A scam involving GMA Charity Project

What a generous gesture!

PureGold Group owner Lucio Co has ordered his accounting department to pay suppliers with stocks in the Shaw store (the one that was burned down about a month ago) on schedule.

The industry practice is to reschedule suppliers’ payments to a later date.

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For bankers who started their careers in the United States, legally changing their names might be considered a good career move.

Just consider PNOC-Exploration Development Corp. chairman Vincent Perez, who was born Vicente Perez Jr., a name that was often mispronounced in New York. Before joining government, first as Trade Undersecretary and then as Energy Secretary, Vince Perez was with the regional office of Lazard Freres.

And then, there’s BDO Private Banking head Andrew Alcid, who was born Andres Alcid, Jr. Andy Alcid got tired of having his first name misspelled – some even spelled it like the surname of the actress who played the heroine in the first James Bond movie-while working with Citibank in New York.

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Here’s another text scam that drops the name of the Bangko Sentral – actually, its address.

There is, of course, no such thing as the GMA Charity Project Division located at the third floor of the tightly-secured Bangko Sentral compound in Manila (read: the Bangko Sentral does not lease out space to outsiders).

At any rate, the text scam involves Joey Estrada, who claims to be the director of the so-called GMA Charity, and Karen Mendoza, who claims to be a releasing officer of the Bangko Sentral.

In one particular instance, Mr. Estrada sent a message to a gullible woman, informing her that she has won second prize in a June 11, 2005 raffle, which she never entered. To get the prize worth P950,000, the woman was asked to buy seven prepaid cards each of Globe and Smart and to send the entire value of the cards to Ms. Mendoza, using a so-called Bangko Sentral hotline (0921) 630-9339.

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Okay, okay, so Lucio Tan and the National Government are not selling all their shares in Philippine National Bank, which will hopefully be privatized this August, three years after it entered into the latest of countless rehabilitation programs since it was set up during the American period of the country’s history.

Whoever buys the 67 percent stake will, however, gain effective majority control of PNB.

Now, PNB president Omar Byron Mier (yes, his dad really loved his poetry) made sure the invitation to pre-qualify and to bid was announced both here and Hong Kong. That means the bank need not necessarily be sold to a Filipino group, although Mr. Tan – who likes to control the companies he invests in – might just surprise everybody else.