The feud between Ramos-era Tourism Secretary Vicente Carlos and his six other siblings have gotten worse, with the siblings now attaching to their Court of Appeals pleading a number of embarrassing letters written against Vince by their late father (Juan Carlos) and their frail mother ( Norma Jacinto-Carlos).
Edna had purchased the # 3 Cambridge Circle, FPN house and had been making payments on it before February 1986. Then the EDSA Revolution broke out, Ferdinand and Imelda and the whole dastardly lot were deposed, including Fabian, Aida, their family, as well as Edna and her family, and they all had to hightail it out of the country “pronto”!
The hurriedly-departing Edna entrusted various business affairs with Benjie.
With Edna in exile, and funds expectedly running low, Benjie requested Ising and Danny to take over the payments for the # 3 Cambridge Circle house. Always awash with cash ( like true Madrigals ), Ising and Danny forthwith completed the payments for the house.
Since no payments were coming from Edna nor Benjie, Ising and Danny simply put the house in their names. Period. Can you blame them? If Edna ponies up, matters may be expedited.
COCKTALES | Ver companion fights ejectment from Forbes house
The long-time companion of Marcos’s late military chief Fabian Ver, Edna Camcam, is fighting ejectment by the Madrigal clan from her North Forbes Park residence.
Camcam, together with investment banker-real estate developer Benjamin Bitanga, have filed a reconveyance case with verified application for preliminary injunction against Dr. Daniel Vazquez, who is married to the lone surviving heiress of the billionaire clan, Ma. Luisa Madrigal.
Vazquez had earlier told Cocktales that he and his now-ailing wife owned the house and lot on 3 Cambridge Circle that Camcam had been living in since her return from forced overseas exile after the Edsa I revolt.
Vazquez, in addition, claimed that Camcam’s continued stay in the country’s most exclusive subdivision — Camcam’s is just a few houses away from Manny Pacquiao’s — was merely an accommodation to their friendship forged during the Marcos heyday.
Former RCBC Securities president Jerome Tan passed away last weekend after he drowned in Zambales.
According to word that reached Biz Buzz, Tan and his friend were trying out a new yacht last Saturday in Subic and decided to visit Grande Island, just at the mouth of the bay. They anchored the boat off the island and jumped into the water to swim to the shore but soon found themselves overpowered by the strong undertow that waters off Zambales are known for.
Despite being “very fit” and a “good swimmer”—as attested to by his good friends, who invariably described him as a “nice guy”—Tan was apparently overcome by the current. Only his friend made it to the island, and the banker was later found with a very weak pulse. Tan expired soon after.
Tan resigned from the brokerage firm about two months ago amid troubles concerning the supposedly rogue trades executed by the firm’s rainmaker (who has since made herself scarce). According to his friends, Tan was advised early this year by a geomancer to “stay away from salt water.”—Daxim L. Lucas
SPYBITS By Babe G. Romualdez
Drowning in Subic
Young bank executive and former RCBC Securities president Jerome Tan drowned while swimming in Subic last Saturday. Sources says the 44-year-old Tan (Spy Bits is not sure how he is related to RCBC president and CEO Lorenzo Tan or Banco de Oro president Nestor Tan) was pulled by an undertow and overpowered by a strong rip current that caused him to drift farther.
There have been an increasing number of drowning incidents in Subic and other areas in Zambales especially during summer, prompting a group of resort owners to initiate a lifeguard training seminar conducted by a local group accredited by the Belgium-based International Life Saving Federation. About 40,000 drowning related incidents are reported every year in the Philippines, and a big percentage of the victims are children.
Reports reaching Spy Bits also said Tan, who was considered a good swimmer, reportedly suffered from cramps which made it difficult for him to overcome the strong rip current. Our condolences to the family of this young man.
Jerome A. Tan, ( former ) president of RCBC Securities, passed away today, Saturday, 23 June 2012, at the age of 44 in a tragic swimming accident in Grande island, Zambales.
I will really miss you, my good friend and arts and antiques buddy!!! I will miss my only Chinoy friend whose high bespoke, personal style hewed closest to the iconic Duke of Windsor. 😦 😦 😦
Eternal rest grant unto the soul of Jerome. And may perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.
Our deepest sympathy to his widow, Reina de Villa Lopez-Puckett – Tan.
Not only is he being sued by BIR Commissioner Kim Henares for alleged tax evasion concerning the estate of his late father, but Paul Smith boutique owner Juan Miguel Ongsiako is also in litigation with his blind, wheelchair-dependent elder brother, Jose Maria.
According to court documents, Jose Maria, who is undergoing hemodialysis twice a week, is questioning his bon vivant sibling over the alleged questionable dispositions of certain properties left behind this time by their late mother, Nori Villanueva Ongsiako.
Cousins of telecom heir Antonio Ongsiako Cojuangco, the Ongsiako brothers have been locked in litigation at the Makati Regional Trial Court before Judge Cedrick Ruiz particularly over a 2008 real estate mortgage taken out of the Bank of the Philippine Islands.
To make a long story short, the Court of Appeals last month upheld the Makati judge’s decision to allow the testimony of the paralyzed Ongsiako to remain in perpetuity despite the delaying tactics of the younger brother and his platoon of lawyers.
Three gurgling fountains in a secret garden in 17th-century Versailles was the setting for the Cruise Collection 2013 designed by Karl Lagerfeld for the House of Chanel. With Madame du Barry as his design muse, Lagerfeld meshed the oversized look of early ’90s hip-hop with rocking rococo flourishes in detail, embroidery, color and accessories. Punk ’80s platform creepers or trainers were the event’s only footwear.
Proportion and pastels
The 72 exits were a play on proportion, signaling the next big thing in garments. And we do mean big—from the roomiest gangsta jeans to voluminous skirts, XL blouses and oversized dresses. Denim in all its guises was the star fabric; stone washed, indigo, brushed and chambray were made into the new Chanel suit. Opalescent pastels like pink sorbet, pale jade and blushing peach upstaged the usual black and white Chanel colors.
Boucle, starched cotton, summer tweed are Chanel staples but this collection was colorfully exaggerated in accessories and finishing. Garish plastic flowers, rippled ribbons, pearls and crystals with bold bejewelled buttons ran amuck. The clothes came ruffled yet aggressive, with skirts that flared at the hip into broad, look-at-me panniers. Harlequin checks and gold-frogged denim, pedal pushers and wide cullotes brought swagger and slouch to this anything-goes show.
Chanel’s message
“Liberty, equality, frivolity” seemed to be Chanel’s message on the eve of the swearing in of François Hollande, the first French socialist president in 17 years. Fashion’s Sun King Karl Lagerfeld said, “The image of France has been a little sad: the gray uniform of Europe. I wanted to give France back some lightness.”
It’s uncanny how fashion always changes with economic highs and lows. While the rest of the world’s top fashion designers are focused on streamlined minimalism or austerity chic, Lagerfeld seems to be saying, “Let them eat cake.”
It is time to be seriously frivolous. Just look at these frolicking fun clothes meant to make you smile again. It is the season of tasteful dressing, proving once more Chanel is a movable feast.
So, for the 21st century alone, we’ve already seen the Ilusorio, Tambunting, Villanueva, Madrigal (Jamby vs. her aunt’s will), and the Jacinto internecine sagas unfold so far. Nice. Who’s next?
Isn’t it very calming to know that there are at least 91.89 million other Filipinos who have nothing so maudlin to squabble over…and are at the very least, peaceful and pacific? 🙂 🙂
Feud in billionaire clan seen to continue
Joel R. San Juan
The fight for riches among members of the billionaire Tambunting clan apparently is far from over.
It seemed so after the Court of Appeals (CA) junked a petition filed by socialite Teresita “Tereret” Tambunting-Liboro seeking to prosecute her nephews Miguel Tambunting and Jose Tambunting and two others, Nathaniel Cregas and Sheryl Flores, for estafa through falsification of public documents.
In an eight-page ruling released last week and penned by Associate Justice Romeo Barza, the appellate court’s Special Eighth Division dismissed Liboro’s petition seeking reversal of an order issued by the Regional Trial Court in Mandaluyong City that junked the estafa case for lack of probable cause.
The Court of Appeals said Liboro filed the appeal in violation of Section 35, Chapter 12, Title III, Book III of the Administrative Code of 1987.
The section provides that the Office of the Solicitor General shall represent the government in the Supreme Court (SC) and the appellate court in all criminal proceedings.
“A perusal of the instant appeal would reveal that the same was filed at the instance of the private prosecutor, not through the Solicitor General,” the CA said.
It added that the SC has ruled in numerous cases that “only the Solicitor General may bring or defend actions on behalf of the People of the Philippines once such actions are brought before the Court of Appeals or the SC.”
“Conformably with the above jurisprudence, we hold that the instant appeal is considered defective,” the appellate court said. Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Noel Tijam and Myra Garcia-Fernandez.
In her complaint, Liboro alleged that during 2003-2007, the accused conspired “by means of deceit and false representation” to execute documents to make it appear to stockholders that she approved the issuance of the remaining 75 percent of the unissued capital stock of Tamco Realty Corp. (Tamco) in favor of United World Security Holdings Co. Inc.
She said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which relied on the authenticity of the documents, approved the issuance of said shares, thus reducing her control and interest over Tamco and Punta Fuego property, which she acquired for P7.63 million.
On May 4, 2009, the trial court dismissed the case for lack of probable cause to incriminate the accused. Early this year, the Court of Appeals gave Liboro control over Planters Development Bank (PDB), a private development bank with more than P50 billion assets and 70 branches nationwide.
Ownership of 4,846,650 shares of PDB registered in the name of First Legaspi Bancorporation has been the subject of a legal battle involving Miguel and Jose, whose siblings Aurora, Regina and Victor have taken the side of Liboro.
I wouldn’t respect any decision of people of questionable character who, comically enough, are “judging” another person of questionable character. There are simply no contrasts to see the difference.
To tell you the truth, I have NO RESPECT for any of them, regardless of the decision about Chief Justice Renato Corona. Respect is a very big word that demands absolute integrity before it is conferred. To paraphrase the good book, for every finger pointed at Renato Corona, there are ten pointing to his accusers in turn. It is entirely possible that all the charges hurled at the Chief Justice — corruption, money laundering, etc. — can boomerang at Malacanang, the senator judges, the prosecution, and most everyone else with some position in government. It is trite to say “Let him who has not sinned cast the first stone.” but it is the truth. Putting it simply, “it’s the pot[s] calling the kettle black.” Money is the universal language and the awesome power of its expression attains its fullest length and breadth of notoriety in the realm of politics.
