Demolition job vs Llamas?

It’s a pity that President P-Noy’s administration would be dragged into a controversy because of a simple act of one of his top officials’ buying pirated DVDs. The President is caught between a rock and a hard place — sacking a trusted man who has given, and is giving him, advice on priority sensitive political issues, or giving in to what appears to be a public demand for him to fire the guy in order to give credence to his call for Filipinos to walk the strait and narrow path.

Administration agency heads have come to Llamas’ defense. Atty. Coco Padilla, chief of the legal division of the Optical Media Board (OMB), the government agency charged with running after violators of pirated DVDs, has been reported as saying that people who purchase allegedly pirated DVDs for their own personal use do not face any legal liability. Padilla cites Republic Act 9239, or the Optical Media Act of 2003, which finds no fault in Llamas’ action. OMB chief Ronnie Ricketts himself said in TV interviews that only those who buy more than five or more copies of the same DVD are liable, i.e. if they are going to sell them.

I do not know why Secretary Llamas bought P2,000 worth of DVDs. I don’t know what the topics of those DVDs are. If the copies were sold at P250 each, that means he bought only eight copies, and presumably, of different topics. It would be interesting to find out what the DVDs he bought were all about.

Agreed that Llamas had not committed a crime by purchasing P2,000 worth of DVDs. What is questionable about his action was his buying them at a stall reputed to be selling pirated DVDs. Everyone’s asking why he went on a shopping spree in a store selling pirated stuff. Was his action a simple act of indiscretion? Perhaps. Everyone can be excused for moments of lapse in judgment.

But critics of the Aquino administration have gone to town castigating Llamas, and by extension, his boss. They’re quick to lambast him for smearing the president’s campaign for honesty, truthfulness, decency, and so forth and so on. According to these critics, cabinet officials like Llamas should be perfect models of good and right conduct.

As of this writing, the President has not commented on Llamas’ case. Nor has Llamas explained his position.

We have no word about what the President will do about his trusted official’s misdemeanor. He has been reported as saying that Llamas should do the explaining about his action.

Should the President sack him? Maybe some dressing down will do. I do believe Llamas, in a brief moment of indiscretion, completely forgot that as a public official, he should not be buying pirated DVDs, that he is no ordinary citizen, but a supposed gentleman.

I don’t think the President should sack him. Nor should Llamas resign. This demolition job is the handiwork of P-Noy critics. These critics bring up the issue of Llamas’ having a firearm stashed in his car which his staff had not taken to Llamas’ home for safekeeping after they had taken him to the airport for a flight taking him to a conference in Switzerland. As in the case of the video-buying incident, the media was quick to take pictures and give reports and insinuations about the legality of the political adviser’s keeping the firearm. It tuned out the firearm had been licensed by the PNP and granted for security reasons as the adviser had received a number of death threats.

The issue, for sure, puts President Aquino in an embarrassing situation. I do not think he should fire his errant official. Llamas should apologize — to the public and his boss — that indeed he had done something that he shouldn’t have. Then he should be allowed to go on with his job of assisting his boss in making the political system work in favor of the poor and the powerless, instead of protecting the powerful and the influential.

As a public official told me, this clear demolition job against Llamas and by extension, P-Noy himself, should not distract this administration from pursuing the “daang matuwid.”

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The world renowned P.F. Chang Bistro has opened its first Asian restaurant — at the Alabang Town Center. That’s good news, especially for people who have dined and wined at any of the establishment’s 204 branches in the US, and 12 in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Kuwait, and Dubai.

Five years ago, Archie Rodriguez, owner of Global Restaurant Concepts Inc., once ate and simply loved the food served at the bistro’s branch in Florida. Recently GRCI closed a deal with the bistro’s owners to open one in Alabang.

P.F. Chang Bistro’s culinary thrust is simplicity in the food preparation and using only the freshest ingredients without the use of garnishes and artificial flavors. This is reflected in, among many dishes which were served at luncheons with the media, such as Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Chang’s Spicy Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Norwegian Salmon with Ginger, Ginger Chicken with Broccoli, Beef a la Sichuan, Shrimp with Cantonese Sauce, Philip’s Better Lemon Chicken, Chang’s BBQ Spare Ribs, oolong Chilean Sea Bass, Wok-seared Lamb and Asian Marinated New York Strip.

The genius behind P.F. Chang’s is a cosmopolite 65-year-old Chinese American, Philip Chiang. He was born in Shanghai and grew up in Tokyo before relocating to San Francisco. In the early 1960s, his mother opened The Mandarin, one of the first Chinese restaurants in the US to serve Chinese food from regions other than Canton. The Mandarin became popular with its high-end cuisine and moved on to its second location in Beverly Hills.

Philip graduated with a bachelor of arts degree at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He ran The Mandarin for several years and opened an off-shoot concept called the Mandarette in West Hollywood. This smaller, less expensive café, served “grazing food” which became an immediate hit and attracted the attention of restaurateur Paul Fleming. Fleming had successfully opened Ruth’s Christ Steak House in Beverly Hills. In 1993, Philip and Fleming teamed up, and the first P.F. Chang’s China Bistro opened in Scottsdale, Arizona and from there expanded to 203 locations in the US and 12 in other countries.

Philip now acts as Chang’s culinary consultant, making sure that the restaurant’s original vision of creating great “craveable” food that guests can’t get anywhere else. He also oversees new dish development and is responsible for the branches’ menu. As in every new branch opening, foreign staff are flown in from the US main office to train locals to assume the jobs of chefs, bartenders and waiters, among others.

P.F. Chiang’s Bistro in Alabang blends western and eastern architectural design, highlighted with giant terra cotta soldiers in front of the restaurant. 

Global Restaurant Concepts Inc. owner, 42-year-old Archie Rodriguez, who runs Logicall, a call center, is also the owner of California Pizza Kitchen (which has seven branches in Metro Manila), Morelli’s, and MEK (with Stephie Zubiri).

Archie, personable and smart, smiles as he says, “There is always room for another Chinese restaurant. But P. F. Chang is different. We’re not cheap, but we’re not expensive. We want to elevate people’s dining experience. Our objective is to make sure diners enjoy our food and come back.”

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