Ex-shipping tycoon back in the black?

Cebu Ear-spies related that this one time Southern shipping great has been boasting lately that he is back in the black – liquid that is, after selling his shares to his partners in the most talked about merger of assets by shipping tycoons in 1996. But is he really back? Our Cebu-based spies said that this shipping tycoon has, in fact, heaps upon heaps of bad debts. Whatever he got from the buyout is not even enough to pay half of his "IOU’s". But proud as he is and in order to prove a point, he raised a very big bet among his friends or to whoever is up to the challenge. His bet is that the present Malacañang tenant will not win in the May 2004 elections. And to prove his point, he has wagered P100 million that a new president will be sworn in by June. In one of his fits of braggadocio, he planned this all for fun of course and to prove that he is back. Much to his surprise, someone has taken up the challenge. There is talk in the maritime industry that a single-digit golf handicapper, who operates a port, has taken on the shipping tycoon with a counter wager that the present occupant of Malacañang will get a fresh mandate. The same amount is on the line. This prompted the shipping tycoon to scrounge for funds and dispose the rest of his prime assets to cover the bet. This guy always seems to outdo himself. This time, he has definitely bitten off more than he can chew. In a few weeks, we will see if he will emerge as the victor.

To CBA, is to believe

Metrobank VP Jasmin L. Bunag made some clarifications regarding the negotiations between Metrobank’s management and employees. She reported that the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) of Metrobank was signed last March 29 covering a three-year period from Jan. 1, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2006. On the morning of April 13, however, our banking industry Eye-spy disclosed that banking employees (from different banks) in the area were in frenzy because Metrobank gave their employees P120K in lump sum as part of the CBA. However, they will not have any salary increase for three years. Although this Eye-spy works in a different bank, she is interested to see the outcome of the Metrobank CBA. This inside story was fed to her by a Metrobank employee.

‘Speedy’ Gonzalez pulling another fast one

Our Eye-spy in Clark disclosed the "real" reason behind the inflow of investments into the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ). The Clark Development Corp. (CDC), under the stewardship of its current president & CEO, Emmanuel Y. Angeles is actually negotiating for an unidentified investor’s takeover of the Mimosa Estate, including its crown jewel, the Mimosa Regency Casino. Mr. Angeles has long been trying to revert Mimosa’s management and operations to the private sector, but all his efforts have always been blocked by Mimosa’s previous owner, Mr. Jose Antonio ‘Speedy’ Gonzalez of Mondragon. The fact of the matter is, ‘Speedy’ Gonzalez pulled a fast one during FVR’s time. He didn’t pay the right rent and set his own payment fees to PAGCOR. Eventually, these all caught up with him. As a result, CDC took over the Mimosa Estate during the Erap administration. He immediately sped to Erap’s side and pleaded. Joseph Estrada asked him to do just one thing "pay all your debts to the government and you get to keep Mimosa". After EDSA 2, Speedy ingratiated himself with the new administration by accusing Erap of coercion. Nobody believed him. In the last month or so, CDC has been trying to strike a deal with ‘Speedy’ and award Mimosa to a private "investor". According to very reliable "Spybiz" sources, the deal is supposedly being facilitated by the son of a former top justice official. About two or three weeks ago, CDC financial and legal executives met with a Mondragon executive at the CDC office. They informed the Mondragon man of CDC’s intention to award Mimosa to a then still unnamed private investor. Sensing that CDC was cooking up something, ‘Speedy’ Gonzalez took out an advertisement in the newspapers warning the public and Mimosa bidders that the Mimosa issue is still pending with the courts. It’s time to give it up, ‘Speedy’! After all these years, you’re still trying to pull a fast one on the government.

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