Punta Fuego land dispute

Former Batangas Gov. Antonio Leviste, better known as the husband of former Sen. Loren Legarda, is once again singing the tune – "This Land is My Land". Tony Leviste has staked his claim on an islet at the tip of the exclusive residential resort Punta Fuego. As shown by our Spybiz photo, the former governor built a house manned by armed guards. The land dispute is now under litigation by the Batangas courts where three parties are claiming ownership – Leviste, the Roxases who are cousins of the Makati landowners, and a third party, a Batangas landowner. This looks like another "Spratlys" in the making. Many people are wondering though if Loren Legarda had won as Vice President of the country, would her husband have claimed 7,000 of the 7,101 Philippine islands?

Row over Cebu freeway

Cebu politicians are at loggerheads over the P6.3-billion Cebu South Coastal Road project. According to Rep. Eduardo Gullas, Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña’s decision to barricade the 12-kilometer thoroughfare has undermined the economic activity in Cebu and displaced local traders, motorists and commuters. The controversy apparently stemmed from the conflicting claims between Cebu City and its neighboring city of Talisay over ownership of the 259-hectare South Reclamation Project (SRP). Talisay City is contesting before the Department of Justice ownership of at least 54 hectares of the SRP. Gullas, who was formerly Talisay City mayor, said that Osmeña is virtually blackmailing Malacañang into issuing a title to the SRP in favor of Cebu City. Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales had earlier said that he would soon come out with a ruling whether or not a title to the SRP could be issued to Cebu City. The road’s closure had reportedly drawn protests from several civic groups and business sectors even in the neighboring city of Toledo. Gullas also questioned Osmeña’s decision to issue special security passes for individuals and vehicles that would be allowed access to the road on a case to case basis, saying that access to the road paid for by the tax-paying public should not be limited to a privileged few.

Jaded repair center

A Spybiz reader had the unhappy experience of bringing his LCD projector for repairs to Jade Philippines Service Center along Aurora Blvd. in Cubao. It took a week for the service center to find out what was wrong with the LCD projector, and still another week for repairs to be made. When the owner was finally told that he could pick up his unit, he rushed to the repair center and arrived there five minutes after 12 noon. The staff must have been so starved because the man was told to wait because it was already break time. Having already waited for two weeks, the owner didn’t mind waiting some more and besides, he knew he arrived at an inappropriate time. What irked him however was the fact that those who had already returned from an early lunch did not even bother to ask him what he needed. After 30 minutes the staff who told the man to wait arrived, but she told him that he could not yet pick up his LCD projector because the others were still sleeping. Just come back at 1 p.m., she suggested. Now if that is not customer insensitivity, I don’t know what is, the reader said. Maybe the appliance brands that have accredited this repair center should reconsider their accreditation. With the kind of dis-service it gives to customers, this jaded repair center might even end up giving the appliance brands a bad name.

Spy Tidbiz: Napocor insurance documents

Our Spy-ring is trying to obtain copies of documents pertaining to Napocor’s 2002 premium payments that have been reportedly submitted to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. As soon as we get them, we will make them public. The public can then decide.

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