Johnny Air Cargo is full of air

A Filipina-American visiting the country complained to Spybiz that she chose Filipino company Johnny Air Cargo to send very important medicines that she needed but it has been more than a week and she has yet to receive them. She chose Johnny Air Cargo over others because she wanted to give business to a Filipino-owned company, but she’s now regretting her decision because had she sent those medicines through FedEx or UPS, they would have been here in less than two days. Johnny Air Cargo claims to be "fast, reliable and secure" but it seems they’re just full of air.

Vote for ‘coconet’

Emails were awash with appeals to vote for the Philippines’ ‘coconet,’ one of the 12 finalists in the BBC World and Newsweek-sponsored "World Challenge," a competition that aims to identify groups or individuals all over the world whose projects have made a great impact on communities at grass roots level. Coconet is an ingenious Filipino creation that makes use of coconut husks to combat soil erosion by acting like surrogate tree roots that hold loose soil together. Agricultural engineer Justino Arboleda started Juboken Enterprise in 1995 to produce the coconets, and has since developed other uses for the different waste products from his coconut farm such as doormats, stuffing for car seats and mattresses and fertilizer for organic farms. Coconets are now being produced at a rate of 30,000 square meters per month for markets all over the world. Not only that, the popularity of coconet has given jobs to more than 1,500 families who are involved in its production. The winner for the "World Challenge" will be chosen based on the number of votes generated by each finalist. To vote, just log on to www.theworldchallenge.co.uk and click on the photo of the Philippines’ coconet. Voting is open until 5 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2005. The story was featured in the Aug. 29 special issue of Newsweek. A documentary about Philippine coconut geotextile or coconet industry will be shown on the BBC World cable channel on Sept. 24 around 8:30 GMT. Now this is one contest where Filipinos all over the world should have only one common vote.

Buzz at the DTI

A Spybiz insider revealed that just before Ex-DTI Secretary Juan Santos left, he had ongoing projects aimed at attracting foreign investors in key sectors like ICT and health. Businessmen were recruited to head the committees for each of the sectors identified, and stayed on even as Santos was replaced by Peter Favila as DTI secretary. One of those recruited and appointed as committee chair was a well-known Makati businessman. An important meeting during the last week of August was called, and the businessman’s secretary confirmed his attendance. What arrived, however, was a letter of resignation from the businessman, and everyone surmised the move may have been connected with the resignation of Francisco Licuanan as SBMA chief. What makes the resignation more intriguing is that the DTI was reportedly gearing up for a major medical/health and wellness conference in the coming months that is hoped to bring on more investments in the country. Insiders are allegedly lamenting the businessman’s resignation as such a loss.

Terror alert

Spybiz received intelligence reports from the Spy-Ring that the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) plans to bomb Western embassies, malls in Metro Manila, LRT/MRT stations, buses, public markets, churches and other public places where they can inconspicuously blend in with the crowd. ASG targets will reportedly be concentrated in the Makati, Baclaran and Alabang areas. The Spy-Ring is urging the public to be vigilant and not to panic in case of bomb explosions, and to help victims and be prepared to give their statements to investigators.

Spy tidbiz: Making up is hard to do

Our Spybiz sources in New York said Maria Luisa Mabilangan-Haley is arranging a meeting between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former US President Bill Clinton who was GMA’s classmate at Georgetown University. GMA will be meeting with US businessmen to attract them to invest in the country, and has sent an advance party composed of Finance Secretary Gary Teves and adviser Rey G. David, who were seen arriving at the JFK airport by Spybiz Eye-Spies. Mabilangan-Haley served as the White House Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel and was said to be the highest-ranking Filipino in the Clinton Cabinet. But our sources tell us that Presidential Adviser Roberto R. Romulo is allegedly angling to take credit for the arrangements to make up for his brother Dick Romulo who signed the July 8 Makati Business Club manifesto demanding the resignation of President Arroyo. But to paraphrase an old Captain and Tenille song, "Making up is hard to do."

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