Contemporary politics, not just in the Philippines but all over the world, requires its practitioners to shed all semblances of morality/ethics for survival. That is the reality: one must stoop so low in order to flourish in the quagmire that is Philippine politics.
But I do find Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago amusing.
Just a question to Toto and his readers: If there is an acquittal — not a guilty verdict with a mere reprimand, but an honest to goodness acquittal (i.e. 8 or more Senators vote to acquit or abstain), will you respect the decision of the Senate Impeachment Court?
Family feud over estate inheritance rocks Jacintos
by Rio N. Araja.
A QUEZON City court has ordered the Makati police to arrest a sister of musician and businessman Ramon Jacinto after he filed charges against her for allegedly using spurious public documents and falsifying public documents.
Judge Maria Gilda Loja-Pangilinan of Branch 31 also furnished the National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation with copies of an arrest warrant against her dated May 8.
But the warrant has yet to be served because the accused, Marilene, the first wife of the late Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, no longer lives in San Lorenzo Village in Makati, her last known address, according to clerk of court Roger Costin.
The charges against Marilene were filed by Ramon, the president of Oregon Land Inc., a family corporation listed as the owner of a P300-million property in Novaliches, Quezon City that Marilene allegedly sold to herself for P14.6 million when she was managing the corporation and without the approval of its directors and stockholders.
The complaint accuses Marilene of presenting a fake deed of absolute sale [for three parcels of land allegedly sold to her for P14.6 million] to the Register of Deeds of Quezon City, which resulted in the cancellation of Oregon’s titles to the properties.
Another sibling, Fernando Jacinto Jr., sought to have the absolute sale of the disputed property between Marilene and their brother Jose Maria Jacinto nullified.
Ramon, through his lawyers, says Marilene and Jose Maria misled the Philippine Consulate General Office in Hawaii when they presented their deed of absolute sale for acknowledgement in 2008.
The transaction says Jose Maria sold a 1,071-square-meter lot, a 4,279-square-meter lot, and another 5,350-square meter lot in Pasong Putik village in Novaliches near SM Fairview to Marilene for P14.6 million while they were both in Honolulu on June 17, 2008.
Ramon Jacinto complained to assistant state prosecutor Rolando Martinez that Marilene was able to convince the Registrar’s Office of Quezon City to transfer the disputed parcels of land to her name.
But Marilene said the Quezon City prosecutor’s office did not have jurisdiction over the case since the deed of absolute sale was executed in the US.
Martinez said Marilene had argued that Oregon Land Inc. was a family corporation, and that their brother Ramon and the other siblings had failed to settle the unpaid real-estate taxes for the three parcels of land.
“To be able to redeem, Ramon Jacinto used his own personal funds of P9,665,031.91 to [pay] the Quezon City treasury on June 30, 2008,” he said.
On Feb. 8, Martinez indicted Marilene of falsification of public documents and use of falsified documents.
“The legal principle that being an heir of the Jacinto estate, she can take any property she wants as her advance inheritance will not prosper,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The deed of sale was executed without a certificate from the corporate secretary of Oregon Land Inc., it said.
“Being the buyer and recipient of the original copy of the deed of absolute sale, respondent [Marilene] should have a copy of said secretary’s certificate. As the seller, Jose Maria would have no authority to sell the valuable three parcels of land to her without it,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The arrest warrant was the latest chapter in the bitter rivalry among the Jacinto siblings whose father, the late Fernando, built a vast fortune from steel production.
The court recommended P6,000 bail for falsification of public documents and P2,000 bail for the use of falsified documents.
Jewelry worth millions of euros stolen from flat of PH envoy to Portugal Philippe Lhuillier
Abigail Kwok
Pieces of jewelry worth millions of euros were stolen by thieves from the apartment unit of Philippine ambassador to Portugal Philippe Jones Lhuillier, the French newspaper, The Parisian, reported.
The May 19 report, which appeared on The Parisian’s website said the robbers had entered the upscale apartment building located at Paris’ 16th District from the roof and forced open the window to ge into Lhuillier’s unit.
The Parisian first reported that the pieces of jewelry were worth 30 million euros, but later revised its report, saying that the stolen jewels were worth only 3 million euros or roughy P165 million.
An initial investigation from police said that after entering Lhuillier’s unit , the burglars forced open the safe and took dozens of jewelry and gemstones.
The burglars also took vases, clocks. and other valuables. It said Lhuillier’s unit was “richly decorated with paintings and masterpieces and precious ornaments.”
“This is a passionate diplomat and leading expert on gemology, continues the same source,” the report said.
The 66-year-old ambassador was in the United States at the time of the robbery.
Lhuillier was appointed by the Philippine government as ambassador to Italy in 1999. He is a member of the Lhuillier clan, who owns the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies (PJLGC).
The PJLGC owns and operates Cebuana Lhuillier Pawnshop, one of the top pawnshops in the Philippines.
PJLGC is also engaged in other financial services such as banking, remittance, insurance, loading, bills payment, health and hotel management and information technology.
Police investigators have recovered items left behind by the robbers from the crime scene, the Parisian report stated.
“The perpetrators of this burglary have perhaps acted simply by chance, not knowing they would fall on all jewelry. Burglaries are down yet in Paris and the suburbs since the beginning of the year. But we are never immune to this type of business with enormous damage,” the report said.
Any details on the former ambassador to France whose Paris apartment was robbed of 30 million euros worth of jewels and valuables. I read on a blog the apartment was broken into through the roof by the robbers ?
“De buena familia,” Ateneo-educated, and very social fashion designer Boysie Villavicencio is close to Chuchu Madrigal-Eduque and he was “recruited” to entertain her Tita Chito Madrigal-Collantes during dinner once a week [ every Sunday ] during the latter’s dotage to prevent “interesao” relatives and friends from getting to her. Of course, he never realized he was used, but then it doesn’t matter anymore.
As the old maxim goes: “Birds of the same feather flock together.”
Happy Birthday, Tita Chito!
by BOYSIE VILLAVICENCIO
TODAY, May 18, is the birthday of Doña Consuelo “Chito” Madrigal-Collantes and if she were physically present with us here today, she would have been 91 years old.
For years on this day, we celebrated this 24-karat lady’s birthday, and years after her demise, her relatives, her friends, and her employees still continue that tradition – starting with mass at the Madrigal Town Center in Alabang (usually said by Fr. Mar Labra, also a member of the board of the Consuelo Madrigal Foundation) and lunch right after.
As Fr. Labra says: “Doña Chito lives…..she will always be remembered…..until this day, the hundreds (if not thousands) of scholars whom “she sent to school gratefully honor her as they improve their lives “through leaps and bounds”.
Another one who fondly remembers Doña Chito is Ryan “Princess” Dignadice, whom I called the “royal hairdresser”. Ryan, whose main duty was to comb Doña Chito’s hair and apply make-up on her, says he was devastated with the lady’s demise.
He says, “When I was young my goals in life were simple – to finish my studies in Education and to land a good job in my native province of Negros Occidental so I can help my family move to a better status in life.
“But fate had somehow intervened and showed me a path full of opportunities. My aunt, who was working as a private nurse for the Madrigals, offered me a job upon learning that Señora Chito was looking for a gay person to be her private beauty consultant.
“My life journey with Señora Chito began when I met her after my graduation. I was surprised to see a wealthy woman — so radiant, to be very open-minded and highly enthusiastic — to deal seriously with a person who comes from the barrio and a male cross dresser at that! She showered me with so much trust. As I lived at her residence, people teased me and called me ‘her confidante’.
“Señora Chito valued education and believed that empowerment of a person comes from education. Thus, she wanted me to develop my skills and had me enrolled at the Frank Provost Salon for a make-up course and sent me off to New York every summer to train in a course developed by Estee Lauder. As her hairdresser and make-up artist, I traveled with her at least once a month and that gave me the exposure which I am very grateful for.
“I consider myself blessed, as I learned about Señora Chito’s values and witnessed how she stood for them. She molded me with integrity, compassion and trust. The values that she taught me are deeply ingrained in my character, which until this day had trickled down to my friends, families, clients, and colleagues. This remarkable woman serves as an inspiration to countless people like me.
“From the day I met her to the day she passed away, she never judged me for my appearance nor advised me to dress according to her standards. She was a woman who looked at the positive side of life as she believed in the uniqueness of everyone — be it gay or straight. She treated each person with respect and dignity.
“Though years have passed (after her death), I can still feel my great loss….. I keep thinking that she could have hired someone from Manila, well versed with the language of her own class.
“I feel so fortunate meeting her in this lifetime and still find her influence growing inside me. Her values have guided me to make simple or complex decisions in life. The opportunities she had given have provided me hope to survive”.
Indeed Chito Madrigal Collantes lives on and the legacy she left in life continues to touch the lives of her friends and others who probably she never met.
Personally, like Fr. Mar and Ryan, I too, feel fortunate to have met a truly grand and simple lady …………..someone who cared for people like a mother; someone respected who gave respect to others; and someone who I consider to be a true f-r-i-e-n-d.
‘In the interest of truth and fairness’
The Philippine Star
Sir: I am the person referred to in the SpyBits article titled “Iggy Arroyo’s first wife indicted”, which appeared in the May 1, 2012 issue of The Philippine STAR.
Please be informed that I have not received to date any indictment for falsification from the Quezon City prosecutor. In any case, the records will show that I have not committed any falsification, and any action to indict me would be a reversible error.
Ramon Jacinto’s complaint is nothing but a part of his design to stop me from opposing his moves to appropriate for himself all the properties of the Jacinto estate to the prejudice of his siblings. Among the estate assets which Ramon now claims to be assets of corporations he controls are prime properties in several locations.
