My, my Michel

During her private visit to the country next month, Queen Sophia of Spain has set aside time to go to the Greenhills flea marker or tiangge.

You see, she wants to buy some pearls (something she shares with Filinvest heir apparent Josephine Gotianun-Yap).

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This is a coup for Asian Institute of Management president Roberto de Ocampo.

You see, Babby de Ocampo helped convince former International Monetary Fund managing director Michel de Camdessus to speak before AIM’s Jose B. Fernandez Jr. Banking Center this April. The two got to know each other when Mr. De Ocampo was finance secretary and the Philippines was considered a would-be tiger economy.

Of course, Mr. De Ocampo didn’t know Mr. Camdessus as long as JG Summit Capital Markets president Gabriel Singson.

For one, Mr. De Ocampo’s Washington stint was with World Bank.

For another, the division of turf has the Department of Finance dealing with the World Bank and the Bangko Sentral dealing with the IMF and Gabby Singson has been dealing with the IMF for about 13 years as senior deputy governor before he became governor.

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Antonio Cojuangco has Dream Broadcasting and, soon, Dream Theater as well, Tonyboy Cojuangco’s idea is to build high-tech theater-malls in suburban communities.

Mr. Cojuangco’s partners are former Finance Secretary Jose Pardo, former Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Dakila Fonacier, and former National Development Co. president Samie Lim. As everybody knows, these guys had successful businesses of their own before they joined government.

In the case of Tito Pardo, he and brother-in-law (and former Trade Secretary) Vicente Paterno hold the Philippine franchise for Wendy’s; Daki Fonacier has Odyssey Records; and Mr. Lim has Blim’s furniture. Another partner of Mr. Cojuangco is former GMA president Nards Jimenez.

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Did you know: The Philippines is represented in the Vinegar Museum in South Dakota, USA, by the Arenga brand.

Produced by Bote Central, Inc., which is majority owned by Basil and Vic Reyes, Arenga is made from the sap of the sugar palm tree. (Other products of the sugar palm tree, which is scientifically called arenga pinnata, are kaong and gourmet sugar).

As everybody knows, vinegar starts out as a wine or liquor. In the case of the sugar palm tree, the liquor is tuba (or toddy to the English).

Fact is, however, there has never been any need or leftover for tuba to turn sour until Bote Central did it on purpose.