim to own the property on which the development is being built.

It all started a few years ago when Federal Land acquired the 7,000-sqm land along Binondo’s Muelle de la Industria (facing the Pasig River) from Philippine National Bank, which had foreclosed the land and then auctioned it off.

Once Federal Land started to develop it, however, along came a lady by the name of Dolores Molina who claimed to own the property and presented land titles (printed on security paper, no less) to back up her claim.

The two parties went to court and Federal Land was able to prove that Molina’s titles were fake, thanks to the experts at the Land Registration Authority who testified that there were inconsistencies found when they compared Molina’s titles with those in their records.

Molina’s efforts to have the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) stop Federal Land from building the project was also thrown out by the agency.

So after several years in litigation, Federal Land finally got the green light to proceed with the project. And proceed they did, completing and selling out the first of four towers while the second one is nearing completion.

But lo and behold! A couple of years after Molina’s death in 2013, a company named Solar Resources surfaces to claim that it had a joint-venture deal with the late Molina and that her rights to the property had since been transferred to it. We’re talking about a joint-venture deal based on land titles that have been proven in court to be fake.

This new claimant approached the HLURB to ask the agency to stop Federal Land and—to everyone’s surprise—the agency last month ordered the Tys’ property development firm to stop selling condo units.

We’re talking about the same agency that had earlier given Federal Land the green light, suddenly making a 180-degree turn and reversing its decision. To say that Federal Land and the Tys and their high-priced lawyers were shocked is an understatement. You know who else was shocked and alarmed? Other large property developers who are regularly subjected to similar treatment by so-called property owners who come out of the woodwork when large development projects are announced.

Biz Buzz understands that Federal Land has received “suggestions” that the harassment would stop if they agreed to cover the costs incurred by these claimants. How much? The suggested settlement fee being demanded from Federal Land is in the vicinity of P150 million… “to cover what we’ve spent.” Wow! Nice operation. Unfortunately for them, it looks like the Tys are not going to yield. Watch this space, people. Daxim L. Lucas

Powerful BIR official

INTERNAL Revenue Commissioner Caesar Dulay should clip the wings of this official whom we shall call Mr. G—the self-proclaimed legal expert at the tax agency—before President Duterte gets a whiff of the man’s colorful past.

Even without any official designation in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Mr. G has been signing documents on behalf of Dulay, Biz Buzz heard. Why? What has happened to Dulay? Has Dulay become a mere wallflower at the BIR?

Mr. G, according to our sources, has been throwing his weight around like he’s the alter ego of Dulay. He vetoes decisions and recommendations of people at the BIR and even gives orders to a presidential appointee at the agency as if he is the BIR commissioner.

It’s unfortunate that Mr. G is creating confusion at the BIR because the people there could not comprehend where he draws his power from. He is also causing tension there for his wanton usurpation of authority.

Sooner or later, President Duterte may hear that Mr. G was made to leave a previous government post (at an office that worked closely with the BIR) two presidential administrations ago for supposedly intervening in a BIR ruling that favored one particular large player in an industry that was being subjected to higher excise taxes.

Mr. G’s intervention resulted in the government collecting less revenues from this particular company, thus depriving the state of additional funding for its projects.

So why did he do that? And what is he doing at the tax agency now? Your guess is as good as ours. Daxim L. Lucas

Caticlan airport upgrade

IT EXITED the telecommunications business a few months ago, but it appears San Miguel Corp. can still provide high-speed internet services to travellers going to Boracay.

Well, not SMC itself, but via a new partnership with PLDT Inc. for “carrier-grade” wifi access at the Boracay International Airport the conglomerate operates.

Of course, this was related to PLDT’s commitment to spend P1 billion to deploy high-speed wifi in almost two dozen public transport hubs across the Philippines.

“Reliable and fast internet connection will go a long way in enhancing passenger experience here at Boracay Airport,” Ramon Ang, SMC president and chief operating officer, said. “Toward this end, transforming this airport into a modern, world-class facility, is something that we in San Miguel have been working hard to achieve these past couple of years.”

SMC not too long ago wanted to break into the telco biz, specifically in the lucrative mobile broadband space. It didn’t quite work out as planned and now new partnerships are cropping up.

SMC always had a soft spot for airports, both for their commercial value and Ang’s own enthusiasm for aviation.

It made a big bet in Boracay years back and it has basically participated in all airport projects since then, from the Mactan Cebu International Airport (which it lost) to the upcoming regional airports public private partnership (PPP) deal. Also on the radar was the Naia PPP project.

Let’s all not forget Ang’s proposal for a brand new international airport serving Manila that was shown to—but set aside—by the Aquino administration. Word is Ang was still very much keen on this and we might hear of fresh developments for an even better main air gateway in the not-to-distant future. Miguel R. Camus

SEC relocation

IF THERE’S one government agency that’s eagerly awaiting who the next Land Bank of the Philippines president will be, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is it.

The SEC, after all, is set to avail itself of a loan from Land Bank to fund the construction of its future headquarters in a government financial cluster in BGC. This is a P1-billion project that has been on the drawing board for years.

SEC chair Teresita Herbosa said Tuesday the government agency had already bought the land and would just have to put up the building. As to how tall it could be, this will still be the subject of discussions with the Taguig City government.

Before Nov. 11 this year—which will mark the SEC’s 80th anniversary—Herbosa hopes to complete the relocation of its entire workforce to a temporary space at the Philippine International Convention Center. That is where the corporate regulator will settle in before the completion of its BGC headquarters. The relocation is urgent because its old cramped building at the corner of Edsa and Ortigas Avenue has been declared an earthquake hazard a long time ago. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

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