BIZ BUZZ: Tugade move reversed

Five years after the head office of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) was moved to the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles City, Pampanga by former Transportation Secretary Art Tugade, the move is about to be reversed.

Biz Buzz learned that the move back to Manila was prompted by the results of a recent survey conducted by the office of current Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista among employees of this important government agency.

As it turned out, 70 percent of DOTr employees wanted the head office moved back to the National Capital Region. Only 10 percent wanted the head office kept in Clark [mainly either because they had already relocated to the area or were from there in the first place]. while another 20 percent were okay with either location.

Well, 70 percent is more than a supermajority, so who is Sec. Bautista to go against the wishes of his employees, right?

Besides, the department currently spends a substantial sum of money shuttling employees from Manila to and from Pampanga every single day, with many of them having to leave their houses before sunrise, and returning home well after sunset.

Of course, the DOTr still owns a few floors at their old office building in Columbia Tower along Ortigas Ave., but we hear that, once the move back to the capital is made, the department’s head offices will be located in the spanking new Primex Tower at the corner of Edsa and Connecticut Street in the Greenhills area of San Juan City. At 50 stories high, that’s the tallest building in the area and is currently in the final stages of completion.

That’s good news for people who need to transact business with the DOTr for one reason or another who will no longer have to drive all the way to Pampanga.

That’s also good news for Sec. Bautista because the Office of the Secretary is currently squatting in the head office of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport complex.

— Daxim L. Lucas

Jose Mari Chan’s new property development

Filipinos know that the long Christmas season is about to begin when they start seeing those witty memes featuring Jose Mari Chan, with Mr. Christmas himself having written the perennial favorite song “Christmas In Our Hearts”.

But more than just being one of the country’s foremost songwriters, Chan is also a respected corporate executive.

Among the companies under his belt is Chan-Toei Properties, which will soon bring to the market its flagship project, the Hana Garden Villas in Cabuyao, Laguna.

Designed by L.V. Locsin Partners and TOEI, a subsidiary of IIDA Group Holdings, the largest provider of ready-built homes in Japan, the Japanese-inspired Hana Garden Villas are built with the needs of the family for spaces for bonding moments and welcoming friends and relatives in mind.

Taking inspiration from the word “hana” — flower in Japanese — the boutique community will have flowering trees and greenery throughout the sloping landscapes designed by Clarq Design Studio.

Architect Jorge Yulo and his design team likewise made sure that Hana Garden Villas will not lack for amenities that families want, from outdoor lounge areas to the infinity lap pool and a gym.

As Chan envisions, Hana Garden Villas will provide future homeowners “harmony and satisfaction that will live on for generations.”

— Tina Arceo-Dumlao