In 2009, when Ramon became the administrator of the Jacinto estate, he gave away two Baguio lots in spite of a decision of the Regional Trial Court of Baguio to return them to the Jacinto estate. He did so by entering into a compromise agreement with EPCIB/BDO and Forward Properties Inc. (FPI), where he, as administrator, waived the estate’s Baguio lots (then valued at about P200 million) in favor of EPCIB/BDO in consideration only of the latter’s waiver of all debts of FPI, a corporation he controls. This is obviously detrimental to the estate but beneficial only to FPI which is under his personal control. The compromise agreement was without the prior knowledge and consent of his siblings and the approval of the Regional Trial Court of Muntinlupa, where the settlement of the Jacinto estate is pending.
I feel Ramon’s design to stop me from fighting for my (and my other sibling’s) rights is obsessive and uncalled for. In 2009, Ramon forced me out of my condo unit at the Urdaneta Apartments, which resulted in the loss of certain estate documents and the filing of a theft case against him.
Due to the theft case, Ramon mauled me outside the Seryna Japanese Restaurant in 2010, which mauling led to the filing of an attempted homicide case against him.
Ramon is a respondent in several criminal complaints. But because he is powerful and influential, he manages to persuade certain prosecutors to rule in his favor. Except one, that is. As reported in another newspaper, the DOJ resolved to indict Ramon for nine counts of violations of BP 22, and the Supreme Court upheld the DOJ resolution in the case of Land Bank vs. Ramon Jacinto (G.R. No. 154622, Aug. 3, 2010). This case involves bouncing checks worth more than P400 million that the Land Bank could otherwise utilize for financing land acquisition under the Agrarian Reform Program.
Thus, not all can agree that Ramon is the honest and wholesome guy portrayed in the subject article.
In the interest of truth and fairness, I request that this letter be published in its entirety.
OMG!! Re Enrique’s posting of Ms. Jacinto’s indictment — the shenanigans the Arroyo family has had to go through as of late–like really bad juju.
But life was not always rosy for the Jacintos. There was a time when they were like ‘refugees’ in the US when they fled the predatory Marcos regime. While the older Jacintos languished and eventually passed away in Hawaii, the younger ones were operating a noodle fast-food off of Fifth Ave., NYC. I remember that very distinctly because all of this was happening in the shadows of Saks Fifth Avenue, Olympic Towers and St. Patrick’s Cathedral…in that order of course!! 🙂
And then of course, when the Markupits themselves fell from grace, they returned, and like the Lopezes, were able to recover their previous assets…
Iggy Arroyo’s first wife indicted
SPY BITS By Babe Romualdez
The Quezon City Prosecutor’s office has indicted Marilene Jacinto, first wife of the late Negros Occidental Congressman Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo, for falsification of public documents. The indictment stemmed from a complaint by Marilene’s brother – Ramon “RJ” Jacinto – president of the family-owned Oregon Land Inc., alleging that Marilene faked a Deed of Absolute Sale and presented the same to the Quezon City Register of Deeds to have the ownership of the P300-million Novaliches property transferred to her name.
The indictment is only the latest in the long-running Jacinto family saga marked by infighting among siblings over their inheritance. The late family patriarch Don Fernando Jacinto is the acknowledged founder of the steel industry. Don Fernando’s father, Nicanor Sr., is also one of the founders of the Bank of Commerce and Security Bank, and together with the steel mill in Iligan City plus vast land holdings, the family wealth expanded to great heights. The Jacinto children lived the kind of opulence and extravagance that most other people could only dream about. At a young age, they were living in the lap of luxury, driving around in the flashiest cars and mingling with the scions of society’s most elite. As a matter of fact, RJ would be seen driving around the Ateneo campus in a red and white Thunderbird – at a time when the T-Bird was just being introduced locally – while another brother went around in a Jaguar.
Dispute over inheritance shattered the relationship between the siblings – a fact that Ramon Jacinto feels very emotional about, sources disclosed. Marilene was appointed administrator of the estate of the late Don Fernando and also took over management of the various family corporations when brothers Joselito and Fernando (Pocholo) retired after the 1997 Asian crisis that hit many businesses – which is when all the trouble allegedly started, the same sources said.
In 2007, Marilene sold the 350-hectare property of the family in Misamis Oriental for P226 million – considered ridiculously low by the other siblings and prompting them to run to RJ for help. At the time, RJ had kept his distance from the other siblings but nevertheless hired an appraiser who said the family property was worth P2.5 billion. According to sources, Marilene – whose former marriage to the late Congressman reportedly gave her considerable connections – succeeded in selling the property to the Philippine Veterans Industrial Development Corp. (Phividec) at less than 10 percent of the appraised value. (Phividec subsequently leased the property to Korean ship builder Hanjin for the latter’s $2- billion shipyard project.)
The rift among the siblings escalated with Marilene accused of squandering the family finances and running away with the others’ share – already little as it is – from the sale of the property. Court records of email exchanges (between 2007 and 2008) among the siblings revealed the acrimony and frustration especially among the other sisters who felt betrayed by Marilene. Two of the Jacinto sisters, Lilibeth and Nannette, passed away in 2009 and 2010 due to cancer while Pocholo died a year later. Sources close to the family allege that the death of RJ’s three younger siblings must have been caused by the stress and unhappiness over the infighting.
The Jacinto family saga is just one among many where with a family’s vast wealth can be dissipated due to quarrels over inheritance, or when an errant family member decides to put his or her welfare first over the others. It also does not pay when a family member with little or no knowledge of the business is put in charge, observers noted. But perhaps one of the biggest lessons is for children not to depend on the riches built by their fathers and instead, learn or at least try to stand on their own two feet – like what RJ did when at the early age of 15, he set up a backyard gig which saw the birth of the legendary RJ radio station. Today, Ramon continues to do what he loves – playing the guitar, and parlaying his passion into a multi-million peso guitar manufacturing business.
Yeah, like they will actually have trannies on there (Miss U). Remember, Trump owns the organization. It’ll be a cold day in hell before that happens; and it’s NOT going to happen in the Latin American nor Asian countries.
Trump’s NOT going to have trannies there. It’s all lip service so they get no flak from the flaming queens.
In light of the transgender issue at Miss Universe and Stella Araneta’s backyard, I thought the HELEN CRUZ story was juicy if compelling. Let’s do a musicale !
The Marcos property that was recently auctioned was owned by the late businessman Hans Menzi it was given as a gift for the wedding of Irene Marcos and Greggy Araneta in 1983.
I was corrected by a friend: Amelia de la Rama was not a relative of Remy de la Rama-Arquelles. Amelia dela Rama was just a screen name and she passed away in a home for the aged because she had squandered her wealth.
I only added the story of Helen Cruz so his story will be told and be remembered.
Today, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Jose Cojuangco family must distribute the Hacienda Luisita land to the farmers. But the bigger story is that the Supreme Court, in voting 8-6 with Chief Justice Corona voting with the majority, held to peg the just compensation for the vast sugar estate on the 1989 valuation of only 40,000 Pesos per hectare (and not the 10 Billion Peso value they are claiming which is based on today’s valuation).
40,000 Pesos x 4,915.75 Hectares — that’s not even 200 Million Pesos! Not even enough for a property in Forbes Park!
The family must be collectively gnashing their teeth tonight!
Amelia dela Rama-Brailey was a sweet friend. I met her when I asked to follow Boris Spasky when he was in Manila as the grand loser to Chess Chess Wiz Eugene Torre. It was a journalist assignment from Julie Yap Daza, I remember Amelia’s home in Forbes. She was very beautiful with smiling eyes and a Mona Lisa smile.
I interviewed her for Julie’s People Magazine in the early 80s, Amelia loved to go out for lunch and delight my curiousity. She invited me to her really fabulous home in Baguio.
” In my youth, people dismissed me as a pretty face but always sat me in the farthest tables at social events and dinners. I was the ONE that high society women would throw a zapatilla at BECAUSE their husbands always flirted with me. I couldn’t help it.
One dinner, as usual I was seated far away from President Sukarno’s table BUT after dinner as the band played a samba song, I saw HIM walking straight up to me. I said I didn’t know how to dance and he answered I WILL teach you. For the rest of the evening SUKARNO danced with me to the consternation of all the society ladies. Then we were married soon after that . ”
Amelia dela Rama was a former movie star in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s if i remember correctly she is related to Socialite Reme dela Rama Arquelles before she married President Sukarno she was married twice President Sukarno met Amelia dela Rama in 1963 at a reception for President Sukarno immediately he was smitten with the beautiful Amelia dela Rama they got married in a mosque in Jakarta in 1964 a year later President Sukarno was deposed by a general named Suharto after the death of President Sukarno Amelia dela Rama married James Braly a former pilot of President Eisenhower
here is another story of Presidnet Sukarno dating Helen Cruz written in the Manila Bulletin
Yes, Helen Cruz is a “he,” but he dated famous men, among them the late Indonesian President Sukarno, who didn’t know at first that Helen was a man like them. Perhaps the country’s most famous transvestite, Helen enthralled not only President Sukarno (who later had for a Filipina wife the beauteous Amelia de la Rama) such popular international celebrities like Troy Donahue, Ricardo Montalban and Matt Monroe.
“With the others, it was just dinner dates, but with Matt Monroe, it was a real date,” Helen laughed in her trademark husky voice. “He can’t believe at first that I was a he, but later he said it was okay. He told me that back in London, when he was younger, he was raped by five men.” They dated three times, she revealed, and one time they were at the Filipinas Hotel, a famous actress came knocking at Matt’s hotel room. Matt told her he can’t invite her in because he had company. The actress understood, and asked Matt to call her the next day. Helen said Matt later married a woman named Helen, “but it wasn’t me.”
President Sukarno was a guest of then Senator Sergio Osmeña, Jr. and “he requested Serging for a date with me,” Helen recalled. “Akala niya kasi babae ako. We had dinner at Madrid Restaurant.”
When Hollywood actor Ricardo Montalban visited the country (as guest of the Puyats), “Gene Puyat brought him to The Niles where I sang. I even danced the tango with him.”
For the younger generations who don’t know Helen Cruz, he was a famous singer during her time, a sought–after performer along The Strip (then called Dewey Boulevard). Helen was the toast of Bulakeña even before Carmen Soriano’s time.
He started out as a singer when he joined the “Big Broadcast” amateur singing contest (through Constancio de Guzman and Luzmat Castro) and won as “Julie London of the Philippines.” He later performed in stage shows with Bayani Casimiro at the Opera House.
