As I See It
2010 presidential campaign has already begun
By Neal Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:12:00 06/23/2008
Filed Under: Judiciary (system of justice), Ces Drilon kidnapping
MANILA, Philippines - It is still a year and a half to 2010 but the presidential campaign has started, including the black propaganda. A senator who is a presidential wannabe has unleashed his PR man to do a demolition job against Sen. Loren Legarda to pull her down from the gratitude and admiration of the people after she successfully negotiated the release of broadcast journalist Ces Drilon, her crew and their guide, Prof. Octavio Dinampo. The PR man has been spreading, through text and rumors, that Ces’ family is disappointed regarding Loren’s role in the release of Ces. He even quoted Ambassador Edgardo Espiritu, Ces’ uncle, saying bad things about Loren. It’s the crab mentality all over again.
Yesterday, Espiritu was interviewed by phone over dzMM and denied all the quotes attributed to him. “She [Loren] silently worked hard in ensuring my niece’s safe release,” Espiritu said. “She doesn’t deserve all these criticisms being thrown her way.”
The ambassador also vehemently denied the charges made against Loren, saying that their family is more than grateful to the senator, adding that the latter was the only one who provided them help in negotiating for the safe release of Ces and her group.
“Dapat siya’y pinasasalamatan, hindi sinisiraan [She should be thanked, not criticized],” he said.
Yes, all the other presidential wannabes, including the senator I am referring to, did not lift a finger to help Ces and her group during their time of need. This senator boasts that he is the richest legislator (but does he pay the correct income taxes? Will the Bureau of Internal Revenue please reveal his annual personal income taxes?) but he did not offer a single peso for Ces’ ransom. Only Loren helped by negotiating with the kidnappers.
Now that Ces is free and Loren is being hailed for her efforts, he is trying to spread black propaganda against his top rival. Can you trust a man like that to be President?
* * *
The Malaysian-backed faction in the board of the Philippine Racing Club Inc. (PRCI) successfully railroaded the illegal takeover of the P12-billion Sta. Ana racetrack owned by the PRCI—with, ironically, the help of the Third Division of the Supreme Court.
Last week, this majority faction, using the SC’s temporary restraining order (TRO), ratified a deal where the P12-billion race track was swapped for a P25-million shell company controlled by the same faction. The SC TRO prevented the enforcement of a Makati regional trial court order, affirmed by the Court of Appeals, stopping the PRCI from holding a stockholders’ meeting to ratify the deal.
But what is this controversial deal? And who are the majority stockholders?
The PRCI is controlled by the Malaysian group Magnum Holdings Inc. led by Malay-Thai businessman Surin Upatkoon, and a Filipino group led by Santiago Cua Sr. and his two sons, formerly of the collapsed Westmont Bank. Filipino minority stockholders own 25 percent of PRCI.
Upatkoon is currently being investigated by Bangkok authorities for allegedly manipulating the controversial takeover of Thailand’s Shin Corp. by the giant Singaporean Temasek Holdings which angered the Thai people. The same modus operandi in taking over Shin Corp by Temasek is being used in the takeover of our own PRCI.
The Upatkoon-backed faction of the PRCI board first acquired a P25-million shell company called JTH Davies. Then it passed a board resolution swapping the P12-billion Sta. Ana racetrack for JTH Davies. The racetrack would be developed into shopping malls, residential condominiums and business offices. The majority board members became the directors of JTH Davies, shutting out the minority stockholders of PRCI.
The minority asked for copies of the swap deal and for the development plans, but the majority refused to give any information. Then the majority scheduled a stockholders’ meeting to ratify the deal. The minority went to court to stop the meeting. The Makati RTC issued a TRO. The Upatkoon-Cua faction appealed to the Court of Appeals which affirmed the RTC order. The majority faction went to the Supreme Court. In a decision penned by Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, the Third Division issued its own TRO stopping the CA and the RTC from enforcing their TROs, thus paving the way for the stockholders’ meeting and ratification of the swap deal.
Another minority group led by the Puyat family went to the Makati RTC on another issue and was issued another TRO stopping the stockholders’ meeting which was ignored. The meeting pushed through and railroaded the ratification of the swap.
The Puyat group questioned the move by the Upatkoon-Cua faction to purchase JTH Davies for close to P500 million which the Filipinos said was “way over and beyond the value of JTH.” The Puyat group also questioned a baffling scheme that apparently enriched an unknown PRCI stockholder who made P3.5 billion for an investment of only P86 million, allegedly at the expense of the corporation and its stockholders.
The Puyat group told the court that the PRCI board, at the behest of Cua, sold 29.62 percent of its JTH Davies shares to undisclosed stockholders at P6.60 and P6.65 per share. Those shares, however, were acquired by the PRCI at P10.71 per share. Who is this favored stockholder given such a bargain price?
That sale also caused the dilution of its control over the holding company. It dived from 98.19 percent to 68.57 percent. The share of the mysterious stockholder, on the other hand, went up to 31.43 percent.
After the sale, the Upatkoon-Cua faction pushed the controversial swap. And thanks to the Chico-Nazario TRO, it was ratified last week.
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