BIZ BUZZ: Blindsided
Not a few people were surprised—no, “shocked” is probably more accurate— when word emerged on social media Wednesday last week that a new boss had been appointed for the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
It was shocking partly because former airline executive Cesar Chiong was named to the post only early last month and had not even begun to warm his office seat (figuratively speaking, of course).
And it was also a surprise for many because Chiong and his boss, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, didn’t think that the pushback from other parties would come so soon to this key office within the Transportation department. MIAA, of course, oversees the operations of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), which is the most important aviation gateway in the country.
“JJB was completely blindsided by this move,” said one industry source familiar with the goings-on in the industry. “He’s been trying to push back, but it looks like he now knows that it’s useless.”
Biz Buzz contacted Chiong the moment word emerged that Malacañang had appointed a replacement and word was that he was actually holding an office meeting at the time the Palace memo was made public. Bautista’s office, meanwhile, initially dismissed the development as “fake news.”
It’s unclear what caused the removal of Chiong, who was one of Bautista’s trusted lieutenants at Philippine Airlines for many years, before moving to San Miguel Corp. when the conglomerate was running the airline from 2012 to 2014.
What we hear, however, is that, because Chiong was acutely aware of the challenges he’d face and issues hounding MIAA (awareness gained form his many years in the airline industry), he moved aggressively to fix several problems, but ended up shaking the status quo too much for some entrenched interests.
“There are a lot in there,” said another source. “Cesar knows a lot about those syndicates. Smuggling, human trafficking, you name it.”
At one point in the past, there was even a racket in MIAA where residents in the airport perimeter were allowed to connect their electrical power to the main airport line, as well as another where aviation fuel was siphoned off for sale by a syndicate.
And then there are the bigger issues, given that the MIAA head also has a strong voice in determining how or if the Naia rehabilitation program will get off the ground at all.
Of course, we wish Chiong’s replacement—lawyer Jose Arturo Tugade (the son of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s Transportation chief)—the best in his new role, given the daunting task he faces.
As for Chiong, he will surely land on his feet, given the skill set he possesses, but it remains to be seen exactly where he will land or if Bautista will find a new portfolio in the department for him. Abangan!
—Daxim L. Lucas
Hands off ‘Holiday’ brand
If you’re thinking of taking advantage of revenge buying this coming Yuletide season and sell ‘holiday ham,’ you may want to check with your lawyers first.
That’s because Foodsphere Inc., producers of the CDO line of processed and canned food products, said it was the registered owner of the ‘holiday’ trademark, which it has been using on its Christmas hams since the 1970s.
Thus, in an ad in the Inquirer last Friday, it demanded other food manufacturers, distributors, retailers, restaurants and other establishments to “immediately cease and desist from using ‘holiday ham.”
Foodsphere said in its notice to the public that the use of the trademarks amounts to infringement of the company’s intellectual property rights, as well as unfair competition, as defined under Sections 147 and 1688, respectively, of Republic Act No. 8293, or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
Failure to stop using these trademarks will compel the company, it said, “to take appropriate civil, criminal and administrative actions in court against violators, and hold them liable for damages and attorney’s fees.”