“I started singing professionally at Bulakeña,” Helen said. This was also where Carmen Soriano, Merci Molina, Lucille Labides and others made a name as singers. After Bulakeña, Helen moved to Bayside where he performed the longest. “I was there singing everyday at lunchtime for 19 years!” Helen said. Her pay? “R12 a day but I got big tips from the heavy spenders like the Puyats who easily would pull out from their pockets R50 for my tip everytime,” she recalled. At the Bayside, Helen sang with Verling Villapando and his orchestra.
Helen, who became well known for his naughty songs, also performed in between at nightclubs in Clark Field through promoter Dick Reynolds; and at other then popular venues in Manila like Aroma Café in Rizal Ave. where Merci and Carmen Pateña also sang; D&E with Vilma Valera, Luisa & Sons, Alex Soda Fountain in Quiapo, and Jade Vine along U.N. Ave.
After Bayside, Helen went to perform at Bayside Hong Kong, followed by foreign stints in the US, Australia, Japan and other countries.
Speaking of first & last wives, was just quickly looking at a Wikipedia biography of Sukarno of Indonesia…and Enrique might provide some light on this. It says that Amelia de la Rama was his last wife. I never realized that. She is listed with one movie credit on IMDB.
Is she of THE de la Rama’s of Cebu? Is that why Minnie O and Dewi Sukarno had something sort in common? Whatever happened to this Amelia when Sukarno died? Calling Enrique…
A business empire is the best inheritance parents leave their children. It could also end up a legal if not bloody war among heirs.
The Philippine business scene is replete with cases of siblings and relatives practically killing each other if not destroying each other in public over quarrels over inheritance.
Among those that caught media attention in recent times were cases of the Delgados, Ilusorios, Madrigals, Revillas, Jacintos, and most recently, the renewed interest on the Basa-Guidote feud over a P34Million property in Manila.
In most of these cases, the courts are the main battle grounds. Some feuds go out of hand and result in physical violence and in some cases deaths in the family.
The Jacinto dispute over inheritance and family business is one case that has gone out of hand and the feud is in the courts and in bar brawl.
Ramon Jacinto was accused by his younger sister, Marilene, of attempted homicide after an alleged mauling incident in a Makati restaurant.
The Jacinto family here is the family of Ramon Jacinto, the rock and roll musical icon and businessman who got into problems with a government bank over a property at the Buendia stretch in Makati City.
The Jacinto’s money comes from the iron and steel business in Iligan City, the Jacinto Steel Mill. In her complaint-affidavit, Marilene accused RJ and his wife, Frannie, of mauling her after throwing invectives on her after an altercation at a Japanese restaurant in Makati last Nov. 10, 2010.
She said before taking a set, she saw RJ approaching her already shouting invective: “Marilene, p—–ina mo! Papatayin kita.” RJ appeared to be too drunk, forcing her to get out of the restaurant and go to her car.
But before she could reach her car, RJ was able to caught her then punched her at the head, face and hands with closed fists. RJ, according to her, didn’t stop and instead pushed her so hard with his hands that she fell her head first on the cemented street fronting the restaurant.
Lastly, RJ pulled her hair and dragged her for about three meters before his wife who only looked while he was being beaten. “RJ was ruthless and would not have stopped mauling me had my car with my driver not pulled up.
For fears that she sustained serious injuries, Marilene submitted herself to medical examination where doctors at Ospital ng Makati confirmed that she sustained hematoma at the right area of her head and right hand area and buttocks; tenderness at the cheek and jaw and right medial thigh; and abrasions at left foot.
She said that RJ intention was really to kill her based on the following insinuations: repeated verbal threats before and during the mauling, didn’t stop mauling her until her driver intervened, the injuries he inflicted were numerous and severe, she is thin and just survived a stroke but her brother didn’t mind this medical condition.
RJ’s mauling of her younger sister stemmed from tussle over family property which is common among rich clans all over the world.
He alleged in his counter affidavit that it was Marilene who has grudge against him that’s why she filed a complaint more than a year after the mauling incident.
The alleged “crimes” of Marilene, according to RJ, includes falsification of public documents to be able to buy a property from a certain Oregon firm; and for earning P226 million after committing violation of anti-graft and corrupt practices act for defrauding their company, F. Jacinto Group, Inc., via entering a settlement with another company.
RJ maintained that what happened on the night of Nov. 16, 2010 at Seryna restaurant was only verbal tussle urging Marilene to return the assets she embezzled for personal use.
RJ also alleged that if he really mauled his sister, he and his family could have not finished their dinner. Whether RJ is telling the truth or not, siblings’ dispute over family fortune is common all over the world.
Take the case of business magnate brothers Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani who had been fighting in court over who will get bigger share in the $8 billion fortune left by their father Dhirubhai Ambani in 2002.
The fortune of Gianni Versace, the late fashion designer, is also a subject of siblings’ rivalry. After his death in 1997, his siblings Santo and Donatella have been slugging it out who will have bigger role in the $3-billion fashion empire left by their elder brother, who was a bachelor when he died.
Although Santo and Donatella haven’t fought in court, their rivalry is very evident as they keep on introducing new line of clothes that are totally distinct from each camp.
The reported mauling by RJ of his sister leaves a bad mark in the music icon’s drive to recover an image damaged by the scandal left on the Makati City property and his fight with a Japanese business partner.
The last heard from the Japanese businessman was he will never again trust a Filipino. It was reported that the Japanese lost almost P1Billion.
Marilene is the first wife of now deceased Rep. Iggie Arroyo. She is the mother of two of the former congressman children.
In the middle of controversy over the death of her husband, Marilene continues to suffer from delayed justice as her case languishes in our justice system.
She has a rock and roll icon in the Philippine music scene for a brother. She was also rocked in the head and rolled in embarrassment, the reason she went to the courts
Speaking of ex-ambassadors, the gofer-brother of La Fabulosa Pomposa one, passed away in Makati Med last week. But his passing has been eclipsed by the long-drawn out saga of Iggy Arroyo’s final return. Shall he? Won’t he? Who’s the Official Widow? Who’s the Official Griever? I mean such tedious drama. The coffin alone is logging more frequent flier miles than most of us can accumulate in a lifetime.
Anyway, back to the more controversial ex-envoy who did have those farcical escapades in ***’s NYC apartment. Well, in his obituary, it was stated that the Leyteno is survived by his wife, his oldest son, Daniel (who is an architect/interior decorator) in New York City, and son’s “…partner, a Michael.” Oh. I was somewhat surprised to see this in print in the official obituary of a supposed leading R.P. political personality; but I guess we’re all very avante these days. But I was not at all surprised to learn that not only has D.R.a spacious flat in NYC + his business, but he owns a compound in Montauk, Long Island (a couple of summer cottages, I guess) and this spread in Beverly Hills featured in Architectural Digest.
Shifting gears, some Oscar trivia. So some starlet wore a Monique Lhuillier at last Sunday’s fete; several professional models wore Oliver Tolentino’s ready-to-eat pina dresses. However, this is NOT the first-time that Filipino/a designers crashed the Oscar bash. Who was the first Manila designer to have his work worn at the prestigious event (i.e., the actress walked up to claim her Oscar in his design)? Hint: it was 50 years ago.
The Maria Petronila “Cookie” Chanco Syquia – Larsen murder at the prewar, Art Deco-style “Michel” apartments in Malate, Manila.
No, she was not some “DH” ( domestic helper ) married to a Danish man as the newspapers trivialized her to be. She was a “de buena familia” heiress of the very old money Syquia clan.
Hollywood’s first major awards night for film and television last Monday celebrated celebrity fashion that was truly elegant, which is the refusal of anything over the top. For the 69th Golden Globes it was all about age appropriate, quiet quality, reverse glamor and dare we say comfortable couture that were the terrific trends on the red carpet.
Angelina Jolie with a slash of red on her white sheath by Donatella Versace was top of the list, Nicole Kidman and Selma Hayek wore the new template for discreet Art Deco beadwork. Crimson, all shades of nude and blush plus the return of black were the colors of choice. Chiffon, satin, charmuese, taffeta, gazar, organza and peau de soie were fabrics deftly employed.
The newest jewelry trend were the sparkle plenty headbands worn by Michelle Williams and Charlize Theron. Every shape and color for dangling megawatt earrings were the jewels of choice. Also small clutch bags and statement cuffs with competing big precious stone rings. Hair was back combed and upswept and make-up was 60s movie star style with eyeliner, false eyelashes and pale lips on a sea of beautiful faces.
Suddenly it seemed stars and their stylists have finally nailed the best looks at the Golden Globes night in Hollywood by keeping it minimal yet stunningly singular. It was about a personalized, made-to-measure look and the actors owned it.
Wardrobe winners Clair Danes in J. Mendel, Meryll Streep in Dior, Helen Mirren in Badgeley Mischka wore memorable looks that will be remembered for their seductive simplicity and consideration for comfort that would have them partying the night away after a champagne soaked dinner.
Fashion must follow function. When the dress does not overpower the woman, it becomes memorable. In this spread study the stars in their personalized couture and see how less has more impact.
Toto, I know people are starving and their existences are temporarily being diverted by the Ortigas-Bayot scandale (why did it take her 44 years to act?) but I just came across this YouTube clip
to share with your discerning readers (particularly Enrique B. and the former Tai-tai). This is the clip showing La Taylor singing “Send in the CLowns” (she is partially dubbed in the last part of the song) but wearing some cheap little bauble to cover that hideous tracheotomy scar of hers. The little bauble, is of course, La Peregrina, which fetched nearly $12 million at last month’s auction of her jewelry.
remembrance of things awry
toto gonzalez said,
June 29, 2012 at 8:00 am
Pioneering Davao industrialist Antonio O. Floirendo passed away today, Friday, 29 June 2012, at the age of 96.
Eternal rest grant unto the soul of Mr. Floirendo. And may perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.
Toto Gonzalez
Enrique Bustos said,
June 29, 2012 at 5:39 am
Cocktales by Vic Agustin
The feud between Ramos-era Tourism Secretary Vicente Carlos and his six other siblings have gotten worse, with the siblings now attaching to their Court of Appeals pleading a number of embarrassing letters written against Vince by their late father (Juan Carlos) and their frail mother ( Norma Jacinto-Carlos).
