Rising from the ashes

One early evening while relaxing in his Jacuzzi at his 100-hectare Calatagan estate, Telecoms Businessman Raymond Moreno suddenly smelled smoke. He immediately dressed up, rushed downstairs and saw a room temporarily used for storage on fire. He desperately tried to open the door but in less than 15 minutes the whole house was on fire. In a split second decision, Raymond decided to save instead his brand new R44 Robinson helicopter parked a few meters away from the house. He had 20 of his people carry his chopper away from the burning house. In less than 30 minutes it was all over. The whole house was razed to the ground.

Raymond bought the 100-hectare Calatagan property from the late Manda Elizalde sometime in the late ’80s. His publicly listed Liberty Telecoms company didn’t quite take off and went through some rough times. However, two years ago Raymond found a knight in shining armor, San Miguel CEO Ramon Ang, who came to the rescue and acquired majority of Morenos’ stake in the telecoms company. Liberty has since partnered with Qatar Telecoms (Q-Tel) and will roll out the first of its kind 4G wireless broadband services in the country early next year. RSA (as Ramon Ang is also known) has also indicated interest in Voice Over the Internet or VOIP applications which could turn the telco into a very significant player in the communications industry.

The ever-resilient Raymond Moreno says he will rebuild his house exactly the same way his sagging telco was rebuilt. In fact, Raymond intends to put up more guest houses in his Calatagan estate. Some of Raymond’s bitter rivals have predicted his demise in business but just like his Calatagan house, he is determined to rise from the ashes.

Polo Club food bills

A majority of Manila Polo Club members have commented on how the food and service have tremendously improved especially when former Ambassador to Spain Isabel Caro Wilson was the Club’s president. As a matter of fact, there has been a substantial increase lately in members dining at the Club. However, much to our surprise, a copy of a letter was sent to Spy Bits from Jech Manpower Services to the Club’s food concessionaire Carte Blanche, claiming the latter owes them over P4.2 million in unpaid bills. 

We called Isabel Wilson regarding this matter and she informed us that while the Club does not have anything to do with it directly, she nonetheless will inform the current president Miguel Tambunting to look into it. The former Ambassador agrees that if anything, employees must be given priority and should be paid what is rightfully owed them. The manpower company claims it is facing a lot of financial obligations such as the 13th month pay to employees and the lack of funding brought about by “standstill accounts” is aggravating this problem. It would be a bleak Christmas indeed if the affected employees do not receive their salaries and other benefits on time.

No one will argue how important it is for the service staff to be paid on time especially in a place like the Manila Polo Club whose members come from the upper crust. Besides, many members, we’re sure, certainly don’t want to hear horror stories about unhappy waiters and kitchen staff doing “nasty and funny” things to the food served to them.

Phl’s football shocker

Spy Bits was requested by one of our readers, JJ Montinola, to mention the stunning victory of the Philippine Football team over defending champion Vietnam in Sunday’s match in the AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) Suzuki Cup in Hanoi. Fans and commentators are calling the Philippine team win as the biggest shocker in the tournament’s history as the powerhouse team of Vietnam was defeated in their own territory before a home crowd of 40,000 spectators. Many people however lament the fact that there seems to be too much politics going on in our local football association, which some say is the main reason why our national team has been prevented from moving up from its current 151st FIFA ranking. Nevertheless, the national team members have decided to shut out politics – giving a very impressive showing in the tournament.

“Even if they lose the tournament I hope this bunch of guys get the tribute and continued support they deserve... You should have seen the last goal by (Phil) Younghusband. I almost cried... and I hugged my wife... something I haven’t done in a long time. That’s how good our team was,” wrote JJ, who calls himself “not really an in-depth fan of football.”

We’re not sure however whether it was the crying or the wife hugging that JJ Montinola has not done in a long time. 

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