Heated dispute

Did you know 1: Shakey’s Philippine franchise, which is owned by the Prieto family, has included rice toppings in its menu.

At first blush, the Italian-themed casual dining chain is desperately trying to, uh, widen its customer base.

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Did you know 2: In a span of one week, Country Bankers Insurance president and chief executive officer Jose Desiderio Villareal Jr. was replaced by Ignacio MaCrohon, who was, in turn, replaced again by Mr. Villareal.

In both cases, the appointment, in huge newspaper ads, seemed to have had the blessings of Insurance Commissioner Eduardo Malinis.

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Did you know 3: The going rate for a barista or the person who makes sure the coffee is made the right way in your favorite coffee shop can earn $600 – a week.

The usual way is to work in an existing coffee shop and get on-the-job training.

An alternative is this group called Edsa A.G.R.O Industrial Trading Corp. led by president Florante dela Cruz, which is willing to train, whether these guys ends up the Mocha Blends coffee shop chain that it is expanding or put up their own shop or go abroad to use their new-found skills.

The training of baristas was a project Mr. Dela Cruz worked out closely with Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. when Cito Lorenzo was still presidential adviser for the creation of a million jobs.

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Did you know 4: A new flea market or tiangge opened last Thursday at Greenhills Commercial Center, four days after the last one closed Sunday.

The market has a new theme but the retailers are the same as the last one and the one before that, ad nauseum – except that they are located several stalls away from the one they previously rented.

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At the very least, Samsung Phils. president Sang Youl Eom does not lack confidence in his company’s products and his sales force.

Samsung Phils., which currently has a 10-percent market share, intends to rank second to Nokia among mobile phone suppliers. Oh yes, the company is eyeing a 50-percent growth in mobile phone sales.

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If she had to, Intellectual Property Office director-general Emma Francisco would rather push Philippine mango (than Bonoan milkfish) as a test case of a geographic indicator accepted worldwide.

These geographic indicators are granted mostly to wines and liquors. For example, only sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France has the right to call itself champagne.

While everyone who has ever tasted Philippine mangoes regardless of whether they are Filipinos or not–agree that these are the best in the world, bar none, there is, however, some heated dispute on which area in the country grows the sweetest or the most aesthetically-pleasing mango.