Alicia Perez said,
June 29, 2012 at 3:47 am
This is the story of that house:
Edna had purchased the # 3 Cambridge Circle, FPN house and had been making payments on it before February 1986. Then the EDSA Revolution broke out, Ferdinand and Imelda and the whole dastardly lot were deposed, including Fabian, Aida, their family, as well as Edna and her family, and they all had to hightail it out of the country “pronto”!
The hurriedly-departing Edna entrusted various business affairs with Benjie.
With Edna in exile, and funds expectedly running low, Benjie requested Ising and Danny to take over the payments for the # 3 Cambridge Circle house. Always awash with cash ( like true Madrigals ), Ising and Danny forthwith completed the payments for the house.
Since no payments were coming from Edna nor Benjie, Ising and Danny simply put the house in their names. Period. Can you blame them? If Edna ponies up, matters may be expedited.
Alicia Perez
Alicia Perez said,
June 29, 2012 at 2:47 am
From Vic Agustin’s “Cocktales”:
COCKTALES | Ver companion fights ejectment from Forbes house
The long-time companion of Marcos’s late military chief Fabian Ver, Edna Camcam, is fighting ejectment by the Madrigal clan from her North Forbes Park residence.
Camcam, together with investment banker-real estate developer Benjamin Bitanga, have filed a reconveyance case with verified application for preliminary injunction against Dr. Daniel Vazquez, who is married to the lone surviving heiress of the billionaire clan, Ma. Luisa Madrigal.
Vazquez had earlier told Cocktales that he and his now-ailing wife owned the house and lot on 3 Cambridge Circle that Camcam had been living in since her return from forced overseas exile after the Edsa I revolt.
Vazquez, in addition, claimed that Camcam’s continued stay in the country’s most exclusive subdivision — Camcam’s is just a few houses away from Manny Pacquiao’s — was merely an accommodation to their friendship forged during the Marcos heyday.
……..
toto gonzalez said,
June 28, 2012 at 8:00 am
28, 29, 30 June: “LIBAD” fiesta of Apalit, Pampanga in honor of “Apung Iru” Saint Peter the Apostle — the biggest fiesta of Pampanga province.
Happy fiesta to all Apalitenos!!!
Luid ka “Apung Iru”!!!
Cheers!!!
Toto Gonzalez
Enrique Bustos said,
June 28, 2012 at 5:12 am
Biz Buzz:
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Subic accident
Former RCBC Securities president Jerome Tan passed away last weekend after he drowned in Zambales.
According to word that reached Biz Buzz, Tan and his friend were trying out a new yacht last Saturday in Subic and decided to visit Grande Island, just at the mouth of the bay. They anchored the boat off the island and jumped into the water to swim to the shore but soon found themselves overpowered by the strong undertow that waters off Zambales are known for.
Despite being “very fit” and a “good swimmer”—as attested to by his good friends, who invariably described him as a “nice guy”—Tan was apparently overcome by the current. Only his friend made it to the island, and the banker was later found with a very weak pulse. Tan expired soon after.
Tan resigned from the brokerage firm about two months ago amid troubles concerning the supposedly rogue trades executed by the firm’s rainmaker (who has since made herself scarce). According to his friends, Tan was advised early this year by a geomancer to “stay away from salt water.”—Daxim L. Lucas
SPYBITS By Babe G. Romualdez
Drowning in Subic
Young bank executive and former RCBC Securities president Jerome Tan drowned while swimming in Subic last Saturday. Sources says the 44-year-old Tan (Spy Bits is not sure how he is related to RCBC president and CEO Lorenzo Tan or Banco de Oro president Nestor Tan) was pulled by an undertow and overpowered by a strong rip current that caused him to drift farther.
There have been an increasing number of drowning incidents in Subic and other areas in Zambales especially during summer, prompting a group of resort owners to initiate a lifeguard training seminar conducted by a local group accredited by the Belgium-based International Life Saving Federation. About 40,000 drowning related incidents are reported every year in the Philippines, and a big percentage of the victims are children.
Reports reaching Spy Bits also said Tan, who was considered a good swimmer, reportedly suffered from cramps which made it difficult for him to overcome the strong rip current. Our condolences to the family of this young man.
toto gonzalez said,
June 23, 2012 at 5:47 pm
Jerome A. Tan, ( former ) president of RCBC Securities, passed away today, Saturday, 23 June 2012, at the age of 44 in a tragic swimming accident in Grande island, Zambales.
I will really miss you, my good friend and arts and antiques buddy!!! I will miss my only Chinoy friend whose high bespoke, personal style hewed closest to the iconic Duke of Windsor. 😦 😦 😦
Eternal rest grant unto the soul of Jerome. And may perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.
Our deepest sympathy to his widow, Reina de Villa Lopez-Puckett – Tan.
Toto Gonzalez
Enrique Bustos said,
June 22, 2012 at 3:08 am
COCKTALES:
By: Victor C. Agustin
Paul Smith boutique owner tries on a new suit
Not only is he being sued by BIR Commissioner Kim Henares for alleged tax evasion concerning the estate of his late father, but Paul Smith boutique owner Juan Miguel Ongsiako is also in litigation with his blind, wheelchair-dependent elder brother, Jose Maria.
According to court documents, Jose Maria, who is undergoing hemodialysis twice a week, is questioning his bon vivant sibling over the alleged questionable dispositions of certain properties left behind this time by their late mother, Nori Villanueva Ongsiako.
Cousins of telecom heir Antonio Ongsiako Cojuangco, the Ongsiako brothers have been locked in litigation at the Makati Regional Trial Court before Judge Cedrick Ruiz particularly over a 2008 real estate mortgage taken out of the Bank of the Philippine Islands.
To make a long story short, the Court of Appeals last month upheld the Makati judge’s decision to allow the testimony of the paralyzed Ongsiako to remain in perpetuity despite the delaying tactics of the younger brother and his platoon of lawyers.
toto gonzalez said,
June 19, 2012 at 12:53 am
19 June 2012: 151st birth anniversary of the Filipino national hero Dr. Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal.
Congratulations to “MyRizal” headed by Lisa Hidalgo Tinio-Bayot [ Saturnina Rizal branch ]!!!
Cheers!!!
Toto Gonzalez
toto gonzalez said,
June 19, 2012 at 12:48 am
19 June: Conferment of the “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” by the Republic of France on Architect Augusto Fabella Villalon.
Congratulations on your great work for Filipino architectural heritage, Toti!!!
Cheers!!!
Toto Gonzalez
toto gonzalez said,
June 15, 2012 at 8:30 am
15 June: Birthday wishes to the patrician artist Rafael del Casal.
Happy happy happy birthday, Rafael!!!
Cheers!!!
Toto Gonzalez
toto gonzalez said,
June 15, 2012 at 8:00 am
15 June: Birthday wishes to the fearless Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
Happy happy happy birthday Mme. Senator!!!
Toto Gonzalez
toto gonzalez said,
June 14, 2012 at 8:00 am
14 June: Birthday wishes to Gilbert “Gibo” Cojuangco Teodoro Jr..
Happy happy happy birthday, Gilbert!!! 😀 😀 😀
Cheers to THE MAN!!!
Toto Gonzalez
Larry Leviste said,
June 8, 2012 at 1:58 am
CHANEL Cruise Collection 2013 turns seriously FRIVOLOUS
Three gurgling fountains in a secret garden in 17th-century Versailles was the setting for the Cruise Collection 2013 designed by Karl Lagerfeld for the House of Chanel. With Madame du Barry as his design muse, Lagerfeld meshed the oversized look of early ’90s hip-hop with rocking rococo flourishes in detail, embroidery, color and accessories. Punk ’80s platform creepers or trainers were the event’s only footwear.
Proportion and pastels
The 72 exits were a play on proportion, signaling the next big thing in garments. And we do mean big—from the roomiest gangsta jeans to voluminous skirts, XL blouses and oversized dresses. Denim in all its guises was the star fabric; stone washed, indigo, brushed and chambray were made into the new Chanel suit. Opalescent pastels like pink sorbet, pale jade and blushing peach upstaged the usual black and white Chanel colors.
Boucle, starched cotton, summer tweed are Chanel staples but this collection was colorfully exaggerated in accessories and finishing. Garish plastic flowers, rippled ribbons, pearls and crystals with bold bejewelled buttons ran amuck. The clothes came ruffled yet aggressive, with skirts that flared at the hip into broad, look-at-me panniers. Harlequin checks and gold-frogged denim, pedal pushers and wide cullotes brought swagger and slouch to this anything-goes show.
Chanel’s message
“Liberty, equality, frivolity” seemed to be Chanel’s message on the eve of the swearing in of François Hollande, the first French socialist president in 17 years. Fashion’s Sun King Karl Lagerfeld said, “The image of France has been a little sad: the gray uniform of Europe. I wanted to give France back some lightness.”
It’s uncanny how fashion always changes with economic highs and lows. While the rest of the world’s top fashion designers are focused on streamlined minimalism or austerity chic, Lagerfeld seems to be saying, “Let them eat cake.”
It is time to be seriously frivolous. Just look at these frolicking fun clothes meant to make you smile again. It is the season of tasteful dressing, proving once more Chanel is a movable feast.
Myles Garcia said,
June 4, 2012 at 3:49 pm
So, for the 21st century alone, we’ve already seen the Ilusorio, Tambunting, Villanueva, Madrigal (Jamby vs. her aunt’s will), and the Jacinto internecine sagas unfold so far. Nice. Who’s next?
Isn’t it very calming to know that there are at least 91.89 million other Filipinos who have nothing so maudlin to squabble over…and are at the very least, peaceful and pacific? 🙂 🙂
Enrique Bustos said,
June 4, 2012 at 2:16 am
Feud in billionaire clan seen to continue
Joel R. San Juan
The fight for riches among members of the billionaire Tambunting clan apparently is far from over.
It seemed so after the Court of Appeals (CA) junked a petition filed by socialite Teresita “Tereret” Tambunting-Liboro seeking to prosecute her nephews Miguel Tambunting and Jose Tambunting and two others, Nathaniel Cregas and Sheryl Flores, for estafa through falsification of public documents.
In an eight-page ruling released last week and penned by Associate Justice Romeo Barza, the appellate court’s Special Eighth Division dismissed Liboro’s petition seeking reversal of an order issued by the Regional Trial Court in Mandaluyong City that junked the estafa case for lack of probable cause.
