Behind his back

Did you know 1: That buffed up statue of Lapu-Lapu, which has not been allowed by the administrators of Rizal Park within gazing distance of national hero, Jose Rizal, has become a favorite among camera-touring tourists.

The state of Lapu-Lapu – the only native Filipino leader who scored a decisive military victory against the Spaniards – is near the Department of Tourism, behind the Rizal Monument.

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Did you know 2: Not much is known of Egmidio Jose, the nominee of President Arroyo to the board of San Miguel Corp. except perhaps that he shook hands last January with the President when he was awarded outstanding entrepreneur for 2003 by the Development Bank of the Philippines.

Eddie Jose is better known among car manufacturers. You see, one of his companies (under the VSO Group) is Valerie Products Manufacturing Inc., which fabricates automotive components for domestic consumption and for export.

Mr. Jose became an entrepreneur, largely because of his father, a career government employee who had nothing to show after his retirement and encouraged all his children to put up their own businesses.

To augment the family income, Mr. Jose’s mother put up a small textile store in Divisoria. During his college years, Mr. Jose would work in the store during the day and study at night.

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Oh dear. Even public school teachers are now borrowing against their future retirement windfall (with interest, of course) to become a member of a multi-level marketing company called First Quadrant.

In part, this could be because TV host Kris Aquino endorses it. In part, this could be because one of the major owners of First Quadrant is the wife of Presidential campaign spokesman Michael Defensor.

And, then, there’s the come-on. For a membership fee of P8,800, the new member immediately gets a gift certificate which could be exchanged for P5,500 worth of products shown in a catalogue. The new member can also earn a commission of P1,500 for each family member or friend willing to pay P8,800 to get into the First Quadrant system.

One of the aims of First Quadrant is to help sell locally produced products such as Marikina-made shoes but that hasn’t happened because of an, uh, technicality. You see, the gift certi-ficates issued to members – which they can redeem for their own use or for resale – are, more often than not, unused because the redemption prices of the products in the catalogue are twice the price of the same products in any SM department store.

There have been, of course, a number of would-be members who have sought reassurance from either the Department of Trade and Industry or the Securities and Exchange Commission before joining the company. (After all, P8,800 can still buy an almost real Jelly bag plus a Prada bag thrown in at the Greenhills flea market).

DTI, which is currently headed by Cesar Purisima, has said the government agency to give that kind of comfort to would-be members is the SEC. After all, DTI only deals with actual products and services sold and gift certificates aren’t quite these.

The SEC, which is chaired by Lilia Bautista, has said the government agency to give the thumbs up for would-be members of First Quadrant is the DTI. After all, SEC only deals with financial instruments and gift certificates don’t qualify.