Iglesia snubs GMA

Palace Spokesboy Mike Defensor, in his eagerness to please his boss, informed her that the Iglesia ni Kristo was going to hold a minister’s meeting. So yesterday morning, the President went to the central headquarters unannounced, without even an advance security team, reportedly to speak to the ministers. Ka Erdie Manalo slipped out through the backdoor, and requested instead Eddie Manalo to meet the President at the receiving room. GMA reportedly requested to address the ministers for just 10 minutes, but Eddie Manalo respectfully declined her request and said it was an exclusive meeting of the Iglesia ni Kristo ministers. GMA allegedly left huffing and puffing. From the car, she called her spokesboy and gave him a good verbal spanking.

Tan: The Man With A Plan

Aviation ear-spies disclosed that El Kapitan is planning to infuse more capital into property development beginning with real estates in Clark. Reports reveal there are two reasons behind Lucio Tan’s present thrust: The victory of Open Skies prompted him to look for more investment opportunities elsewhere. Secondly, the development of Clark posited a challenge that El Kapitan cannot resist. It seems Lucio Tan is on a roll despite his "prophesy" that the Philippines may not be able to make it in a decade or so, considering all its problems that remain unsolved to this day. Apparently, many of the key players in the business community are still looking at the Philippines as a good investment destination. This is definitely a good sign for the next administration.

Chemistry 101

Our spyring revealed that an heiress from a huge chemical company recently separated from her husband. The husband used to have a good position in the firm of his wife’s family. However, his father-in-law fired him when word spread of the husband’s mistress and child in a neighboring country. As it turned out, the business trips were mostly used for "monkeying around." If you think that’s tragic, wait till you hear about the heiress’ sibling. The sibling developed a penchant for initiating affairs with her taken-for-granted sister driver ever since she got separated from her husband. Naturally, she gifts them with stuff to make them look more presentable. Our ear-spies overheard the heiress is on her third driver now. Not surprisingly, the father, wants to put an end to all this before she gifts a future driver with something more substantial – like a Jaguar, perhaps? Great wealth really isn’t a guarantee for happiness, is it? But it’s always better to be depressed in opulence than to be happy in poverty.

The Ilusorio Hidden Wealth

Our spyring investigations show that the estate of the late Potenciano Ilusorio is estimated to be about P8 billion. He was the original crony of the late president Ferdinand Marcos and was involved in the Benguet-Bahamas stock manipulation deal in the late 60s. Some of the family’s tangible assets are: the Baguio Country Club Corp., the Pacific Plaza penthouse, Multinational Investment Bancorporation (MIB), Cleveland Condominium, Philcomsat shares and an Antipolo estate, including properties and assets abroad, and Swiss Bank deposits. It was also reported that some of the wealth of the Marcoses are hidden within the Ilusorio estate. The government should investigate these allegations, and at the very least, the BIR should collect inheritance taxes and get a windfall.

The Little Shrimp Who Wants To Be A Big Fish

This infamous gossip columnist, also known as "Ate Vi," has been trying, for many years, to get into the circle of Tony Boy Cojuangco even while the latter was still CEO and Chairman of PLDT. But he couldn’t even get past the security guard. Recently, he applied to be a TV talk-show host for Channel 5, offering to compete with ANC’s Boy Abunda with his own show called "Intimate Conversations with Ate Vi." Tony Boy’s board of directors threw his proposal straight into the trashcan. This is a clear case of a little shrimp trying to be a big fish in a pond where there is absolutely no place for him…, for her…, or for it…, or for what.....

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