Left holding the bag

Former Urban Bank president Ted Borlongan’s ending his life came as a surprise to many, especially in the business community. Everyone knew Ted to be a competent technocrat and a jolly fellow. It was totally unexpected that he would take his own life. But perhaps because he was Jesuit-educated, he was so concerned about his name, his reputation, and his legacy to society. But the worst part is he seemed to be literally left holding the bag. One can recall that the late former Vice President Doy Laurel was indicted by the Sandiganbayan shortly before he died. He, too, was left holding the bag for the Philippine Centennial Expo overpricing scandal. Family members disclosed that he was so disappointed and so stressed after he was indicted. In both cases, there seemed to be one common denominator. Guess who?

Pre-Need Company Time Bomb

Spybiz received very strong reactions from readers regarding this pre-need company whose name reminds one of a frosty looking metal. Spybiz informants dug even deeper and came out with several interesting facts about this company. It’s apparently owned by just one family, so in most likelihood, there will be no other partners to help bail it out if the company goes belly up. Its liability for the next nine years in terms of matured pre-need plans is close to P11 billion, while its trust fund liability based on the portfolio of active, in-force and lapsed accounts is in the P30 billion range. The actual trust fund is reportedly just a little above P300 million, prompting the actuarial officer to resign after discovery of these horrific facts. The family that owns the pre-need company had allegedly amassed so much wealth, buying several luxury condos and cars, living the high life at the expense of the plan holders. The owner’s son is said to be engaged in "inside robbery," getting money from at least three Metro Manila branches of the company to the tune of P500,000 to P1 million a week, and replacing the cash collections with personal checks. Plan holder payments are now in jeopardy because the son could no longer pay back the amounts. The son apparently learned well from the father. What’s more, the quirky side of the family became even more apparent when they hired a woman psychic who claimed that she had visions of anomalies in the company, which resulted in a witch-hunt that saw the arbitrary dismissal of several employees because of fabricated charges. Insiders predict that it’s just a matter of time before this company time bomb explodes.

Phnom Penh - Bound?

Our diplomatic Ear-spy confirmed that Joseph Mussomeli has long been relegated to the doghouse by Malacañang. The US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires has been suffering from the foot-in-mouth disease ever since he got posted here. Without a doubt, this is a bane for diplomats. If one can recall, he made an undiplomatic remark after GMA’s 2004 State of the Nation Address particularly on the pull-out of the Philippine contingent from Iraq: "What is the concern of (Washington) is that a terrorist group had essentially ordered the Filipino troops out and that was a violation of Filipino sovereignty, that a small group of terrorists told the Philippine government what to do and the government did it." GMA is irritated to no end over Mussomeli’s comments. Our State Department Ear-spy disclosed that Mussomeli will soon be transferred to Cambodia. Is he going to be exiled or is he going to be rewarded as the new Ambassador? If he is indeed rewarded as the new Ambassador to Cambodia, then you can be sure Washington approved all his comments about the Philippines.

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