Not necessarily a long-distance retirement

It seems that PLDT’s loss is the media’s gain. According to our ear-spies, a number of people are hailing incoming media baron Antonio "Tony Boy" Cojuangco as one of the best things that happened to ABC-5 and the news and broadcasting industry in general. Our ear-spies overheard that Cojuangco is pleased with his decision, knowing too that he will be leaving PLDT with an P11-billion net headway before 2003 ends. According to our ear-spies, Antonio Cojuangco’s expressed "retirement" from PLDT, although it’s reported that he will still stay as a member of the board, saddened a number of employees whom he helped in the past.

An Inamorata’s Exodus

Our showbiz-government ear-spies disclosed that the "other" family of a celebrity solon has been getting "hell" from his legal family. About a decade ago, the solon chose this mestiza, who was a Fil-Am beauty queen in the United States, as his well-kept inamorata. She used to live in the US but has now settled in the Philippines with their two children aged 10 and six. According to our ear-spies, the first wife has been harassing this inamorata over the phone since they came to the country to the point that the celebrity solon is forced to relocate his second family from time to time. This only goes to show it’s not right for our senators to get into the habit of "multi-tasking."

Courting Trouble

It seems some courts in the country are taking advantage of the impeachment case against Chief Justice Davide by not doing their work as they are supposed to. According to our ear-spies, a number of people in Parañaque City are wondering why some court staff members are twisting schedules for the hearings. It’s bad enough, they say, that they had to endure some of the court staff members’ allegedly rude attitude, they still had to bear the supposed "incompetence" of those who draft the schedules. This was all very sudden, one complainant said, who had to dish out a few thousand pesos for her attorney even though the judge allegedly did not appear during the appointed hearing.

Spy Tidbiz

According to our ear-spies, in one of Metro Manila’s cities, there’s a tried and tested way for a political family to gain instant popularity.

They find the three largest squatter communities and serve them up a very official looking, but very bogus, demolition order. For full effect, they send loud, arrogant men who are instructed to get into verbal hostilities with the residents. On the scheduled demolition day, a member of the family (whoever is running at that particular time) shows up and acts as the defender of the communities, waving papers and speaking in legal drivel. Of course, this will suddenly cause the previously abrasive demolition crew to sulk away with their tails between their legs. Strangely, these voters fall for the ploy each and every time, starting with the ex-congressman now Cabinet secretary, then his sister, and now – believe it or not – his supposedly less than qualified wife.

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