The Court of Appeals said Liboro filed the appeal in violation of Section 35, Chapter 12, Title III, Book III of the Administrative Code of 1987.
The section provides that the Office of the Solicitor General shall represent the government in the Supreme Court (SC) and the appellate court in all criminal proceedings.
“A perusal of the instant appeal would reveal that the same was filed at the instance of the private prosecutor, not through the Solicitor General,” the CA said.
It added that the SC has ruled in numerous cases that “only the Solicitor General may bring or defend actions on behalf of the People of the Philippines once such actions are brought before the Court of Appeals or the SC.”
“Conformably with the above jurisprudence, we hold that the instant appeal is considered defective,” the appellate court said. Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Noel Tijam and Myra Garcia-Fernandez.
In her complaint, Liboro alleged that during 2003-2007, the accused conspired “by means of deceit and false representation” to execute documents to make it appear to stockholders that she approved the issuance of the remaining 75 percent of the unissued capital stock of Tamco Realty Corp. (Tamco) in favor of United World Security Holdings Co. Inc.
She said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which relied on the authenticity of the documents, approved the issuance of said shares, thus reducing her control and interest over Tamco and Punta Fuego property, which she acquired for P7.63 million.
On May 4, 2009, the trial court dismissed the case for lack of probable cause to incriminate the accused. Early this year, the Court of Appeals gave Liboro control over Planters Development Bank (PDB), a private development bank with more than P50 billion assets and 70 branches nationwide.
Ownership of 4,846,650 shares of PDB registered in the name of First Legaspi Bancorporation has been the subject of a legal battle involving Miguel and Jose, whose siblings Aurora, Regina and Victor have taken the side of Liboro.
toto gonzalez said,
May 30, 2012 at 11:24 am
“… It is only naked power, as it was in 1972… ”
— Senator Joker Arroyo, 29 May 2012
Of course, I remember 1972 and the 21 years that followed very well.
Toto Gonzalez
toto gonzalez said,
May 28, 2012 at 7:06 am
Ipe:
I wouldn’t respect any decision of people of questionable character who, comically enough, are “judging” another person of questionable character. There are simply no contrasts to see the difference.
To tell you the truth, I have NO RESPECT for any of them, regardless of the decision about Chief Justice Renato Corona. Respect is a very big word that demands absolute integrity before it is conferred. To paraphrase the good book, for every finger pointed at Renato Corona, there are ten pointing to his accusers in turn. It is entirely possible that all the charges hurled at the Chief Justice — corruption, money laundering, etc. — can boomerang at Malacanang, the senator judges, the prosecution, and most everyone else with some position in government. It is trite to say “Let him who has not sinned cast the first stone.” but it is the truth. Putting it simply, “it’s the pot[s] calling the kettle black.” Money is the universal language and the awesome power of its expression attains its fullest length and breadth of notoriety in the realm of politics.
Contemporary politics, not just in the Philippines but all over the world, requires its practitioners to shed all semblances of morality/ethics for survival. That is the reality: one must stoop so low in order to flourish in the quagmire that is Philippine politics.
But I do find Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago amusing.
Toto Gonzalez
Ipê Nazareno said,
May 28, 2012 at 3:17 am
Just a question to Toto and his readers: If there is an acquittal — not a guilty verdict with a mere reprimand, but an honest to goodness acquittal (i.e. 8 or more Senators vote to acquit or abstain), will you respect the decision of the Senate Impeachment Court?
Enrique Bustos said,
May 28, 2012 at 2:30 am
Family feud over estate inheritance rocks Jacintos
by Rio N. Araja.
A QUEZON City court has ordered the Makati police to arrest a sister of musician and businessman Ramon Jacinto after he filed charges against her for allegedly using spurious public documents and falsifying public documents.
Judge Maria Gilda Loja-Pangilinan of Branch 31 also furnished the National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation with copies of an arrest warrant against her dated May 8.
But the warrant has yet to be served because the accused, Marilene, the first wife of the late Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, no longer lives in San Lorenzo Village in Makati, her last known address, according to clerk of court Roger Costin.
The charges against Marilene were filed by Ramon, the president of Oregon Land Inc., a family corporation listed as the owner of a P300-million property in Novaliches, Quezon City that Marilene allegedly sold to herself for P14.6 million when she was managing the corporation and without the approval of its directors and stockholders.
The complaint accuses Marilene of presenting a fake deed of absolute sale [for three parcels of land allegedly sold to her for P14.6 million] to the Register of Deeds of Quezon City, which resulted in the cancellation of Oregon’s titles to the properties.
Another sibling, Fernando Jacinto Jr., sought to have the absolute sale of the disputed property between Marilene and their brother Jose Maria Jacinto nullified.
Ramon, through his lawyers, says Marilene and Jose Maria misled the Philippine Consulate General Office in Hawaii when they presented their deed of absolute sale for acknowledgement in 2008.
The transaction says Jose Maria sold a 1,071-square-meter lot, a 4,279-square-meter lot, and another 5,350-square meter lot in Pasong Putik village in Novaliches near SM Fairview to Marilene for P14.6 million while they were both in Honolulu on June 17, 2008.
Ramon Jacinto complained to assistant state prosecutor Rolando Martinez that Marilene was able to convince the Registrar’s Office of Quezon City to transfer the disputed parcels of land to her name.
But Marilene said the Quezon City prosecutor’s office did not have jurisdiction over the case since the deed of absolute sale was executed in the US.
Martinez said Marilene had argued that Oregon Land Inc. was a family corporation, and that their brother Ramon and the other siblings had failed to settle the unpaid real-estate taxes for the three parcels of land.
“To be able to redeem, Ramon Jacinto used his own personal funds of P9,665,031.91 to [pay] the Quezon City treasury on June 30, 2008,” he said.
On Feb. 8, Martinez indicted Marilene of falsification of public documents and use of falsified documents.
“The legal principle that being an heir of the Jacinto estate, she can take any property she wants as her advance inheritance will not prosper,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The deed of sale was executed without a certificate from the corporate secretary of Oregon Land Inc., it said.
“Being the buyer and recipient of the original copy of the deed of absolute sale, respondent [Marilene] should have a copy of said secretary’s certificate. As the seller, Jose Maria would have no authority to sell the valuable three parcels of land to her without it,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The arrest warrant was the latest chapter in the bitter rivalry among the Jacinto siblings whose father, the late Fernando, built a vast fortune from steel production.
The court recommended P6,000 bail for falsification of public documents and P2,000 bail for the use of falsified documents.
Enrique Bustos said,
May 22, 2012 at 3:42 am
Jewelry worth millions of euros stolen from flat of PH envoy to Portugal Philippe Lhuillier
Abigail Kwok
Pieces of jewelry worth millions of euros were stolen by thieves from the apartment unit of Philippine ambassador to Portugal Philippe Jones Lhuillier, the French newspaper, The Parisian, reported.
The May 19 report, which appeared on The Parisian’s website said the robbers had entered the upscale apartment building located at Paris’ 16th District from the roof and forced open the window to ge into Lhuillier’s unit.
The Parisian first reported that the pieces of jewelry were worth 30 million euros, but later revised its report, saying that the stolen jewels were worth only 3 million euros or roughy P165 million.
An initial investigation from police said that after entering Lhuillier’s unit , the burglars forced open the safe and took dozens of jewelry and gemstones.
The burglars also took vases, clocks. and other valuables. It said Lhuillier’s unit was “richly decorated with paintings and masterpieces and precious ornaments.”
“This is a passionate diplomat and leading expert on gemology, continues the same source,” the report said.
The 66-year-old ambassador was in the United States at the time of the robbery.
Lhuillier was appointed by the Philippine government as ambassador to Italy in 1999. He is a member of the Lhuillier clan, who owns the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies (PJLGC).
The PJLGC owns and operates Cebuana Lhuillier Pawnshop, one of the top pawnshops in the Philippines.
PJLGC is also engaged in other financial services such as banking, remittance, insurance, loading, bills payment, health and hotel management and information technology.
Police investigators have recovered items left behind by the robbers from the crime scene, the Parisian report stated.
“The perpetrators of this burglary have perhaps acted simply by chance, not knowing they would fall on all jewelry. Burglaries are down yet in Paris and the suburbs since the beginning of the year. But we are never immune to this type of business with enormous damage,” the report said.
Larry Leviste said,
May 21, 2012 at 10:24 am
Any details on the former ambassador to France whose Paris apartment was robbed of 30 million euros worth of jewels and valuables. I read on a blog the apartment was broken into through the roof by the robbers ?
Alicia Perez said,
May 18, 2012 at 4:32 am
“De buena familia,” Ateneo-educated, and very social fashion designer Boysie Villavicencio is close to Chuchu Madrigal-Eduque and he was “recruited” to entertain her Tita Chito Madrigal-Collantes during dinner once a week [ every Sunday ] during the latter’s dotage to prevent “interesao” relatives and friends from getting to her. Of course, he never realized he was used, but then it doesn’t matter anymore.
As the old maxim goes: “Birds of the same feather flock together.”
Alicia Perez
Enrique Bustos said,
May 18, 2012 at 3:24 am
Happy Birthday, Tita Chito!
by BOYSIE VILLAVICENCIO
TODAY, May 18, is the birthday of Doña Consuelo “Chito” Madrigal-Collantes and if she were physically present with us here today, she would have been 91 years old.
For years on this day, we celebrated this 24-karat lady’s birthday, and years after her demise, her relatives, her friends, and her employees still continue that tradition – starting with mass at the Madrigal Town Center in Alabang (usually said by Fr. Mar Labra, also a member of the board of the Consuelo Madrigal Foundation) and lunch right after.
As Fr. Labra says: “Doña Chito lives…..she will always be remembered…..until this day, the hundreds (if not thousands) of scholars whom “she sent to school gratefully honor her as they improve their lives “through leaps and bounds”.
Another one who fondly remembers Doña Chito is Ryan “Princess” Dignadice, whom I called the “royal hairdresser”. Ryan, whose main duty was to comb Doña Chito’s hair and apply make-up on her, says he was devastated with the lady’s demise.
He says, “When I was young my goals in life were simple – to finish my studies in Education and to land a good job in my native province of Negros Occidental so I can help my family move to a better status in life.
“But fate had somehow intervened and showed me a path full of opportunities. My aunt, who was working as a private nurse for the Madrigals, offered me a job upon learning that Señora Chito was looking for a gay person to be her private beauty consultant.
