Lucky Benjamin

All the housing projects of Benjamin Construction & Equipment Corp. – the company that gave recently returned Angelo dela Cruz a 100 sqm. lot and a two-bedroom (with an added loft) home – are named Benjamin. One project is differentiated from the other by the number that follows the name Benjamin.

You see, a feng shui expert told the parents of Benjamin Construction chairman, Benjamin Lim, that his name will bring him luck.

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Bank notes 1: Philippine National Bank senior vice-president for branches Rita Bautista won the best costume award during the bank’s 88th anniversary last Thursday even if somebody else wore it.

You see, Ms. Bautista’s Filipiniana, which even had a train, was originally meant for a more fragile-looking lady who lived during the time of national hero, Jose Rizal.

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Bank notes 2: All this fuss (and man-hours spent since last March) over whether or not Trade and Investment Development Corporation of the Philippines executive vice-president for finance Federico Remo holds an MBA because he did not take a comprehensive exam.

In a letter dated June 1, 2004 and addressed to Tidcorp EVP Florencio Gabriel Jr., University of Manila assistant registrar Emily de Leon stated that "the comprehensive examination is not an academic subject in the MBA course of the University… based on the records on file in this Office, Mr. Remo is a bona fide graduate of this University as of May 2001 with the degree of Master in Business Administration.

In a subsequent letter dated June 7 and addressed to the Tidcorp board chaired by Finance Secretary Juanita Amatong, Freddy Remo has asked for the "immediate lifting of my suspension with back wages and the dismissal of my case."

Mr. Remo is still waiting for Nitz Amatong’s answer.

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Bank notes 3: Washington-based World Bank Group is said to be following closely the electronic auction project of the Development Bank of the Philippine called m+sme for possible replication in other developing countries.

Naturally, DBP president and chief executive officer Simon Paterno is thrilled no end, not so much because of the World Bank’s interest but because of the project’s win-win feature.

Under the project, DBP serves as a clearing house between SME-suppliers and big corporations. The idea here is to liquefy – the purchase orders issued by big corporations to their SME-suppliers through an online auction. The SME-suppliers get their cash right away instead of waiting for the standard 30-to 90-day repayment period. The big corporations will be able to reduce their costs, pass on the savings to their customers. DBP earns a small service fee for each transaction. The buyer of the purchase order initially accredited banks – can turn around and sell the Pos at a higher price than what it paid for.

The project’s first "big brother" or big corporation is San Miguel Corp., which has trade receivable at any point in time of P13 billion.