Bad luck, good luck

Philippine Stock Exchange chairman Alicia Morales-Arroyo submitted yesterday her letter of retirement as president of RCBC Securities, in large because she feels she does not have the time to be both chief executive officer of a stockbrokerage firm and PSE chairman.

Aleli Morales-Arroyo, however, remains the company’s director-nominee to the PSE and, as such, will finish her term as PSE chairman as scheduled in March 2005.

Ms. Morales-Arroyo will be using some of the available time now open to her as a member of the Congressional Spouses Foundation. As everybody knows, her husband is newly-elected Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, the brother-in-law of President Macapagal-Arroyo.

By the way, the PSE has brought in a geomancer or feng shui practitioner to improve business. Recently approved in a suggestion to change the PSE colors of green and gold – considered bad luck when used together – to the lucky fire colors of red and gold.

The original logo design of a knot with the ends facing down has also been reworked to a stylized rendition of the bourse‘s acronym with the letter "S" looking like a number eight (the luckiest number to the Chinese) and located midway higher than the letter "P".

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Did you know 1: St. Luke’s Medical Center now does DNA testing for both parents. Paternity testing normally resolve inheritance issues.

In the case of the mother, well, many of these cover adoption-related cases.

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Did you know 2: Public hospitals are beginning to feel the lack of doctors, who are opting to work as overqualified but highly-paid caretakers in the United States.

The supply of doctors has dropped to such a level that even private hospitals such as Sto. Tomas Hospital is now advertising for residents and fellows.

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Oops! It turns out that Jose Perez’s Palace appointment will not replace United Coconut Planters Bank president and chief executive officer Jose Querubin but chairman Deogracias Vistan.

Jojo Querubin spent the latter part of last week visiting the bank’s Cagayan de Oro branch. Sonny Vistan has a business of his own called Investors Securities.

Expect the room of Baby Perez to showcase ikebana arrangements, courtesy of wife and Sogetsu School president Margot Perez.

In PCIBank, where he used to be executive vice-president, the floral arrangement in Mr. Perez’s room were gratis while the bank paid for the floral arrangements in the room of then president Rafael Buenaventura.

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Yes, the Government Service Insurance System has more than enough to pay for the early retirement packages of 10 percent of its currently paying members. Early retirement is part of President Macapagal-Arroyo’s plan to trim the bureaucracy.

Then again, GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia has made it clear that his people are going to check that new retiree-members like outgoing Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Lilia Bautista get only what is due them, no more and no less.