Barking up the wrong tree

One Michael Liew, a Singaporean national, is presently hogging the news headlines for allegedly absconding with $150 million of money invested by some affluent Filipinos in his British Virgin Islands-based company, Performance Investments BVI.

A friend lost money under Liew’s investment scheme when he unceremoniously closed his BVI operations and emptied of deposits three bank accounts that channeled investments and profits to and from the investors.

This friend of mine is in a quandary, not only for absorbing financial losses but also for fear of her reputation getting ruined. She cited the “unfair and unjust” accusations being made against an employee of PIPC Corp., Cristina Tuason, whom she described as “a victim, like me and all the others who had the unfortunate fate of crossing paths with Liew.”

My friend emailed  me details about Liew and Performance BVI, as well as the “real sentiments” of investors burned by the Singaporean’s get-rich-quick scheme. Here follows her letter, which I edited only for brevity and focus.

“Domini,

“Michael Liew is a name that raises the blood pressure and ruins the day of people like me whenever we read and hear about him in the news. Like most of the investors in his BVI operation, I want to get back my money without inviting public ridicule by coming out in the open.

“News reports were quite correct in saying that most of Liew’s investors belong to the crème de la crème of Philippine society, many with palatial homes in Forbes Park, Dasmariñas Village and Ayala-Alabang.

“Truth be told, what money I want to get back from Liew is not part of my investments with Performance BVI. Many of us investors, who have been with BVI since eight to 10 years ago, have long since recouped our investments and have lost just part of the profits still deposited with Liew’s depository banks.

“There may not have been a problem with Performance BVI if not for the greed of one man, who woke up one day and decided he wanted all for himself the invested money of those who trusted him and who were suckered in by his glib tongue.

“A friend, Cristina Tuason, is in a bigger  dilemma than most of us since, aside from losing money, she is now being made the scapegoat in place of the missing Michael Liew.

“The misfortune of Tuason has nothing to do with doing anything wrong. She was a victim like all of us, with the only difference being her being employed by Liew in his Philippine-based company PIPC Corp.

“It was Liew through Performance BVI who took our money, but Tuason, just by association as an employee of PIPC, is also being crucified. This is unfair as PIPC is not Performance BVI as PIPC was merely providing business solutions like IT support and the like to its clients.

“What’s happening to Tina can happen to any employee of business outsourcing enterprises, including call centers — blamed for doing a perfectly legit 9-5 job tainted by her employer’s other operations, in her case the one based in British Virgin Islands.

“I’d like to say that from the day Tina and her fellow PIPC employees smelled a rat, she has been in constant touch with her fellow investors, whose only fault may have been recruiting other investors as well. Fact is she is now leading efforts to find Michael Liew to make him account for the investors’ money.

“Last I heard, she and other moneyed investors have hired two Hong Kong-based lawyers and a company with expertise in anti-fraud operations to trace the whereabouts of Liew and our money.

“Lest we  forget, it was Tina who blew the whistle on Liew when she sought the help of NBI-Interpol. That being said, her fellow investors like me, victims all of Michael Liew, are fully supporting her initiatives to get back our money.

“We are very thankful for having a Cristina Tuason who is fighting for our interests even if the same may be exposing her to unwarranted and unfair public intrigue. Thank you.” Michelle

*   *   *

Bulan Restaurant is one of its kind. Guests are admitted through a century-old wooden portal that reveals a three-level colonial house of solid stone, with cathedral ceilings garlanded by elaborate latticework handcrafted by Filipino artists. In the main dining hall is a bar made of antique hard wood, featuring a counter inlayed with ebony and ivory patterns. Adoring its center are birds and butterflies with wings of  ebony and bone, and eyes of amethyst, peridot and ruby.

Dining tables are aged hardwood, and about them are copper chaffing dishes, blown glass chandeliers, Balinese carvings, authentic jars, images and artifacts from China, Tibet and Nepal dating back to the 10th century, and even paintings by various Filipino masters lining the walls.

Aside from antiquities, Bulan prides itself in a classy menu, prepared by master chef Tony Aguilar, who worked as a master chef in Sweden. Try his Cleopatra (duck imported from France, oven-baked to perfection in sauvignon sauce and sprinkled with a dash of saffron aioli), Roma (grilled orange-flavored filet mignon in exquisite marsala sauce, served with zucchini and tomatoes in olive oil), and Achiles Grilled lamb marinated in herbs and oranges.

After a dinner or lunch a la nouvelle cuisine, clients take a  leisurely walk and take pleasure in the exquisite artwork on display and for sale, says Marlene Aguilar, art dealer and publisher, and partner of her chef brother Tony Aguilar.

Bulan, by the way, is the Bicolano word for moon. The Aguilars are from Bicol. Marlene says, “Our family is proud of our heritage, that’s why we chose a name that represents our ancestry.”

Bulan is located at cor. No. 3 General de Jesus and Jose Abad Santos sts., Little Baguio, San Juan, Metro Manila. Open for lunch and dinner, reservations can be made at (632) 7258496.