Ongpin files P300-M countersuit versus APC

PhilWeb.Com chairman Roberto V. Ongpin is fighting back at business rival APC Group Inc. (APC) and is filing a countersuit against the latter for P300-million for fabricating "malicious and baseless claims" against him.

"How can I steal something which belonged to me to begin with?" Ongpin asked.

"For APC to lay claim that I stole the concept from them is ludicrous since they have no clue whatsoever of how to establish, much less, run an internet business. There are over 200 companies in the country today in the internet business and yet, APC sounds like they are entitled to a monopoly of the business. It just goes to show how little APC knows about internet," Ongpin said.

Ongpin was reacting to APC's accusations that PhilWeb.Com stealing by Ongpin's group of APC's internet business "was a premeditated act."

APC filed a P150-million suit against Ongpin, PhilWeb.Com and South Seas Natural Resources Inc. for illegally appropriating for themselves corporate opportunities and business that properly belong to APC's Philcom (Philippine Global Communications Inc.) and PhilCom Interactive Systems Inc. (Philcom Interactive)

APC, a company owned 49-percent by Belle Corp., from which Ongpin and his ally Jaime Gonzales were ousted from the board during its stockholders meeting last year, said the Ongpin group has acquired interests adverse to Philcom and Philcom Interactive.

Ongpin, however, countered that at no time did Philcom, whose main asset involves submarine cables, ever have a business or even a business plan based on broadband access via satellite.

"It is ironic that APC now bemoans Alex Villamar's resignation from Philcom," Ongpin said, adding that for many months after his ouster from Belle and APC, Villamar tried many times to convince Belle and APC to re-engineer Philcom as an internet company.

"My proposals regarding opportunities in the internet were clearly over their hand and this is one of the reasons I resigned, as I clearly stated in my resignation letter dated January, 2000" Villamar said in a statement.

The APC rebutted Ongpin's charges, saying he is trying to confuse the issue. The APC said that Villamar as president and chief executive officer of Philcom made a presentation to the APC board last July 30, 1999 and the proposed business plan was approved. Villamar and his team were supposed to fine tune the plan and present it again to the board for approval.

In a statement APC said that Ongpin and six of his associates controlled the 10-man board of Philcom.

"No board meeting was called which is typical of Ongpin's management style. No plan was ever formally presented to or rejected by the Philcom board controlled by Ongpin. The APC board or management was never formally consulted on the matter, nor was any approval ever sought from them.

Villamar, thus, cannot claim that he resigned because the APC turned down his business plan, the APC said.

The APC stressed that until today, Ongpin is still a director and chairman of Philcom. His six close associates, including Villamar are still directors of Philcom.

"They also happen to be directors of PhilWeb.com. There is a clear and undeniable conflict of interest," APC said.