Reaction to Pacific Plaza article

Miss Virginia Christine “Butch Lopez” called us regarding a column item titled “Restless in Pacific Plaza” that we ran last Tuesday about the P50 million Pacific Plaza funds placed in Export and Industry Bank (ExportBank) which collapsed last year. The Bangko Sentral has recently announced plans to put the bank under liquidation – a move that depositors and investors are opposing.

Butch Lopez, who happens to be the vice president of ExportBank, explained that it was not her sole decision to put the money in the bank. The decision was unanimously approved by the previous PP Board, composed of prominent individuals whose identities she declined to disclose at the moment. The Board also approved the placement in ExportBank to increase the interest earnings of the fund. “No one could have foreseen that the bank would later close,” Lopez told us.

In fact, she said there was a recent meeting with a group of investors and stakeholders held at the Molave Room of Dusit Thani Hotel with high powered lawyer Boy Reyno helping out the group work out a comprehensive rehabilitation plan for the shuttered bank in order to give investors and depositors an opportunity to recover a substantial portion – if not the entirety – of the funds they invested before the bank’s closure. Lopez said this is what she has been “tirelessly” working on over the last year not only for Pacific Plaza, but also for the rest of those who gave their trust to the bank  and especially to her.

The group is also looking at filing an injunction to prevent the BSP from pushing through with the liquidation which could place many uninsured depositors in a lurch since they are only entitled to P500,000 as compensation under the law.

Alexandra “Deeda” Garcia also wrote Spy Bits to correct our story, saying she is the treasurer of Pacific Plaza and that the president is Noel Mirasol. Deeda also clarified that the idea of possibly filing a potential conflict of interest case was not discussed at the Board level at all. Actually that information came from a long time Pacific Plaza resident who did not want to be identified and complained to Spy Bits that he was frustrated by the special assessment slapped on the residents – apparently in his view – to cover for the fund losses due to the closing of Export and Industry Bank. He suggested that the current Pacific Plaza Board actively pursue the recovery of the funds lost.

Blackballed in Balesin

A member of the membership committee of the very high-end Balesin Resort Club informed us that they want to make absolutely sure that only individuals of excellent qualifications and good moral standing will be accepted as members, stressing that they carefully choose the composition of the club membership.  According to the Balesin membership committee, it doesn’t follow that just because you have the money to buy a share means automatic acceptance, adding that an individual can be rejected if they feel that he would not be good for the club and the kind of image and prestige that it evokes.

One such person whom they had earlier thought to be a good addition was a European who heads a mining firm. The man who was filing for membership brought along his Filipina girlfriend to Balesin. But the membership committee group was stunned when the arrogant individual threw water on the Filipina’s face and slapped her around apparently for some slight infraction on her part. The committee members were speechless – and as a consequence immediately turned down the man’s application for membership.

One local government official who heard about the treatment of the foreigner’s girlfriend remarked, “Why don’t you send that jerk to my province and we will  ‘take care’ of him? In our province, people – especially if they are foreigners – who beat up their girlfriends are usually tied up in their ‘you-know-what’,” he angrily said.  “We literally blackball those SOBs!” the official stated.

Preserving Paco

Ana Terrese Junio of the ABS-CBN Foundation updated us on the restoration work they have done to the centuries-old Paco Market as part of their strategy to rehabilitate the Estero de Paco, a tributary connected to the Pasig River which Gina Lopez and her group has been trying to revive via the Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig project.  Not everyone knows that Paco Market was once a bustling center for commerce and trade, with the fresh catch from the then-immaculate Pasig River transported to the market.

However, the river has since become polluted with squatter shanties and tons of garbage and human refuse thrown directly into the nearby Estero de Paco, eventually draining into the Pasig River.  After years of rehabilitation work that included the relocation of informal settlers thanks to the group of Gina Lopez, the estero has been dredged and rid of garbage, with the Paco Market refurbished to become environmentally world class without sacrificing the original architecture (comparison before and after rehabilitation work shown in photo). An interesting addition is the Activity Center that now serves as a venue for promoting livelihood, arts and music.

The restoration of what was once a dying Paco Market is clear proof that reviving the historic Pasig River is achievable.

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