Apparently there was an argument over commissions from the sale of real estate properties — which was not a very big amount — which De las Alas wanted to get, but the former governor reportedly wanted to pay it piece meal.
All of these speculations of course stem from the fact that this involves a high profile person, being the former husband of Senator Loren Legarda. But they’ve been separated for over two years now. Tony Leviste has been known to be controversial in many issues especially those involving land grabbing cases in Batangas. In fact, when he was applying to be a member of the Manila Polo Club, one member opposed, effectively turning down his application.
In fairness to the victim’s family and the former governor, the investigators must come out with the real facts. There should be no whitewash. Otherwise, people will continue to question this high profile case with the never-ending speculation like a suspense drama movie — "Whodunnit, and why?"
This was confirmed by Ricky Razon himself when I talked to him, who said that he never made such an offer. Except that he qualified it by saying that he did make an offer to "Uncle Max" a long time ago to be a passive investor.
All these rumors are obviously circulating because The STAR has now become the number one newspaper in the Philippines, and obviously, being number one — it is a target of speculators and people trying to sow intrigue. This paper’s circulation is at its highest today — continuing to be popular here and abroad with an all time high of advertising revenues. The paper’s online edition via philstar.com is also getting millions of hits everyday and online readers have repeatedly commented about how easy and reader friendly the format is.
But, in Spanish, they say "tiene razon" — and in this case, there’s every reason to believe that Ricky Razon could very well afford to buy a number one newspaper because he is reportedly awash with cash. Ricky has been traveling all over the world, expanding his business rapidly. He’s been dubbed the "Baltic King" on account of ICTSI’s operations in the Baltic Container Terminal in Poland, and his latest venture is in Madagascar.
The only comment from people that I talked to which they said didn’t go quite well were the polo barongs. There were many people who told us that everyone seemed to be dressed the same — aides, security people and delegates — giving people a hard time identifying who’s who. The barongs for the heads of state should have been given a more elegant and elaborate embroidery to distinguish them from the security, the staff and other delegates.