BIZ BUZZ: 8th tycoon

First there were seven, which Malacañang calls the “Magnificent Seven.” Now there are eight.

Not to be outdone by other tycoons, First Pacific chief Manuel V. Pangilinan a.k.a MVP flew to Davos, Switzerland, to join President Marcos’ powerhouse delegation-slash-Davos cheering squad at the World Economic Forum annual meeting. He arrived on Wednesday, day three of the weeklong forum.

The other tycoons who have come much earlier to support the President are: Sabin Aboitiz, Ramon Ang, Teresita Sy-Coson, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Enrique Razon Jr., Lance Gokongwei and Kevin Tan.

Although MVP missed quality time with Mr. Marcos and his economic team during the 15-hour flight aboard PR001 and the first two days of activities, it’s better late than never for the chief of PLDT and Metro Pacific group.

—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Goodbye, Josephine’s; Hello, Rosario

It’s true, Josephine’s Restaurant, a favorite stopover for those hopping over to Tagaytay City, has closed its doors after some 27 years.

The site won’t be vacant for long, however, as set to rise in its place is Rosario, the latest addition to the Vikings Group of Restaurants.

Named after the mother of the Vikings Group’s chair, Alex Li, Rosario promises to “become one of the best homes for Filipino cuisine and traditional Filipino comfort food from different regions in the country.”

“Rosario will feature heirloom recipes using fresh ingredients and traditional cooking techniques, evoking happy memories of huge gatherings around the family dining table,” it added.

Also, the Vikings Group expanded recently by collaborating with celebrity chefs—Bom Gosto with chef Chele Gonzales and Lore with chef Myke Tatung—but Rosario will be different as it will feature the group’s homegrown chefs of which it is proud.

Renovations and training sessions are ongoing and they hope that it will open by the holy week this year. Abangan!

—Tina Arceo-Dumlao

Rapid response

Bank of the Philippine Islands’ (BPI) post-New Year technical glitch that caused a wave of double debit charges was resolved in less than a day, thanks to its fast and transparent response.

A distant memory of a few weeks by now, BPI CEO Jose Teodoro Limcaoco took the opportunity to explain the cause during a media briefing this week.

First of all, he emphasized it was not a cyberattack or data breach, but was due to human error: a programming glitch affecting the interlinked systems for ATMs, cash machines and online transactions.

“It was really driven by a programming error the way end of the year was handled and that’s the simplest way we can put it,” Limcaoco said.

While the issue caused a great deal of stress and anxiety for customers, BPI’s team took other measures to reduce the impact on clients while working to resolve the problem.

By early evening, the erroneous transactions were reversed and BPI’s online channels that were bogged down by the surge in usage were fully restored.

While worried, clients who spoke to Biz Buzz said they appreciated the bank’s transparency and assurances, but also hoped the glitch would not happen again.

—Miguel R. Camus