Dangerous taxi drivers

Commuters, beware of the driver of this taxi with plate number PVP 359. A Spybiz informant had the unfortunate experience of taking this cab, and had quite a scare. The driver seems to be mentally unbalanced, talking to himself the whole time and then driving farther and farther away from the passenger’s destination, going to Sta. Mesa instead of Welcome Rotonda. The driver even had the nerve to scold the passenger for not telling him the exact destination. Spybiz had also received reports that taxis with the names Wallis, Romcat and Lucky 8, supposedly owned by just one family, has drivers who are muggers, swindlers and even rapists. According to sources, the owners are aware of the criminal record of some of their drivers but all they care about is the boundary that is given them at the end of the day. In fact, all the taxi units allegedly have tampered meters. So next time you hail a cab, make sure you don’t get on these taxis with dangerous drivers.

Alamid reacts

Gary Ignacio of Alamid band reacted to the Spybiz column piece titled "Definitely Not for Kids" (Feb. 24, 2005) about a reader who found the band’s rendition of "Batibot" offensive. Here’s Ignacio’s reply, edited due to space constraints. "We are very sorry if we have offended one of your readers; it was unintentional on our part. We have been playing this song (Batibot) for almost 17 years now and this is the first time we have had a complaint about it. I understand it can sometimes be a little mischievous or even naughty but it was only done in the spirit of fun. We only do the song if it is requested non-stop, and as the reader might have heard, I always give a warning before we do the song and I ask the crowd if they want it with action or without. Kalipay Bar had nothing to do with it; it was an artist’s call to do the song or not. And if you were to ban a song like "Batibot" please do consider that other bands (Foreign or local) that also play at Baywalk perform songs with sexual connotations. Again we just want to say sorry, and we’ll try to tone down in the future." In fairness to Alamid, the band was one of those who took part in Rock Aid, a benefit concert for the victims of typhoons Yoyong and Winnie in Quezon and Aurora provinces. Incidentally, the band will be releasing its 5th album called Anting-Anting soon.

Solon pushes sale of government ‘non-performing assets’

Former NTC chief and now Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago is pushing for the sale of IBC 13 and RPN 9 to private investors to help government raise some P4.4 billion additional funds. Calling the two government media firms "non-performing assets," Santiago said the extra income would be most welcome at this time when the government is on the verge of a financial crisis. Santiago also urged government to stay out of businesses that are best left to the private sector, pointing out that not getting rid of the two media outfits now might cost taxpayers more money later on. IBC is said to be worth P3.1 billion while the 72.4 percent government equity in RPN 9 is valued at P1.3 billion. Other government assets are also being lined up for the auction block this year, including real estate worth P14.2 billion and shares of stocks in publicly listed companies amounting to P118 million.

SpyBiz Bulletin: First Jobs Fiesta Set in Mindanao today

New graduates and jobs seekers particularly in Davao and Mindanao should check out the "Jobs Fiesta" today at the Davao City Trade and Convention Center. The event is the first in a series of jobs fairs dubbed "Jobs Fiestas" that aim to help fresh college grads and others seeking employment. The Jobs Fiesta today will involve call center operators and business process outsourcing providers (BPO) that seek to recruit more than 3,000 customer service representatives and 300 supervisors monthly. According to a recent labor force survey, nearly 20 percent or some 806,000 of the 4-million plus unemployed Filipinos live in Mindanao. Sen. Mar

Roxas, who is chairman of the Senate committees on economic affairs and on trade and commerce, is spearheading the series of jobs fiestas in cooperation with various private sector groups, local government units and the Department of Trade and Industry.

* * *

Join our ring of Eye-spies by sending your intelligence information, complaints, pictures, and comments to [email protected] All information will be strictly confidential