A meeting with Filinvest executives

Yesterday morning, top executives of Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC) notably, Mr. Tristan Las Marias, first vice president for Visayas and Mindanao, Mr. Eleuterio D. Coronel, executive vice  president & chief operating officer (COO) and Mrs. Jovita "Joy" Polloso, senior vice president for Retail Operations Festival Supermall, Inc. met with The Freeman editorial staff, led by Freeman Publisher Jerry Tundag and Freeman Editor Quennie Bronce at the Filinvest owned Quest Hotel.

When we got the FDC invitation it was quite coincidentally timed at when the Filinvest/Changi group is publicly fighting the winning bidder of the new Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal, the Megawide/GMR group and so, we waited with bated breath for Filinvest spokesman Mr. Terry Coronel to drop that issue on us. But in fairness to Filinvest executives, they were out on a "getting-to-know-you" media PR blitz, because as Mr. Coronel pointed out, they need to improve their ties with the Cebu media. I'm sure that the Filinvest executives also had separate luncheons or breakfast meetings with the other media personalities in Cebu.

With the main issues not openly discussed, we learned something new from Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC). It has embarked on a power generation program in Misamis Oriental where it is putting up three 135 Megawatts of Clean Coal Energy which is apparently headed by my good friend and fellow Rotarian, Jess Alcordo. Knowing Jess to be a top no-nonsense power man, let me say that Filinvest is headed in the right direction, especially that Mindanao today is suffering from 10-hour brownouts.

In a few months from now, Tristan Las Marias revealed that the company will open its Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) building called the Cebu Cyber Zone, right beside the AsiaTown I.T. Park on the property that used to be called the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC). As Mr. Coronel pointed out, there are numerous BPO buildings all over the country and this would be a great addition to the business flourishing at the AsiaTown I.T. park, which I have said many times before, is now the Epicenter of Cebu's Economic Growth.

Mrs. Joy Polloso who used to be with the Ayala Shopping Center told us that Filinvest is now constructing their shopping mall patterned after their Festival Super Mall in Alabang along the South Road Properties, not far from the SM SRP construction. With all these businesses that Filinvest had plunked in Cebu, I have no doubt that it needs the support of the Cebu media and I was glad that Mr. Coronel admitted to us meeting with the media was one area that they had missed out. I told them that perhaps it is due to the fact that the Gotianuy family comes from Cebu and therefore, they just took for granted the importance of the Cebu media for their business empire. Mr. Coronel agreed that things would change from henceforth.

Like I said, Mr. Coronel only mentioned the Filinvest/Changi Group's bidding for the Mactan Cebu International Airport in passing. However I told them that the news that came out of the Nation page of the Philippine Star quoting Sen. Serge Osmeña as to saying, "If the DOTC awards this and gives this to GMR, I'll take them to court. The DOTC did not do its job" didn't augur for the Filinvest Group because it sounds like Sen. Serge is fighting for Filinvest like he was lawyering for them.

I dare say that the Filinvest group's should reconsider having the Osmeña family as their political ally because the Osmeñas are clearly out for their own selfish and political reasons. Cebu is only of secondary importance to them. This is why Rep. Tomas Osmeña lost his bid in the last May 2013 elections because the Cebuano voter realized that he was no longer fighting for the interest of Cebu City, especially when he had P400 million infrastructure projects moved to Talisay City when that money was very much needed in the south district of Cebu City.

As for Sen. Serge Osmeña, back in September 2014 after the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) Board signed the Waterfront Hotel contract (he was then a neophyte senator who won because of our support), he called me (I was already a member of the MCIAA board then) on the phone to ask me to take the lead to renegotiate the Waterfront Hotel contract that we entered with Malaysian Hotelier Chua Mayu whose partner then was Manny Osmeña now of Manny's Wine & Movenpick Fame.

He brought the MCIAA board into a Senate investigation and failed to prove his allegations. Yes, Sen. Osmeña tried to block the Waterfront Hotel deal in Salinas Drive when at that time, no one would believe that by putting a 5-Star hotel there, we'd transform Salinas Drive into the Epicenter of Cebu's economic growth. Sen. Osmeña is repeating his own history! Shame!

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