The cheaper option

Signs of the time 1: Despite more people going to the malls, food court lessees complain of lower sales.

It seems more and more people bring their own lunch and/or merienda but buy their soda or ice cream in the food court to justify the use of the tables and chairs.

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Signs of the time 2: Occupancy in Bay Area hotels currently average 50 percent. These hotels have been badly hit by the growing popularity of serviced apartments or condotels – each unit has a kitchen – among expatriates.

With lower corporate budgets to work with, these foreigners don't fly in and out of the country as often as they used to. Instead, they opt for the cheaper option of staying in the country for a couple of months to finish their projects and then leave.

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To date, the 14 trade attachés (who used to be assigned to countries such as France, Canada, and Israel but who have since been told to come home) have been twiddling their thumbs. These guys don't even have working desks they can call their own.

Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas II has closed trade offices in several countries as a cost-saving measure. You see, Philippine trade in these counries are supposedly not enough to support the presence of a trade attaché.

And there's this idea of Mar Roxas to put in writing whatever institutional knowledge these 14 trade attachés have and can share with others in DTI.

So far, however, nobody has actually asked these guys to put down their experiences nor has anybody ask them how the country can improve its trade with the countries they used to be assigned to.

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Bank notes 1: Although she could have come in as a corporate assignee, Citibank corporate country manager Catherine Weir decided to buy a Manila Golf Club share in her own name.

Even more curious, Cathy Weir goes to the club not so much to play golf but to hold very private meetings there.

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Bank notes 2: During the 45th anniversary of the Social Security System, employees applauded loudly the entrance of former administrators, The Philippine-American Life and General Insurance Co. president and chief executive officer Jose Cuisia Jr. and Philippine Savings Bank chairman Renato Valencia.

Although invited, former administrators Carlos Arellano and Vitaliano Nañagas II decided not to attend the party hosted by SSS chairman Bernardino Abes and president Corazon de la Paz.

In the case of Lanny Nañagas, his absence was understandable. As Development Bank of the Philippines chairman, there was no point in going since the president and chief executive officer Simon Paterno had decided to attend the anniversary. Mr. Paterno accepted the three Balikat ng Bayan awards on behalf of the bank, the same number of awards as last year.