New York insurance fraud reaches RP shores

Officials of the US Department of Justice are working on a tip that fraud may have been committed regarding the insurance of Napocor. In 2002, shortly after GMA took over as President, the insurance brokerage firm Heath & Lambert – whose representative to the country then was Albert del Rosario, now Ambassador to Washington DC – was able to get the insurance for Napocor. At that time, the original premium prior to Heath and Lambert’s stepping into the picture was about $9 million, but the figure spiraled to a whopping $17.5 million in premium payments by Napocor. The insurance consultant for Napocor then was Ben Santos, the present insurance commissioner who is closely associated with Ambassador del Rosario and the American International Group. Commissioner Santos may find himself on the witness stand at the expected indictment of former AIG chief Maurice Greenberg in New York soon. Since, the reinsurer for Heath & Lambert is AIG, US Justice officials are investigating the Napocor insurance deal. With Napocor already in deep financial debt and almost bankrupt, how could something like this happen? GSIS has the mandate to be the sole insurer of all government properties like Napocor. Last year, GSIS figured prominently in the news because of the reinsurance issue. Napocor reportedly wanted to award the lucrative business to an insurance broker that was not in GSIS‚ short list of insurance companies. At present, GSIS has been able to insure Napocor for a reasonable $11 million. This seems to be another clear case of insurance "hocus-pocus" at the "tip of Greenberg".

Spate Of RIP’s Hit RP

If it’s not murder, it’s death due to pollution and now a spate of suicides seems to be hitting the country. Some two weeks ago, banker Ted Borlongan shot himself in the head after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal on the cases he filed against Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. for the foreclosure of Urban Bank in 2000, which Borlongan said was illegal. The other day, a young coed from Philamlife in Las Piñas also killed herself. Recently and quite inexplicably, the sister of a prominent politician in Negros, who is also the wife of a prominent haciendero also ended her life by shooting herself. There has also been news reported recently about a woman jumping to her death in Ortigas. The most likely explanation for all these RIP’s in RP is stress and depression – as was clearly the case in Ted Borlongan’s death. Some observers remarked that a growing sense of helplessness and depression seems to be pervading the country. Could this be on account of all the bad news coming out about corruption and the deteriorating economic condition of the country?

Chaos In Calapan

Our Region 4 informant reported businessmen are complaining about the lax security at the Port of Calapan in Oriental Mindoro. Vendors, hawkers and even dubious-looking characters are now allegedly allowed within the port premises, and as a result, bag snatching, pick pocketing and vandalism of vehicles are now on the rise. Regulars said that these unwelcome changes happened ever since the former PPA port manager was transferred to another port and her replacement took over. The new port manager, said to be a former police port police major, even reportedly ordered his people to move certain ticketing outlets outside port premises, a move which regulars feel would only encourage illegal business. As a result, chaos often ensues in the port of Calapan, which is a vital link to President Arroyo’s Strong Republic Nautical Highway. Legitimate port businessmen and users are now wondering if the new top man is up to the job at all of keeping everything in peaceful and orderly.

Spy Tidbiz: Silver Cars Are Safer

Those thinking of buying a new car would be interested in a study by researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand published in the British Medical Journal. According to the study conducted between 1998-1999 involving more than 1,000 Auckland drivers, silver colored cars were involved in fewer crashes resulting in serious injury compared to cars of other colors. The least safe colors are reportedly brown, black and green, while white, yellow, gray, red and blue cars are in the middle range. According to Reuters, some 3,000 people die every day in a car crash. About 50 percent of the drivers in the Auckland study had been involved in a crash which resulted in serious injuries or death, while the other 50 percent of the drivers served as a control group and were not involved in crashes. Even after taking into account such factors as road conditions, age, gender, educational level as well as alcohol or drug use and even the use of a seatbelt, the car color still had an impact on the possibility of a crash. While researchers could not really explain why drivers in silver cars figured 50 percent less in accidents, the possible explanation could be the fact that the color silver is highly reflective and thus more visible on the highway. Whether car, SUV or truck, several surveys also confirmed that silver was the most popular car color in the US, Europe and Asia in 2004.

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