Blues see Greens still seeing red

Several readers reacted to "Green sees red," a column item that came out last Tuesday (Oct. 4). First, Spybiz would like to thank the reader who pointed out that La Salle assistant team manager Manny Salgado was from Batch ’74, not Batch ’78. The other readers took exception to the column item, especially the dig about the victory jig of Ryan Arana, and that Salgado’s nationally televised "batok" on Arwind Santos has made some fans root for an FEU victory. In response, we would like to quote columnists like Dong Puno and Tony Samson who echoed Spybiz’s point: That sportsmanship should not be forgotten, and that victory should be tempered by humility, class, and grace. Spybiz agrees that it is not a sin to express joy through shouts and dances, but there is a difference between a victory jig and a taunting dance. As Dong Puno said, there is a world of difference between healthy competitiveness and mean-spirited hubris. UAAP players are watched by many kids, and we certainly don’t want them to think winning at all costs means flushing sportsmanship down the drain. Unfortunately, the opinions expressed by both Dong Puno and Tony Samson may have a tinge of bias since they’re both Ateneans. But then again, this has been balanced by Philippine Star Sports columnist Quinito Henson, a La Sallite through and through, who also expressed disappointment at the behavior of Salgado.

Registered Corruption

While the National Government has just created a body to stop land-titling corruption, a Spybiz Ear-Spy came across reports about a cabal of lawyers acting in cahoots with some residents in a Marikina subdivision to make a killing out of the land transfer transactions in the subdivision. According to the Ear-Spy, the common-law wife of one of the lawyers working for the housing regulation agency influenced the housing agency to come out with a recent ruling "ordering the register of Deeds of Marikina not to accept any Deed of Absolute Sale for registration and issuance of any new title" in the subdivision "without the clearance" of the agency. In short, the parties have to pass through the bureaucratic gauntlet before any land transfer can be registered. This "practice" has reportedly been going on since 1993, but in the past, the agency merely "enjoined" the Marikina Register of Deeds. Its most recent ruling, however, now "orders" instead of merely enjoining. The Ear-Spy is wondering if the housing agency has the mandate to do this.

$24,000 Hoax

A company going by the name of MG2 LLC with a Singapore office address has been sending letters giving the false impression that the recipient had just won a $24,000 tax free check, and that all the recipient had to do was send P1,000 to cover administrative and mailing costs. Closer scrutiny of the letter, however, reveals that the P1,000 merely represents payment for qualifying in the draw for a game called "Payment of $24,000 by Check in Your Name." Several recipients of the letter had sent P1,000 to a certain Macha Russo c/o MG2 LLC in Temasek, Singapore, thinking that they would be receiving the $24,000. What is disturbing, aside from the fraudulent nature of the "game," is the fact that these scoundrels have access to people’s contact details. Victims of the scam discovered that the game had no prior clearance from the DTI. Neither does it fall under a clear category.

Spy tidbiz: Manila Polo Club rejoinder

Manila Polo Club (MPC) president Ray Dempsey wrote in response to the Oct. 4, 2005 column item titled "Expensive Manila Polo Club Mess."The column reported that a series of emails were being circulated among MPC members about alleged anomalies and cases involving the club. Dempsey said the Manila Polo Club board "vigorously denies that any fraudulent transaction have been swept under the table," and that the allegations about the MPC management are from unsigned, unidentified emails. Dempsey stated that they have invited, and continue to, invite the author of the emails to come forward, meet the Board and present proof regarding the allegations.

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