“My life journey with Señora Chito began when I met her after my graduation. I was surprised to see a wealthy woman — so radiant, to be very open-minded and highly enthusiastic — to deal seriously with a person who comes from the barrio and a male cross dresser at that! She showered me with so much trust. As I lived at her residence, people teased me and called me ‘her confidante’.
“Señora Chito valued education and believed that empowerment of a person comes from education. Thus, she wanted me to develop my skills and had me enrolled at the Frank Provost Salon for a make-up course and sent me off to New York every summer to train in a course developed by Estee Lauder. As her hairdresser and make-up artist, I traveled with her at least once a month and that gave me the exposure which I am very grateful for.
“I consider myself blessed, as I learned about Señora Chito’s values and witnessed how she stood for them. She molded me with integrity, compassion and trust. The values that she taught me are deeply ingrained in my character, which until this day had trickled down to my friends, families, clients, and colleagues. This remarkable woman serves as an inspiration to countless people like me.
“From the day I met her to the day she passed away, she never judged me for my appearance nor advised me to dress according to her standards. She was a woman who looked at the positive side of life as she believed in the uniqueness of everyone — be it gay or straight. She treated each person with respect and dignity.
“Though years have passed (after her death), I can still feel my great loss….. I keep thinking that she could have hired someone from Manila, well versed with the language of her own class.
“I feel so fortunate meeting her in this lifetime and still find her influence growing inside me. Her values have guided me to make simple or complex decisions in life. The opportunities she had given have provided me hope to survive”.
Indeed Chito Madrigal Collantes lives on and the legacy she left in life continues to touch the lives of her friends and others who probably she never met.
Personally, like Fr. Mar and Ryan, I too, feel fortunate to have met a truly grand and simple lady …………..someone who cared for people like a mother; someone respected who gave respect to others; and someone who I consider to be a true f-r-i-e-n-d.
Happy Birthday Tita Chito!
toto gonzalez said,
May 16, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Mercedes Tomasa “Ditas” Gonzalez-Favis Gomez passed away today, Wednesday, 16 May 2012, at the age of 60.
Whoa, Ditas, you had to go on the ultimate “trip”!!! I will really miss you, my dear, dear, dear friend and “prima”!!! 😦 😦 😦
Eternal rest grant unto the soul of Ditas [ and Donna Summer too! ]. And may perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen.
Toto Gonzalez
toto gonzalez said,
May 16, 2012 at 10:33 am
Beata “Betty” Mercado Baron-Marcelo, the “sans rival” legend, passed away today, Wednesday, 16 May 2012, at the age of 74.
For all the love, joy, thoughtfulness, kindness, warmth, and generosity you so freely gave to our lives, we thank you very much, Tita Betty!!!
Eternal rest grant unto the soul of Tita Betty. And may perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen.
Toto Gonzalez
Enrique Bustos said,
May 16, 2012 at 9:31 am
‘In the interest of truth and fairness’
The Philippine Star
Sir: I am the person referred to in the SpyBits article titled “Iggy Arroyo’s first wife indicted”, which appeared in the May 1, 2012 issue of The Philippine STAR.
Please be informed that I have not received to date any indictment for falsification from the Quezon City prosecutor. In any case, the records will show that I have not committed any falsification, and any action to indict me would be a reversible error.
Ramon Jacinto’s complaint is nothing but a part of his design to stop me from opposing his moves to appropriate for himself all the properties of the Jacinto estate to the prejudice of his siblings. Among the estate assets which Ramon now claims to be assets of corporations he controls are prime properties in several locations.
In 2009, when Ramon became the administrator of the Jacinto estate, he gave away two Baguio lots in spite of a decision of the Regional Trial Court of Baguio to return them to the Jacinto estate. He did so by entering into a compromise agreement with EPCIB/BDO and Forward Properties Inc. (FPI), where he, as administrator, waived the estate’s Baguio lots (then valued at about P200 million) in favor of EPCIB/BDO in consideration only of the latter’s waiver of all debts of FPI, a corporation he controls. This is obviously detrimental to the estate but beneficial only to FPI which is under his personal control. The compromise agreement was without the prior knowledge and consent of his siblings and the approval of the Regional Trial Court of Muntinlupa, where the settlement of the Jacinto estate is pending.
I feel Ramon’s design to stop me from fighting for my (and my other sibling’s) rights is obsessive and uncalled for. In 2009, Ramon forced me out of my condo unit at the Urdaneta Apartments, which resulted in the loss of certain estate documents and the filing of a theft case against him.
Due to the theft case, Ramon mauled me outside the Seryna Japanese Restaurant in 2010, which mauling led to the filing of an attempted homicide case against him.
Ramon is a respondent in several criminal complaints. But because he is powerful and influential, he manages to persuade certain prosecutors to rule in his favor. Except one, that is. As reported in another newspaper, the DOJ resolved to indict Ramon for nine counts of violations of BP 22, and the Supreme Court upheld the DOJ resolution in the case of Land Bank vs. Ramon Jacinto (G.R. No. 154622, Aug. 3, 2010). This case involves bouncing checks worth more than P400 million that the Land Bank could otherwise utilize for financing land acquisition under the Agrarian Reform Program.
Thus, not all can agree that Ramon is the honest and wholesome guy portrayed in the subject article.
In the interest of truth and fairness, I request that this letter be published in its entirety.
Very truly yours,
Marilene P. Jacinto
Tandang Sora, Quezon City
toto gonzalez said,
May 14, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Auntie Cynthia!!!!!!!!
How wonderful to see you here! Miss you! Do get in touch when you’re in town!
Best to Uncle Ed.
Cheers!!!
Toto Gonzalez
Cynthia Yaptinchay Abad-Bondoc said,
May 13, 2012 at 5:34 am
Toto dear, LOL finally. Hru?
Email soon, ok?
A. Cynthia yA-B.
Presy Guevara said,
May 7, 2012 at 12:47 pm
I mourn with the whole Philippines on the passing away of its great female modernist Anita Magsaysay-Ho. Condolences to all concerned.
Presy Guevara
toto gonzalez said,
May 6, 2012 at 6:37 am
06 May: Birthday wishes to Regina Soriano Jalandoni-Garcia.
Happy happy happy birthday, Giging!!! 😀 😀 😀
Toto Gonzalez
toto gonzalez said,
May 5, 2012 at 6:34 pm
Artist Anita Magsaysay-Ho passed away on 05 May 2012.
Our thoughts and prayers.
Toto Gonzalez
toto gonzalez said,
May 3, 2012 at 7:47 pm
03 May: Birthday wishes to Rosemarie Gonzalez Rodriguez-Lopez.
Happy happy happy birthday Rose!!! 😀 😀 😀
Toto Gonzalez
Myles Garcia said,
May 2, 2012 at 5:18 pm
OMG!! Re Enrique’s posting of Ms. Jacinto’s indictment — the shenanigans the Arroyo family has had to go through as of late–like really bad juju.
But life was not always rosy for the Jacintos. There was a time when they were like ‘refugees’ in the US when they fled the predatory Marcos regime. While the older Jacintos languished and eventually passed away in Hawaii, the younger ones were operating a noodle fast-food off of Fifth Ave., NYC. I remember that very distinctly because all of this was happening in the shadows of Saks Fifth Avenue, Olympic Towers and St. Patrick’s Cathedral…in that order of course!! 🙂
And then of course, when the Markupits themselves fell from grace, they returned, and like the Lopezes, were able to recover their previous assets…
Enrique Bustos said,
May 1, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Iggy Arroyo’s first wife indicted
SPY BITS By Babe Romualdez
The Quezon City Prosecutor’s office has indicted Marilene Jacinto, first wife of the late Negros Occidental Congressman Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo, for falsification of public documents. The indictment stemmed from a complaint by Marilene’s brother – Ramon “RJ” Jacinto – president of the family-owned Oregon Land Inc., alleging that Marilene faked a Deed of Absolute Sale and presented the same to the Quezon City Register of Deeds to have the ownership of the P300-million Novaliches property transferred to her name.
The indictment is only the latest in the long-running Jacinto family saga marked by infighting among siblings over their inheritance. The late family patriarch Don Fernando Jacinto is the acknowledged founder of the steel industry. Don Fernando’s father, Nicanor Sr., is also one of the founders of the Bank of Commerce and Security Bank, and together with the steel mill in Iligan City plus vast land holdings, the family wealth expanded to great heights. The Jacinto children lived the kind of opulence and extravagance that most other people could only dream about. At a young age, they were living in the lap of luxury, driving around in the flashiest cars and mingling with the scions of society’s most elite. As a matter of fact, RJ would be seen driving around the Ateneo campus in a red and white Thunderbird – at a time when the T-Bird was just being introduced locally – while another brother went around in a Jaguar.
Dispute over inheritance shattered the relationship between the siblings – a fact that Ramon Jacinto feels very emotional about, sources disclosed. Marilene was appointed administrator of the estate of the late Don Fernando and also took over management of the various family corporations when brothers Joselito and Fernando (Pocholo) retired after the 1997 Asian crisis that hit many businesses – which is when all the trouble allegedly started, the same sources said.
In 2007, Marilene sold the 350-hectare property of the family in Misamis Oriental for P226 million – considered ridiculously low by the other siblings and prompting them to run to RJ for help. At the time, RJ had kept his distance from the other siblings but nevertheless hired an appraiser who said the family property was worth P2.5 billion. According to sources, Marilene – whose former marriage to the late Congressman reportedly gave her considerable connections – succeeded in selling the property to the Philippine Veterans Industrial Development Corp. (Phividec) at less than 10 percent of the appraised value. (Phividec subsequently leased the property to Korean ship builder Hanjin for the latter’s $2- billion shipyard project.)
The rift among the siblings escalated with Marilene accused of squandering the family finances and running away with the others’ share – already little as it is – from the sale of the property. Court records of email exchanges (between 2007 and 2008) among the siblings revealed the acrimony and frustration especially among the other sisters who felt betrayed by Marilene. Two of the Jacinto sisters, Lilibeth and Nannette, passed away in 2009 and 2010 due to cancer while Pocholo died a year later. Sources close to the family allege that the death of RJ’s three younger siblings must have been caused by the stress and unhappiness over the infighting.
