Not so towering Tower Club

It looks like the exclusive business club at the Philam Tower building has fallen a few notches down with so many of its members complaining about the deteriorating quality of service and the food – despite the fact that monthly membership dues are poised to be increased. The Tower Club located on the 33rd and 34th floor of Philam Tower in Makati caters to an elite group of corporate bigwigs with a good cross section of members who can enjoy the amenities that include restaurants, boardrooms and health and fitness facilities. However, members are now wondering if the price of P600,000 per share is still worth anything at all. 

A large number of members are already considering transferring to a new business club being set up by controversial business tycoon Bobby Ongpin. The new club is set to open sometime next year. Ironically, all this dissatisfaction happened shortly after former Philam Life president and CEO Jose Cuisia Jr. left for his new post as Philippine Ambassador to the United States – making people speculate that his departure may have affected the operations of the Tower Club, with the new management reportedly not up to the stringent and impeccable standards expected by the members.

A flying Dutch treat

Former Dutch Ambassador to the Philippines Theo Arnold was the epitome of a quintessential diplomat – tall, handsome, affable, cultured and refined – spending 35 years in government service that brought him to many diplomatic posts all over the world. Friends of the former Dutch ambassador know that Theo was formerly married to Kessara, a Thai, who has been described by many as irrepressible and headstrong. Unfortunately, it wasn’t such a happy marriage and shortly before the end of his Manila posting, the diplomat decided he would retire and with it end his thorny, sometimes stormy, marriage. 

Theo fell in love with the Philippines together with the woman whom he calls the love of his life Filipino-Canadian Elizabeth Victoria. It seems Theo finds Filipino dishes much more to his liking than the “fiery flavors” of Thai cuisine and so he has now settled in the country, specifically in Antipolo.

 The former ambassador now spends a lot of his time painting tulips the national flower of his native Netherlands with some of them landing in private collections in Asia, the US and Europe. As a matter of fact, Theo Arnold recently gave art aficionados a Dutch treat via an exhibit of his paintings at the Tower Club, with part of the proceeds to be donated to the JAV Talent Foundation that he and Elizabeth Victoria recently put up to provide scholarships that would help in promoting and honing the skills of talented young Filipinos in the field of arts, music and dancing.  

Spy tidbits

Squires & Bingham is celebrating its 70th anniversary on Thursday, and those old enough remember that local gun manufacturing company Armscor traces its roots from Manila retailer Squires Bingham owned by American Arthur Hileman, which was eventually bought by industrialist Don Celso Tuason. The outbreak of World War II, however, resulted in stricter import controls which made Don Celso decide to go into local manufacturing eventually obtaining the first license to manufacture firearms and ammunitions in the Philippines in 1952.  

The company was later renamed into Arms Corp., Philippines which is currently run by Don Celso’s children, Konkoy and Bolo Tuason, both favorite first cousins of former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. The local company is one of the very few – and maybe the only remaining – participant in the DND-AFP Self Reliance Defense Posture program implemented in the mid-’70s. A lot of gun enthusiasts including multi-awarded shooters like Eric Grauffel of France use Armscor-manufactured firearms and ammunition as well as imported pistol parts that it assembles and distributes locally. 

– The controversial win of Filipino boxing legend Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao over Mexican Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez via a majority decision has stirred debates and arguments among ordinary boxing fans and experts alike. Some are convinced that Marquez won all the rounds but Pacquiao was given the fight. Why? Many speculate that it was allegedly a commercial decision for promoter Bob Arum and the Las Vegas tourism board since all hotels and businesses are always full during Pacman’s fights. To a lot of people, like businessman Susing Pineda, it’s plain and simple – Lutong Pacquiao!

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