‘Ate Vi’ good for Batangas business

A lot of large-scale developments are going on in Batangas, one of them SM Investments Corp.’s 5,800-hectare Hamilo Coast project which will combine ecotourism with real estate development. There’s been a lot of anticipation for this project, which is going to be twice the size of Macau. Some P2 billion is being poured in into this huge development, which will come in several phases. According to our sources, this is going to be the single biggest development project in Batangas within the next five years. Ultimately, there will be a road that will connect the Coastal Road directly to Hamilo Coast, skipping Tagaytay altogether. Plus, there’s also a plan to put up a ferry terminal from the Mall of Asia direct to Hamilo coast with only 45 minutes of travel time. All of these will definitely give the biggest boost ever to Batangas and bring the province even closer to Metro Manila.

Of course, a major obstacle that needs to be hurdled at this point is the seeming water problem in Batangas, but which is slowly being addressed through various developments like the water expansion system project by the Nasugbu Water District (NAWAD) through a P62-million loan granted by the Development Bank of the Philippines. NAWAD together with Landco Pacific are trying to resolve the water problem in Nasugbu. The other solution if the problem persists is to put up a desalination plant which will produce potable water by mixing seawater with deep well water. This will, however, require a large investment, especially with power which is very expensive in Batangas. But then again, there’s a lot of wind energy potential in the province.

These are the challenges that future governor Vilma "Ate Vi" Santos will have to work on with the land developers in the area who want to make Batangas a top tourist destination point. Ricky Recto’s private confidant, honorary consul Fernando Peña, told us the other day that Ricky has already reconciled with his sister-in-law, and has now decided to run as fourth district congressman. A good move on the part of Ricky – ultimately good for the family and the Batangueños. "Ate Vi" is seen as a sure winner judging from the clamor of Batangueños, and businessmen are happy to see a showbiz personality for the first time taking up the position of governor, which is very demanding. Professionals normally cringe at the thought of a showbiz celebrity running the affairs of government.

But in fairness to Vilma, she has really done well as Lipa mayor, turning it into a boomtown and boosting its economy with big mall developers like Robinsons (with SM following suit last year) investing in the city after seeing vast improvements in infrastructure development. Tourism definitely received a big boost as well, with busloads of tourists trekking to Lipa and making the Mayor’s office their first stop for obvious reasons.

This is a perfect example where popularity can work well for large taxpayers like land developers, and translate it into the effective delivery of public services for the poor. If Vilma can do this in Lipa, and if she is successful in doing the same for the province of Batangas, then this can be duplicated all over the country – to illustrate how a popularly elected president can make government work hand-in-hand with big business and make them socially responsible. Barring man-made disasters this coming elections, it looks like it will be victory for "Vi."

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Beware of email spam scams

Trading in 35 companies was suspended last week by the US Securities and Exchange Commission on suspicion that these companies were involved in email spam campaigns that caused a lot of investors to lose money. Apparently, these con artists sent emails hyping the stocks of several companies in various industries like apparel, software technology, oil, mining, food and beverage and others to get people to buy stocks and inflate their prices. When the stocks rise, the fraudsters then sell their shares at a huge profit, and a number of ordinary investors have suffered heavy losses when the prices tanked while the stocks were being dumped.

What I don’t understand is how some people still fall for such email scams considering that many of them sound ridiculous, like a huge bank account from Nigeria supposedly owned by a big time official or a surviving spouse but is tied up for one reason or another. These con men will then offer to transfer a big portion of the money to your bank account provided you paid a fee to help them access the money. Those who fall for this bait soon receive official looking documents along with more requests for money to cover transaction costs as well as information regarding your bank account numbers and other financial details. It’s one form of identity theft, and there have been reports of victims not only losing money but also getting beaten up or worse, murdered – because they were foolish enough to reveal information to these con artists.

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