The other side of the story

Business leaders are weighing in on the offloading incident involving Cathay Pacific and Honorary Consul to Peru Francis Chua, with a lot of them sympathetic to the businessman. Chua, who is a privilege cardholder of the airline, says he always buckles up but is usually exempted from using the shoulder harness on account of his claustrophobia.

Former PCCI president and ZestAir chairman Donald Dee said a passenger who has a health condition like Chua should have been offered a seat transfer since there were still several vacant seats in the flight, instead of receiving unsympathetic treatment. Chinese Chamber of Commerce president Lester Lino also pointed out that a frequent flyer and privilege cardholder like Chua should have received better treatment.

Instead, an overzealous and apparently cranky crew supervisor threw the book at the passenger despite having been given permission by a flight attendant on account of Chua’s condition. Those who know Francis very well say he is not someone who would display unruly behavior, and would always act diplomatically in any situation. A lot of people including this columnist have experienced less than pleasant treatment from overzealous cabin crew from Cathay Pacific who probably just want to “make papel” with the pilot or are having a bad hair day.

Two other people have also claimed getting unpleasant treatment allegedly from the airline, and even recalled the highly-publicized case filed by wealthy Filipino couple Danny and Ising Madrigal Vazquez against Cathay Pacific several years ago when the couple was forced to change seat assignments because the airline overbooked the business class that they had earlier reserved. The Vazquez couple had wanted to discuss business with their partners who were on the same flight and booked in the same class and so insisted on their original seat reservations, but they were rudely told they would not be allowed to travel if they refused the new seat assignments. So to avoid further embarrassment and delay, the Vazquezes decided to comply – but immediately filed a lawsuit upon their return to Manila. The case was settled amicably soon after.

In any case, there have been incidents involving grouchy flight crew who take it out on passengers – probably as a result of long hours of flying. In fact, a JetBlue pilot had a breakdown and needed to be physically subdued with the authorities called in because he suddenly went crazy – foaming in the mouth, screaming about terrorists and terrifying passengers.

‘Gladiators by day, collaborators by night’

The team up between Manny Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and the Ayala group of Jaime Augusto Zobel for light rail projects in Metro Manila has been welcomed by millions of commuters who believe the two giants could solve traffic and congestion problems that they suffer from almost on a daily basis. The government’s railways projects in the pipeline are ambitious, to say the least, and it would require multibillions of pesos for them to be completed on time. The MPIC-Ayala partnership would become the biggest conglomerate ever with a combined capital of P300 billion, ensuring success for any project they will go into.

Observers say MVP and JAZA are perfectly matched – with their interests complementing each other. The Ayalas are into banking and real estate, while MVP has diversified into energy and healthcare, although they are rivals in the telecommunications and utilities (water) distribution. This “strategic alliance” certainly brings to mind an oft-repeated expression that could describe the business relationship between MVP and JAZA, paraphrased as “gladiators by day, collaborators by night.”

Healthcare and more

Arsenio “Archit” Bartolome wrote Spy Bits about Medicare Plus, the new health maintenance organization (HMO) they put up very recently. Archit, who happens to be the chairman and president, said MedPlus absorbed all the staff of Prudentialife, acquired all the clients and members as well as the existing hospital, clinic and doctor accreditations nationwide to make the “brand new” HMO “super operational and productive from day one.”

The board composed of Dr. Abe Pascual (of Pascual Laboratories), Putch Puyat, Boy Guevara, Nonoy Tan, Albert Alba, Jappy Pascual, Dooz Policarpio, Andy Ferreira, AP Bartolome and Dr. Benny Reverente pool together their vast experiences in various industries such as pharmaceuticals, business development, financial services, marketing and manufacturing to bring more value and service to clients.

In a country like the Philippines where the population keeps growing, the need for health care and reliable health care organizations could not be over emphasized. While other HMOs only offer health services and insurance to Filipinos here, MedPlus has developed a program specifically designed for OFWs. In fact, they already introduced this new health card to the country’s OFW czar, Vice President Jojo Binay. “We believe that a healthy nation means a wealthy economy,” Archit explained, saying that the OFW health plan is affordable.

Spy tidbit

The Manila Rotary Club is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Journalism Awards for print and broadcast categories as well as Journalist of the Year and Opinion Writer of the Year. The yearly Journalism Awards is in recognition of praiseworthy individuals and news publications that uphold balanced and fair reporting and the pursuit of good governance, free enterprise, environment, social justice and nation building. This columnist has been appointed chairman of the Awards Committee with former Press Secretary Rod Reyes as adviser and Frank Evaristo, Susing Pineda and Costa Rica Honorary Consul Fausto Preysler as members.

Last month, Philippine STAR president and CEO Miguel Belmonte was awarded the Mania Rotary Tourism Awards for Print Media along with several individuals from various industries in recognition of their efforts to support and promote the Philippines as a tourist destination. Philippine STAR was also awarded “Newspaper of the Year” a couple of years ago. For nominations and other inquiries, you may call the Manila Rotary Secretariat at tel. nos. 527-1886 and 527-1887, or email [email protected].

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Email: [email protected].