Biz Buzz

Escape artist

It looks like the aftermath of a business partnership gone wrong, but a Korean national who runs a food and beverage importing business is now the subject of a deportation case —something he has successfully fended off for several years now.

The Korean, Kang Tae-sik, who owns L and J Jinro Philippines which also imports wines, is the subject of a complaint by lawyer Alex Tan who filed a case against him in 2014.
And the dispute has reached not only Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, but even the halls of the Senate where Kang’s case was cited by the DOJ chief in a testimony a few weeks ago as an example of someone who should have already been deported.

Kang’s story is an absorbing tale of successful evasion of jail sentence and legal legerdemain over a period of 21 years.

In 1996, Kang was convicted by the Manila Regional Trial Court of two counts of violation of the Anti-Bouncing Checks Law for issuing worthless checks totaling P500,000.

Apart from the civil penalties, he was also sentenced to one year and eight months in jail. The offenses involved what lawyers call “moral turpitude” and made him liable for deportation.

However, through a series of legal maneuvers, he was able to evade jail sentence. This, even after his conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals in 1997 and 2001 and by the Supreme Court in 2003 which made the sentence final and executory.

Kang had succeeded in obtaining a court order in 2007 declaring that the penalties imposed on him had already prescribed.

The order was issued by a new presiding judge of the same regional trial court that convicted him. The felon thus became a free man without serving even a day of the jail sentence imposed on him some 21 years ago, with the added bonus of being absolved from paying more than half a million pesos in civil liabilities. Amazing.

While the lapse of his jail sentence does not spare him from deportation, Kang has so far foiled all attempts to send him packing back to Korea. In 2014 and 2015, for instance, the Board of Commissioners of the Bureau of Immigration issued a total of four resolutions ordering Kang’s deportation—all to no avail.

On Nov. 15, 2016, former justice secretary and now Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa voided the resolutions. Upholding Kang’s legal arguments, he revoked the warrant of deportation and ordered then Immigration Commissioner Siegfried Mison to release the Korean from detention, without even requiring bail.

The latest news is that Kang has again run to the Court of Appeals for an injunction to stop Aguirre’s deportation order.
So people continue to wonder: How could he have afforded the huge expense of continuing legal battles for 23 years since 1994, when he was first criminally charged? Business must be good. Daxim L. Lucas

Slow progress

Delayed flights and long queues are well-documented aspects of air travel, felt in many places including Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

But just as crucial, despite being an almost invisible aspect to flyers, are the behind-the-scenes airport concessionaires which are involved in everything from in-flight catering to ground handling.

Alas, 10 months into the Duterte administration, many of these companies have yet to feel the promise of change that swept Mr. Duterte into power.
These companies, which employ thousands, have struggled under a somewhat restrictive policy under the Aquino administration, which favored year-to-year contracts versus the longer-term deals from previous regimes.

That type of uncertainly prompts companies to hold off from making big investments and employment decisions.

The reason then was that long-term concessions did not make sense, considering that the government was looking at privatizing operations of Naia under the public private partnership scheme.

Some change has occurred since that time, but not for the better, if you ask these airline service concessionaires.

The PPP project has been put on hold, and their one-year contracts have transitioned to the default monthly agreements.

It looks like more waiting is required as the Manila International Airport Authority and the Department of Transportation figure out their broader airport policy first. Miguel R. Camus

What a way to close women’s month

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s speech at the 2017 Go Negosyo Inspiring Filipina Entrepreneurs awarding ceremony was on-point for the occasion—at least, the part prepared by his speech writer.

It was full of praise for the hardworking businesswomen being celebrated that Thursday afternoon at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang Palace, which included National Book Store’s Socorro Ramos, Filinvest Development Corp.’s Mercedes Gotianun, CDO Foodsphere Inc.’s Corazon Ong and W Group of Companies’ Rosalind Wee.

Statements such as “I hope you remain a vital partner in nation-building” and “let us make change work for women, and women work for change” were uttered by the country’s highest official in recognition of the 26 awardees’ achievements in their respective fields—what would have been the perfect close to Women’s Month.

But, of course, in true Digong fashion, he had to inject a few impromptu remarks, which started with a reiteration of his justification of the administration’s most controversial issues: The war against drugs and Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

In a nutshell, Duterte said he didn’t order the police to kill criminals, but told them to hunt them down and arrest them if possible; unless, of course, the suspect became violent. As for Marcos, the President said that as a lawyer, he was just following what the law prescribed: That Marcos, as a former soldier and president, had every right to be laid to rest at LNMB. He even cracked a joke about giving up his slot at the cemetery should his time come, which elicited a few giggles from the crowd.

But, as many now know, the highlight of any Duterte speech is when he spouts expletives—and this time, it was directed at two specific media companies, the Inquirer and ABS-CBN. Maybe he had a bad day, or read stories published by the two outfits that irked him (as a couple of guests jokingly suggested)—but something prompted the President to accuse these media agencies of producing rude, corrupt and unfair reports about him.

Thankfully, even such strong words didn’t destroy that afternoon’s festive mood; the hall was filled, after all, by ladies brought together by their shared passion for entrepreneurship. After the mandatory photo opportunity with the President, the room was in a frenzy—a few guests tried to get their selfies with Mr. Duterte while many others scattered and started mingling, chatting, hugging, congratulating each other—and heading for the buffet stations.

Ushers tried—and failed—to get people to settle down at that point and even the event’s host Luchi Cruz-Valdes’ repeated requests for the crowd to take their seats to give way to the President’s exit were left unheeded. But because everyone eventually started eating, the problem sorted itself out and Duterte was able to exit stage right. —Annelle Tayao-Juego