Pimp-turned-superhero?

For what it’s worth, the Philippines is not the only country suffering from a deluge of corruption and too much publicity. According to our overseas ear-spies, an infamous multi-millionaire brothel owner in Thailand is now on a publicity rampage against some members of the Thai police, which he claims to be in his payroll for the tune of 2.5 million baht. The "sex tycoon," described as a person with a very thin moustache and a big mouth, virtually transformed himself into a "public avenger" by "coming clean" before the media, admitting everything about his business that has to do with prostitution and acts of bribery (and would you believe this?) in order to expose a corrupt police force. Our eye-spy who attended one of his rowdy press conferences say it was like a slap-and-shout soup opera, only live. This satin-garbed "pimp"-turned-superhero came out with a book, The Golden Bathtub: the Origin of Sex and Every [Other Scandalous] Thing, which has become a bestseller in Thailand. One of the scandals he exposed was the alleged moonlighting activities of some members of the Thai military as guards for top security agencies (sounds familiar). He is furious because if the police succeeds in closing down his "love spas" - Victoria’s Secret, Copacabana, Honolulu Love Boat, and the Sea of Love - more than 5,000 of his very young girls will roam Thailand, practically jobless.

When Pusher Is Shoved

One of our roaming ear-spies relayed that in a far-flung municipality in Batangas, eight alleged illegal drug pushers and shabu traders have been executed gangland-style by a still unknown group of vigilantes. A hit list of 138 drug pushers, users and drug traders allegedly operating in that part of the province is being circulated among the Batanguenos as a sign [and warning] that the group is dead serious in stamping out the drug menace in the area. Although the local government unit does not condone any vigilante activity and is now investigating the matter, our ear-spies said some of the local businesses are hailing the actions of the group as a "need of the times." A businessman from the area who refused to be named said that his medium scale export business has suffered much because six of his young employees have already AWOL-ed due to shabu addiction.

Managing Conflicts

An eye-spy managed to attend a Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) membership meeting where the guest speakers were a jovial and relaxed Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, DILG Secretary Joey Lina, and National Security Adviser Roilo Golez. Some MAP members, who are the CEOs of top RP firms, said it was good to see opposing personalities under one roof and telling their own behind-the-scenes tales of what had happened since the Oakwood rebellion. One prominent member of the business group was overheard as saying, "I hope other business groups invite these government officials into their meetings. Perhaps, getting them together on a regular basis might douse the animosity between them."

Palace Poltergeists

A Palace insider related last week the hilarious furniture tricks that Secretary Nani Braganza played on Secretary Bobi Tiglao during the furniture friction they had last year. It ended up with Braganza carting off all the OPS-marked furniture from Tiglao’s office. This left his office with only a phone propped up by a directory on the floor of former President Marcos’ bedroom. Many functionaries prefer former First Lady Imelda Marcos’ bedroom and anteroom to the FM room because servants and guards say it’s haunted. Many have seen a small Spanish boy running around in breeches. Some say it was a child of Governor General Polavieja who died sometime in the 19th century. Leapin" Lizards! Polavieja’s Poltergeist Playing in the Palace.

Behind The Bush's Trip

As life gets a bit harder, it seems the poor have learned not to beat around the bush anymore. According to our ear-spies, with the millions of dollars that US President George W. Bush will spend in his coming visit to the Philippines, it would be better to just graciously hand it over to the country, no strings attached. Their reason? Rather than spend $20 million for a trip to the Philippines, one NGO leader even said the money would be "well-spent" if Bush gives it freely to the Philippines so the country could "buy" more opportunities for jobs for the less fortunate. If Bush will do this, he said, the poor of the country will undoubtedly welcome Bush, but not anymore in NAIA, but "in their hearts."

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