Squeeze-play on cap

A few years back, a then top official of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made an offer in behalf of a top US foreign-owned insurance company and its local affiliate to purchase the Sobrepeña-owned College Assurance Plan (CAP). The US company saw the tremendous opportunity in pre-need educational plans in the country catering to hundreds of thousands of Filipino families wanting to fulfill their dream of securing their children’s education. But since CAP is the pioneer of pre-need education in the world, the Sobrepeña family felt that it was their patriotic responsibility to keep the company under Filipino hands. Shortly after, the USAID-funded Accelerating Growth Investment and Liberalization with Equity (AGILE) came out with a recommendation for the SEC to adopt an Actuarial Reserve Liability (ARL) computation for pre-need education companies. The SEC, without prior consultation with the Filipino pre-need companies, effected the ARL which distorted their actual value. With the ARL showing that CAP (as well as other pre-need education companies) was in distress, the SEC further tightened the noose by canceling its license to sell despite its viability. The US insurance company – its local cohorts, and their co-conspirators in government – appears to have had a stranglehold on CAP as it pursued efforts to execute its nefarious plan. Luckily, things are now changing and it seems the stranglehold is loosening with recent positive developments for the company. Because in the end, it will be the Filipino who will suffer if CAP ends up in the wrong hands.

Beware of unscrupulous employment agencies

Families seeking household help usually rely on employment agencies because these are supposed to provide trustworthy and trained staff. Spybiz has received several reports, however, that a lot of employment agencies advertising their services may only be out to get a fast buck at the expense of trusting would-be employers. One such agency – whose name should be more aptly called "Devils at work" – allegedly supplied a maid who was supposed to have been trained by them, had the necessary clearances and whose background was already checked. Imagine the horror of the employer when the agency-recommended maid turned out to be a former member of the New People’s Army, was a thief, and a telebabadera who left her employers with a huge PLDT bill in the two months that she stayed as a household help. These employment agencies earn as much as P5,000 for every maid they supply. They could earn close to P100,000 a day depending on the number of households they can supply a maid with. They take in walk-in applicants and immediately refer them without bothering to check the background or credentials. Beware of such unscrupulous agencies.

All roads lead to 168 mall

If you haven’t heard of 168 mall in the heart of Divisoria, you must have been hiding under a rock or been snoring in a cave. It’s a 25,000-square-meter shopping center with stalls offering fabulous bargain items of virtually everything from RTW, fashion, novelty, toys, appliances, home décor and a lot more. It’s a bargain hunter’s haven, where you can browse and browse without having to smell like a hog because the place is air-conditioned. Our shopaholic Spy-Ring told us that most of the stalls are owned by the Chinese who allegedly "obtained" their citizenship for a "fee." Apparently, these Chinese businessmen had difficulty complying with their motherland’s one-child policy, and so they found the Philippines a more accommodating and hospitable alternative. In China, citizens who comply with the state’s one-child edict get perks and incentives, but those who have difficulty controlling their urges get penalties instead of perks or subsidies.

Reactions to dwbr sos

Spybiz received numerous reactions to our Dec. 6 column item (SOS: Save our Station) that revealed plans to reformat DWBR into an all-OPM station, all expressing disagreement at the plan. One notable reaction came from reader Dominic Agcaoili, who called the idea "rotten" and disclosed that the station served as an instrument in breaking the generation gap between him and his father. "When I was growing up, he would listen to it the whole day, especially on Sundays, and I would ask for the title and the artist of a song that I particularly liked. Then he would tell stories of the era when the song became popular. I certainly appreciate the education I got from my dad regarding music," the letter writer shared.

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