The Silverio saga

The family feud involving San Rafael, Bulacan Mayor Ricardo Silverio Sr. and his son Ricky Silverio Jr. has been brewing for a long time. The latest incident in the Silverio family saga happened last Jan. 7, 2006, when Makati policemen, the SWAT, the media and village security personnel surrounded the Silverio residence in Urdaneta Village. Ricky Silverio Jr. sent Spybiz a letter presenting his side of the story, which has been edited due to space constraints. Ricky, his wife and their two children were inside the house, but were later prevailed upon to leave when the police, the SWAT and the Bulacan mayor’s personal security men barged in through the garage gate at the side entrance. The house was originally guarded by 10 men from a private security agency, five of whom were disarmed by the police. Ricky said he did not take over the Urdaneta Village house by force. He simply rang the doorbell and their help of 30 years let him in. Accusations that the maids were held hostage were reportedly belied by the barangay chairwoman, who is also the head of the psychology department of a reputable college and thus could discern if there was indeed coercion or intimidation being applied on the maids. Ricky said that in the early ’60s, the house was home to the mayor, his late first wife Beatriz and their children. Ricky alleged in his letter that the house in dispute is legally owned by Pilipinas Development Corp. (PDC), of which he is president and majority stockholder. The SEC and official court documents lend proof to this. If it really belongs to his father, why hasn’t he declared it in his sworn Statement of Assets and Liabilities, Ricky asked. He said he had won all cases regarding ownership of PDC, and the judge hearing the case had dismissed allegations that Ricky stole the stock certificates. Ricky surmises that the dispute between him and his father could have been instigated by Mayor Carding’s current wife, Bulacan Rep. Lorna Silverio, who was formerly the mayor’s secretary. When the father was in a coma in the States several years ago, Lorna was sending emails to Ricky and sister Nelia that the mayor was out of danger and on the way to full recovery, which was actually contrary to the truth. So in the mayor’s mind, his son and daughter did not even bother to visit him, Ricky alleged. Another reason, claimed Ricky, could be the failure of lawyer Vic Chuidian to inform him that his father wanted to talk about some kind of settlement, so in Mayor Carding’s mind, the son was once again ignoring him. Ricky though doubts if the intention to reach some kind of agreement is sincere because, as he pointed out, the mayor went to the US to sell a Lancaster property of which he and Ricky are co-owners without informing the latter. That is a criminal act, the son stated, for which he plans to initiate charges in American courts. Informed sources who have been watching the saga unfold said Carding’s lawyers are the ones who will benefit if the dispute continues. So the lawyers reportedly continue to egg on the older Silverio to take the litigation route. Friends on both sides have advised both litigants to just settle amicably and get rid of their lawyers.

Do-not-text/call registry

Cellphone and landline owners who are getting sick and tired of receiving unsolicited promotional text messages and telephone calls from telemarketers might find relief with the creation of a National Do-Not-Text and Do-Not-Call Registry proposed by a solon, who was formerly the head of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). Patterned after a Telephone Consumer Protection Act administered by the US Federal Communications Commission, the registry allows a subscriber to include his telephone number in the list of those who do not wish to receive unsolicited marketing calls. The number remains on the "do-not-call" list for five years, after which a subscriber may re-enter the number after five years have passed, or have it removed from the list anytime he decides. The registry has reportedly been successful in the US, with majority of Americans indicating that they have since received fewer, if not zero, telemarketing calls. According to Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago, regulators must find ways to put up a list patterned after the US model, adding that despite initial steps by regulators to prevent the proliferation of uninvited text messages, majority of Filipinos who own a mobile phone still get these unwanted messages. "I myself get three to four unwanted text messages each day, and it appears the messages increase shortly after one avails of a service such as downloading a traffic report. In some cases, subscribers even get billed for receiving uninvited messages," Santiago revealed. The Philippines reportedly has the 14th largest mobile phone subscriber base estimated at 35 million in 2005, said a UN Information Economy Report.

Spy tidbiz: US Ambassador Kenney arriving

Our Washington Spy-Ring informed us that the new US Ambassador Kristie Anne Kenney, who was the personal choice of US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice, will be arriving sometime mid-March. Prior to her nomination, Kenney was Ambassador to Ecuador and has held senior positions at the State Department and the National Security Council in Washington, as well as overseas postings in Geneva, Argentina and Jamaica. There seems to be a lot of speculation why a female ambassador is being assigned to the Philippines. As usual, Filipinos have come up with a new joke about the incoming ambassador: The reason why Washington appointed her is because her name – pronounced "key-ni" – sounds like "mekeyni" because the present occupant in Malacañang is from Pampanga.

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