Tell it to the Marines

Sunday’s Marine "adventure" had people watching with a mixture of amusement and disgust. The call for "People Power" obviously did not materialize because people couldn’t care less. The usual suspects wanting to be in the limelight immediately ran to the Marines headquarters and tried to dramatize the whole thing. Some were from the old EDSA I and some were from the more recent version, clearly wanting to exploit the situation and use it to get some media mileage. All it did was to unfairly depict the Philippines as a war zone. In the international community, it made a big bang. Locally, people couldn’t really care less. The standoff made a big splash in newspapers and television broadcasts all over the world and gave us another black eye before the international community. While Sunday’s standoff was eventually resolved, its repercussions were far-reaching because of a spate of cancellations from investors who were planning to explore possible business opportunities in the country. A major

international event arranged by a leading software company in California slated today was cancelled at the last minute. Two American businessmen who were planning to put up call centers (which would have given hundreds of jobs to Filipinos) shelved their plans for next year and promptly turned tail. Tourism industry insiders also reported a series of cancelled hotel reservations and bookings, and some countries have issued travel advisories again. If anybody thinks that adventures like last Sunday’s did any good for the country – you can tell that to the Marines!

ATR Kim Eng vs Araneta trial set

Documents obtained by Spybiz revealed that the complaint filed by ATR Kim Eng Financial Corp. (ATRKE) against businessman Carlos Araneta had been set for trial. It will be recalled that ATRKE had filed a case against Araneta et. al. for "waste and breach of fiduciary duty over the disappearance of substantial assets of the LBC Global Corp. without any notice, explanation, or documentation." In a disclosure submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, ATRKE reported that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware has ordered the trial schedule on Aug. 28, 2006, continuing if necessary till Aug. 30. ATRKE Financial has a 10-percent interest in LBC Global, the Delaware-based holding company of the LBC Group. ATRKE director and EVP Renato Leveriza Jr. expressed optimism that the trial will finally settle the dispute that began in August 2004, when Araneta refused to honor the exercise of the financial company’s put option in selling back its 10 percent interest in LBC Global for P353.25 million. Araneta then filed a case at the Makati Regional Trial Court alleging fraud in the undertaking agreement he entered into for the acquisition of the pre-need company, The Professional Group. In a Jan. 24 decision penned by Judge Rommel Baybay, the Makati RTC junked Araneta’s complaint, saying all the transactions were above board.

Anti-porn group calls mtrcb ‘pimp’

A private group calling itself the Philippine Alliance Against Pornography Inc. (PAAP) has jumped into the "Munich" fray, blasting Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chairperson Consoliza Laguardia for giving the Eric Bana starrer an "R-13" rating. PAAP has alleged that the MTRCB is engaged in "wholesale pimping of children" for allowing the Steven Spielberg movie to be seen by minors despite scenes that showed pumping, frontal nudity and brutal violence. According to PAAP spokesperson Boy Blue Filomeno, the "R-13" rating is a violation of Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code and Presidential Decree 1986 which created the MTRCB. Lawmakers had earlier asked for the head of Laguardia – who laughed off comments asking for her resignation. The MTRCB chairperson insisted that the movie had redeeming values, and wasn’t all about violence. The pumping scene in the movie between Bana and Ayelet July Zurer (who played his wife) wasn’t vulgar, she asserted.

Spy tidbiz: Querubin’s loyal secret friend

Viewers were astonished to see the extremely wealthy heir to the Ayala fortune Iñigo Zobel at the Marine standoff last Sunday, hugging and talking in hushed tones with Marine Col. Ariel Querubin. He left as quickly as he arrived, without any grandstanding or headline hogging that some personalities obviously wanted to do. Apparently, not many people know that the two had been close friends for quite some time. The Ayala heir had no comment when some surprised reporters tried to get his statement. His actions were clearly a gesture of support and concern for a friend whom he thought could be in deep trouble.

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