Paolo not the type who would swindle people

Hoy, guessing:

• You didn’t know or never suspected that the current actor-boyfriend of a wholesome singer-actress is not her first (as in “original”) steady, did you? According to a Funfare DPA, the singer-actress’ former boyfriend was not from showbiz although he can pass for an actor. He’s the best friend of the singer-actress’ current flame who’s very much in the news lately because of his hit fantaserye. To make a long story short, the singer-actress broke up with her non-showbiz boyfriend who very soon found out that she was already going steady with his bosom buddy. What does the song Secret say again? Yes, I fell in love with my best friend’s girl.

The clue to the identity of the singer-actress’ actor-boyfriend is in your doorbell.

• You haven’t heard of how deadly with women (especially the “matronic” type) the debonair balladeer is, have you? According to Funfare’s East-Coast DPA, the balladeer had a concert in New York not so long ago, produced by a lady who was harboring a big crush on the balladeer. Anyway, guess how the lady producer “trapped” the balladeer (a willing “victim”?). Before the presscon, the balladeer excused himself and those around presumed that he was going to the restroom. By and by, the lady producer also excused herself and those around presumed that she was going to the powder room. But everybody was soon wondering why it was taking the two so long to come back. Remember, the presscon was already delayed. After more than 20 minutes the balladeer came back, followed by the lady producer. Both seemed to be floating on cloud nine.  Those around them knew that “something beautiful” happened between the two, neither in the men’s room nor in the powder room but in the privacy of a room upstairs.

• “You will be a monster someday,” a (local) lady producer half-jokingly told a new actress she was signing up. “Mark my word.” Fast-forward a few years later and, true to the lady producer’s (prophetic?) words, the actress started to grow horns and to act as if she (and a few people around her) has the world at her feet and she can order people around. “I had a bad vibe the first time I looked closely into her eyes,” the lady producer now says. “And I wasn’t comfortable with the way the corners of her lips kind of twist when she smiles. There’s something ‘sinister’ about it. Parang siyang may itinatagong kamalditahan.”

* * *

A few days ago, I heard Ogie “Miss O” Diaz on his dzXL program Wow, Ang Showbiz! talking by phone to a woman listener who said she wanted to get back the P180,000 she had invested in Paolo Bediones’ I-Tech business. The woman was hinting that she was being “swindled,” an indirect accusation that people who know Paolo very well, this columnist included, found disturbing. What, Paolo Bediones a “swindler”!?! It’s unbelievable!

Did Paolo opt to keep quiet to prevent the woman’s complaint to snowball into a major issue that could threaten not only I-Tech but his other businesses (including a dental center, Red Eye Studio, etc.) as well? No, not Paolo.

The day after Miss O’s program, I got a call from Paolo who wanted to air his side. (I would hear him talking to Miss O later that day when I, as usual was driving to work, tuned in to Wow, Ang Showbiz!)

Here’s what Paolo has to say:

“I-Tech is a marketing company in   which people make investments. It’s a network marketing and there’s a certain commission given on recruitment. Anyway, what I did when I noticed that some unscrupulous people were using my name to close deals for the recruitment was to stop the giving of commission on recruitment. When I spoke to the people at DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), they said, ‘Tama ang ginawa mo.’

“Those with an investment of P180,000 or P290,000 are very few; konti lang sila. Some of the deals were closed because kung anu-ano ang ipinangako ng mga networkers — you know, that all you have to do is invest your money, sit back and relax and earn fat commissions. No, that’s not the case with my company. I want to make it clear that I-Tech is not, I repeat NOT, a pyramid-kind of investment business; you have to help sell the tons of products (cell phone models, cameras, etc.), which I get wholesale, to make your investment earn money.

“My investors make a few thousands from their sales while I make only a few hundreds. It works this way: You invest and you get certain products, including even a waterless urinal, which you sell and get a handsome commission from. We have a line of various products. The whole idea is kung gusto mo magka-negosyo, you have to invest pero mayroong kapalit ang inyong investment. You become a dealer of products on our list, pati Smart loads, etc.

“Now, I discovered that some, which is very, very few, of those who are complaining are not registered in our system. We are fully-automated, you know. It turned out that the complainants, who are very few, didn’t understand the concept because it wasn’t explained well to them. They didn’t attend the free seminars. So when I discovered the irregularity, I stopped na the giving of commission on recruitment.

“Should I destroy the name and the reputation that I worked hard to establish and I’m working hard to protect? Of course, not! Look, kung gagawa ako ng kababalaghan, mahiya-hiya naman ako kina Joey Concepcion who is with me on Go Negosyo’s list of 50 Most Inspiring Stories. Hindi ako masisira sa pera; pera lang ‘yan. Ang intensyon ko ay magbigay ng negosyo sa tao.

“All I can say to everybody out there is this: Do not believe in get-rich-quick schemes. The nature of my I-Tech business is not  get-rich-quick. Are we going to return the money of investors who want it back? Yes, we are. But first, we will explain to them the concept of the business, kung ano ang pinasok nila, and if they still don’t understand and want out, they can.”

(Note: The office address of Paolo’s business is Unit 1904 Antel Global Building, Julio Vargas St., Ortigas Center, Pasig City. The phone number is 633-0917.)

* * *

E-mail reactions at [email protected]