The new dragon lady

Bank notes 1: Her older sister used to be called the "dragon lady". But she’s inherited the unofficial title.

Mind you, the name is not meant as a compliment.

Then again, this daughter of the majority owner is now being called other less polite names since she started, uh, reorganizing division heads whose major mistake has been to be closely associated with the former chief executive officer.

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Bank notes 2: Development Bank of the Philippines president Simon Paterno has okayed the setting up of an e-mall to complement the Internet facility the bank currently offers small- and medium-sized enterprises.

As the name implies, an e-mall operates like any mall – with its food court, retail stores and service centers. Unlike a brick and mortar mall, however, it does business in the Internet.

By the way, this particular e-mall is open only to Filipino companies, whether they are based here or abroad. Oh yes, you don’t have to be a bank client to "rent" a space in this mall.

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An interesting aspect of the nullified NAIA-3 contract of the Philippine International Air Terminals Co., Inc. is the silence of Iglesia ni Kristo founder Ernesto Manalo. You see, the religious organization has some money in Piatco, just like Fraport AG of Germany and the Cheng family.

Fact is, INK’s investment is one of the reasons why church elder Moises Tolentino is the Piatco spokesman.

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If you can’t afford Ayala Heights (which is the north version of Ayala Alabang), there’s always the Ayala Land Inc. mid-market property next door which just broke ground.

That property used to be the Capitol Golf and Country Club, which ALI paid for in cash and a property swap near enough to Metro Manila that Capitol Golf proprietary members could convert into a golf course.

As everybody knows, ALI chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala is still looking for a replacement for president Francisco Licuanan III, who has reached the mandatory retirement age and should be kicked upstairs as either a consultant or director.

Within the Ayala group, mandatory retirement at 60 is non-negotiable and is applied even to senior officers who carry the Zobel de Ayala surname.

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Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has an interesting project. The city government will train 1,000 volunteers how to make sidewalks. This way, the city saves on paying contractor huge amounts of money while fostering community spirit.

In his full year as mayor – that was last year – Sonny Belmonte reported a surplus of about P250 million, the first time the city has been in the black in the past 10 years or so.