Partnership gone sour

The Office of the Ombudsman is seeking the reversal of a May 28 Sandiganbayan resolution dismissing the graft cases filed against business tycoon Roberto “Bobby” Ongpin over an alleged P660 million behest loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines in 2009. We received information that one of those asking the Sandiganbayan to revive the case against Ongpin is the Wenceslao family whose partnership with Alphaland went sour over a dispute regarding the Alphaland Marina Club Project.

Ongpin’s group purchased 10 hectares of property at the Manila Bay reclamation area (next to Ricky Razon’s Solaire Resort Hotel) from the Wenceslao Group for P3 billion in 2007. In 2010, the Wenceslao Group (WG) proposed a 50-50 partnership where WG would give an additional 22 hectares, while Ongpin’s group will contribute the 10 hectares it purchased in addition to P1 billion in cash plus P1.47 billion in Alphaland shares for a new company that would be known as Alphaland Bay City Corporation. WG got the cash and the shares but reportedly failed to fulfill its part of the bargain – resulting in a clash between the Alphaland group and the Wenceslaos.

The lawyers of Bobby Ongpin say it’s time the Wenceslao Group stop its sourgraping and move on – like what RVO did when it recently agreed to settle Alphaland Corporation’s dispute with the UK-based Ashmore Group by transferring several assets that include the Alphaland Marina Club Inc. and Alphaland Marina Corporation to a newly incorporated company owned by Alphaland Holdings (Singapore) and Masrickstar Corporation.

According to Alphaland lawyers, the Wenceslao Group has an opportunity to continue with the 32-hectare Alphaland Bay City marina project at the Aseana Business Park in partnership with the Ashmore group via the abovementioned newly incorporated company.

Additionally, Alphaland is informing those who bought shares of the Marina project that they can be automatic members of Alphaland City Club in Makati which remains under the control of the Ongpin group.

Legarda urges Filipinos to vote for Vigan City as New7Wonders

Ilocanos especially those from the province of Ilocos Sur are excited at the prospect of Vigan City being declared as one of the New 7 Wonders Cities of the world by the New7Wonders Foundation. Ilocanos are certainly appreciative of the support coming from Senator Loren Legarda who is urging Filipinos all over the world to participate in the online voting that would put the pride of Vigan at the forefront. 

Legarda is convinced Vigan deserves the honor to be named as one of the New7Wonders Cities because it is an excellent example of how history and culture can stand out and thrive in the midst of modernity. Over the years, Vigan with its rustic charm, Spanish-style houses and cobblestone streets (like Calle Crisologo shown in photo) continues to be a major tourist draw in the north, with visitors marveling at the preservation of traditional crafts like handloom weaving (known as abel), “burnay” or earthenware jar making and damili or terra-cotta tile making indigenous to certain barangays in Vigan City.

“The carefully preserved centuries-old structures in the historic city of Vigan bring people back in time, but the city’s prosperity tells us that the citizens and the government of this UNESCO World Heritage Site have worked well and made good use of its autonomy,” Senator Legarda observed. Vigan happens to be the only UNESCO heritage city in the Philippines and was awarded the Best Practice for World Heritage Site Management by UNESCO in November 2012.

Like many who have visited Vigan, the Senator – who is a staunch advocate of environment preservation – notes that the best practices that the people of Vigan have carried out to preserve history and promote culture while working towards sustainable development is something that should be recognized, if not emulated, by other Filipinos. 

Vigan City is among the 28 finalists but the list will be trimmed down still further to 21 when the voting for the initial phase closes by July 7 this year. From there, only 14 of the finalists will remain until only seven will remain standing, so to speak, until the last online vote is cast on Dec. 7 this year.  Since Filipinos are known as one of the most active and persistent when it comes to online activities, they better check out the website www.new7wonders.com/en/cities and start getting the votes in until Vigan City is declared one of the New7Wonders Cities of the World.

Celia Diaz-Laurel’s colorful life

Mrs. Celia Diaz Laurel launched her book “The Colors of My Life: Celia Diaz Laurel – Painter” yesterday at the Executive House in UP Diliman. At 86, the widow of the late vice president Salvador “Doy” Laurel continues to be active as she welcomed friends of the late VP and guests who joined her for the event. The coffee table book is the first of a planned trilogy that would detail her experiences in theater both as an actress and as a production designer, and the “colorful” life she has experienced in more than eight decades. 

In “…Celia Diaz Laurel – Painter,” Mrs. Laurel gives readers a glimpse of her childhood years in Negros Occidental, her high school days at the Assumption Convent where she showed her artistic streak, and college at the University of the Philippines where she took up Fine Arts and showed a flair for poetry and literary writing.  

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