‘Mr. No Ilaw’ vs ‘Mr. Palengke’

At his 46th birthday last week, there was a lot of good-natured ribbing for highly competitive Energy Secretary Vicente Perez Jr. to match the electoral record of former Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas II, who garnered the most number of votes for senator in the country’s history.

Should he take this challenge seriously, Vince Perez will have to move out of the Department of Energy, where he runs the risk of being called "Mr. No Ilaw" vis-a-vis Mar Roxas "Mr. Palengke" before the next senatorial election in 2007.

Unlike Mr. Roxas, Mr. Perez will also not be able to get additional media mileage from his love life. You see, he’s content with wife, Leigh Perez, a fellow investment banker turned environmentalist who now co-owns and runs the El Nido Resort in Palawan.

Behind his back, Mr. Perez is already being called the "Prince of Darkness" by independent power producers and power distributors in the Visayas, which is currently suffering regular outages. Mindanao is expected to have the same problem next year and Luzon by 2007.

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Letter 1: In a letter dated May 21, Philippine International Trading Corp. president Anthony Abad writes: ... "There are 350 participating outlets all over the country which distribute these (generic drugs imported from India) medicines. These include the 76 hospitals retained by the Department of Health, some drugstores operated by NGOs, and cooperatives, as well as the pharmacies or health centers of 129 local government units at the provincial, city, and municipal levels."

My reply: Tony Abad attached the price list of the generic products imported from India as of April 30, 2004 but not the list of public hospitals which carry these drugs. Perhaps PITC should double check the so-called 76 hospitals (which carry these drugs) in terms of repeat orders and in terms of their having paid PITC for these orders? Only 11 public hospitals nationwide seem to have met these criteria.

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Letter 2: In a letter dated May 28, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. vice-president for government, corporate affairs Maloli Espinosa-Manalastas writes: "It is true ABS-CBN has generated significantly higher gross revenues than its competitor mainly because ABS-CBN has evolved as a content provider company... with platforms in television, radio, cable television, motion picture production, music, Internet, and magazine publishing... If at all, comparisons should be made on the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization or the cash flow of both companies, where ABS-CBN is higher."

My reply: That ABS-CBN had a fantastic first quarter run in terms of gross revenues had never been questioned; its inefficient use of available funds was. How else explain that ABS-CBN grossed significantly more than its nearest rival, GMA Network, Inc. and yet generated a net income – yes, yes, after taxes, which is what counts – which was half of what GMA Network reported?