2 February 2015
Victor C. Agustin
Interaksyon
Taking a cue from legislative mentors Juan Ponce Enrile and Edgardo Angara in getting imperial Manila to fund the development of their respective bailiwicks, the Marcoses and the Singsons are also pushing for the creation of special economic zones in Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur just like Cagayan’s and Aurora’s.
The House has calendared on Wednesday an appropriations hearing for the identical bills filed by Mrs. Imelda Marcos and Chavit son Ronald Singson calling for the creation of tax havens for their neighboring provinces.
The economic zone fever has spread even among Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez and his ally Representative Frederick Abueg, who are both pushing not only for the creation of a similar zone in the southern part of the island province but also asking the national government to provide funding for its creation and development.
Even former agriculture secretary now Bohol Representative Arthur Yap has gotten into the act, pushing for the establishment of a special tourism zone in his earthquake-ravaged island-province.
According to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, the country had 17 operating agro-industrial zones, 197 information technology parks and centers, 66 manufacturing zones, two medical tourism zones and 18 tourism economic zones as of end-2013.
Tantocos buy up SSI shares, but only to a certain level
Three key Tantoco family members who had been active buyers of their Stores Specialists stock in the month after its November 7 listing have been quite absent in the market in January as the SSI share priced peaked at P11.60, according to regulatory filings.
After unloading 26.7 million secondary shares at P7.50 during the initial public offering, SSI treasurer Ma. Teresa “Maritess” Tantoco scooped back a total of 606,000 shares, diving into the market eight times and buying anywhere from P8.38 to P9.90.
Maritess’s last foray in the market was on December 23, when she acquired 40,000 SSI shares at P9.90.
Bienvenido “Donnie” Tantoco III, meanwhile, was more subdued than his aunt in reacquiring SSI shares. The Rustan’s president forayed into the market only three times, buying the SSI stock at P7.65 to P8.50.
In all, Donnie had acquired 189,000 shares, holding the purchases indirectly “through spouse.”
Donnie’s cousin, SSI director Eduardo Lopez III, also chased a more modest amount, 60,000 shares in all at P8.54 to P9.88, all for his own account.
Lopez, who trades in previously-owned luxury watches through his Secondo shop, apparently had good market timing as well, as he unloaded 10,000 SSI shares at P11.38 on January 13, a day after SSI posted its highest close at P11.30.
The stock ended Friday at P10.70.
Producer dodges Henares’ dragnet
Fashion producer and director Robert Christopher “Robby” Carmona has managed to dodge a P33 million tax evasion case filed against him by Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares.
The Court of Tax Appeals has ruled that the final assessment notice filed by the tax authorities against Carmona and his Saga Casting and Productions was submitted beyond the three-year prescriptive period.
Carmona allegedly failed to pay P33 million deficiency income tax and VAT in 2007 but the Bureau of Internal Revenue only issued the assessment notice on July 25, 2011, over a year past the stipulated deadline.
Shameless plugs: Diane Schuur, Matsusaka beef
Organizers of this year’s Philippine International Jazz festival have managed to book two-time Grammy winner Diane Schuur for a private performance at the Tower Club on February 28, a Saturday.
A ticket for the show, which includes dinner and drinks, costs P5,000.
Schuur last performed in Manila in 2007, also for the annual jazz festival.
Meanwhile, Ogetsu Hime, the best Japanese restaurant in the Fort (some would argue it even eclipses the Makati competition), has extended by another month its popular half-price promotion on its melt-in-your-mouth Matsusaka beef and Tsukiji-sourced seafood offerings.
The “Best of Japan” promotion was supposed to end in January after the Yuletide spending peak, but apparently demand for the high-end indulgences among groups and families has been quite robust even post-New Year, a trend that may well last into the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Heard through the grapevine
The unusual complaint of “revealing secrets with abuse of office” filed by the controlling Dee shareholders of listed Alliance Select Foods against their Singaporean directors has been dismissed by the Pasig prosecutor’s office on the ground that there was nothing secret in the alleged defamatory information about the Dees and the financially-challenged company.
Courtesy of Interaksyon