The Jacinto family saga is just one among many where with a family’s vast wealth can be dissipated due to quarrels over inheritance, or when an errant family member decides to put his or her welfare first over the others. It also does not pay when a family member with little or no knowledge of the business is put in charge, observers noted. But perhaps one of the biggest lessons is for children not to depend on the riches built by their fathers and instead, learn or at least try to stand on their own two feet – like what RJ did when at the early age of 15, he set up a backyard gig which saw the birth of the legendary RJ radio station. Today, Ramon continues to do what he loves – playing the guitar, and parlaying his passion into a multi-million peso guitar manufacturing business.
Myles Garcia said,
April 29, 2012 at 7:16 am
Yeah, like they will actually have trannies on there (Miss U). Remember, Trump owns the organization. It’ll be a cold day in hell before that happens; and it’s NOT going to happen in the Latin American nor Asian countries.
Trump’s NOT going to have trannies there. It’s all lip service so they get no flak from the flaming queens.
toto gonzalez said,
April 27, 2012 at 9:16 am
Larry:
Ha ha ha ha ha!!!
You go, gurl!!!
Cheers!!!
Toto Gonzalez
Larry Leviste said,
April 27, 2012 at 8:35 am
In light of the transgender issue at Miss Universe and Stella Araneta’s backyard, I thought the HELEN CRUZ story was juicy if compelling. Let’s do a musicale !
toto gonzalez said,
April 26, 2012 at 1:36 pm
26 April: Birthday wishes to former [ and future ] Senator Maria Ana Abad Santos Madrigal!!!
Happy happy happy birthday, Jamby!!! 😀 😀 😀
Toto Gonzalez
toto gonzalez said,
April 25, 2012 at 12:47 pm
De La Salle Brother Rolando Dizon F.S.C. passed away today, 25 April 2012.
Our condolences to the De La Salle community and to the Dizon family.
“Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God…
Eternal rest grant unto the soul of Brother Roly Dizon F.S.C.. May perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.
Saint John Baptist de la Salle, pray for us. Live Jesus in our hearts forever.”
Toto Gonzalez
[ Augusto Marcelino Reyes Gonzalez III, La Salle Greenhills G.S. 1980, H.S. 1984 ]
Enrique Bustos said,
April 25, 2012 at 11:58 am
The Marcos property that was recently auctioned was owned by the late businessman Hans Menzi it was given as a gift for the wedding of Irene Marcos and Greggy Araneta in 1983.
Enrique Bustos said,
April 25, 2012 at 11:54 am
I was corrected by a friend: Amelia de la Rama was not a relative of Remy de la Rama-Arquelles. Amelia dela Rama was just a screen name and she passed away in a home for the aged because she had squandered her wealth.
I only added the story of Helen Cruz so his story will be told and be remembered.
toto gonzalez said,
April 25, 2012 at 10:37 am
Headline today: “Marcos property in Baguio sold for millions”
Tens of millions of pesos ONLY [ USD $ 2 million = +- PHP 93 million ]???!!! Hahahahahah!!!
One can hear the collective laugh of the Marcoses. “That’s just coin change [ Barya lang iyan ]!!!”
Toto Gonzalez
Ipê Nazareno said,
April 24, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Today, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Jose Cojuangco family must distribute the Hacienda Luisita land to the farmers. But the bigger story is that the Supreme Court, in voting 8-6 with Chief Justice Corona voting with the majority, held to peg the just compensation for the vast sugar estate on the 1989 valuation of only 40,000 Pesos per hectare (and not the 10 Billion Peso value they are claiming which is based on today’s valuation).
40,000 Pesos x 4,915.75 Hectares — that’s not even 200 Million Pesos! Not even enough for a property in Forbes Park!
The family must be collectively gnashing their teeth tonight!
toto gonzalez said,
April 17, 2012 at 11:11 am
Maria Elena “Peachy” Fabella Pelaez-Reyes passed away on 16 April 2012.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Pelaez family.
Toto Gonzalez
toto gonzalez said,
March 31, 2012 at 6:41 am
31 March: Birthday wishes to Regina Lopez Araneta-Teodoro.
Happy happy happy birthday, T Regi!!! 😀 😀 😀
Toto Gonzalez
Myles Garcia said,
March 30, 2012 at 6:11 am
Enrique, I asked about Amelia dela Rama. Don’t care about this “Helen Cruz.” Thanks, Larry. Am curious about the rest of Amelia’s story.
Larry Leviste said,
March 29, 2012 at 3:16 am
Amelia dela Rama-Brailey was a sweet friend. I met her when I asked to follow Boris Spasky when he was in Manila as the grand loser to Chess Chess Wiz Eugene Torre. It was a journalist assignment from Julie Yap Daza, I remember Amelia’s home in Forbes. She was very beautiful with smiling eyes and a Mona Lisa smile.
I interviewed her for Julie’s People Magazine in the early 80s, Amelia loved to go out for lunch and delight my curiousity. She invited me to her really fabulous home in Baguio.
” In my youth, people dismissed me as a pretty face but always sat me in the farthest tables at social events and dinners. I was the ONE that high society women would throw a zapatilla at BECAUSE their husbands always flirted with me. I couldn’t help it.
One dinner, as usual I was seated far away from President Sukarno’s table BUT after dinner as the band played a samba song, I saw HIM walking straight up to me. I said I didn’t know how to dance and he answered I WILL teach you. For the rest of the evening SUKARNO danced with me to the consternation of all the society ladies. Then we were married soon after that . ”
TO BE CONTINUED
Enrique Bustos said,
March 28, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Amelia dela Rama was a former movie star in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s if i remember correctly she is related to Socialite Reme dela Rama Arquelles before she married President Sukarno she was married twice President Sukarno met Amelia dela Rama in 1963 at a reception for President Sukarno immediately he was smitten with the beautiful Amelia dela Rama they got married in a mosque in Jakarta in 1964 a year later President Sukarno was deposed by a general named Suharto after the death of President Sukarno Amelia dela Rama married James Braly a former pilot of President Eisenhower
here is another story of Presidnet Sukarno dating Helen Cruz written in the Manila Bulletin
Yes, Helen Cruz is a “he,” but he dated famous men, among them the late Indonesian President Sukarno, who didn’t know at first that Helen was a man like them. Perhaps the country’s most famous transvestite, Helen enthralled not only President Sukarno (who later had for a Filipina wife the beauteous Amelia de la Rama) such popular international celebrities like Troy Donahue, Ricardo Montalban and Matt Monroe.
“With the others, it was just dinner dates, but with Matt Monroe, it was a real date,” Helen laughed in her trademark husky voice. “He can’t believe at first that I was a he, but later he said it was okay. He told me that back in London, when he was younger, he was raped by five men.” They dated three times, she revealed, and one time they were at the Filipinas Hotel, a famous actress came knocking at Matt’s hotel room. Matt told her he can’t invite her in because he had company. The actress understood, and asked Matt to call her the next day. Helen said Matt later married a woman named Helen, “but it wasn’t me.”
President Sukarno was a guest of then Senator Sergio Osmeña, Jr. and “he requested Serging for a date with me,” Helen recalled. “Akala niya kasi babae ako. We had dinner at Madrid Restaurant.”
When Hollywood actor Ricardo Montalban visited the country (as guest of the Puyats), “Gene Puyat brought him to The Niles where I sang. I even danced the tango with him.”
For the younger generations who don’t know Helen Cruz, he was a famous singer during her time, a sought–after performer along The Strip (then called Dewey Boulevard). Helen was the toast of Bulakeña even before Carmen Soriano’s time.
He started out as a singer when he joined the “Big Broadcast” amateur singing contest (through Constancio de Guzman and Luzmat Castro) and won as “Julie London of the Philippines.” He later performed in stage shows with Bayani Casimiro at the Opera House.
“I started singing professionally at Bulakeña,” Helen said. This was also where Carmen Soriano, Merci Molina, Lucille Labides and others made a name as singers. After Bulakeña, Helen moved to Bayside where he performed the longest. “I was there singing everyday at lunchtime for 19 years!” Helen said. Her pay? “R12 a day but I got big tips from the heavy spenders like the Puyats who easily would pull out from their pockets R50 for my tip everytime,” she recalled. At the Bayside, Helen sang with Verling Villapando and his orchestra.
Helen, who became well known for his naughty songs, also performed in between at nightclubs in Clark Field through promoter Dick Reynolds; and at other then popular venues in Manila like Aroma Café in Rizal Ave. where Merci and Carmen Pateña also sang; D&E with Vilma Valera, Luisa & Sons, Alex Soda Fountain in Quiapo, and Jade Vine along U.N. Ave.
After Bayside, Helen went to perform at Bayside Hong Kong, followed by foreign stints in the US, Australia, Japan and other countries.
Myles Garcia said,
March 26, 2012 at 2:01 am
Speaking of first & last wives, was just quickly looking at a Wikipedia biography of Sukarno of Indonesia…and Enrique might provide some light on this. It says that Amelia de la Rama was his last wife. I never realized that. She is listed with one movie credit on IMDB.
Is she of THE de la Rama’s of Cebu? Is that why Minnie O and Dewi Sukarno had something sort in common? Whatever happened to this Amelia when Sukarno died? Calling Enrique…
OpinYon (@OpinyonNewsMag) said,
March 22, 2012 at 1:36 am
For more news visit :
http://www.opinyon.com.ph/
Enrique Bustos said,
March 19, 2012 at 9:36 am
Marilene Pereyra Jacinto was the first wife of the late Negros Occidental Congressman Ignacio Tuason Arroyo
Enrique Bustos said,
March 19, 2012 at 9:33 am
Rocked and Rolled
by ED VELASCO
A business empire is the best inheritance parents leave their children. It could also end up a legal if not bloody war among heirs.
The Philippine business scene is replete with cases of siblings and relatives practically killing each other if not destroying each other in public over quarrels over inheritance.
Among those that caught media attention in recent times were cases of the Delgados, Ilusorios, Madrigals, Revillas, Jacintos, and most recently, the renewed interest on the Basa-Guidote feud over a P34Million property in Manila.
In most of these cases, the courts are the main battle grounds. Some feuds go out of hand and result in physical violence and in some cases deaths in the family.
The Jacinto dispute over inheritance and family business is one case that has gone out of hand and the feud is in the courts and in bar brawl.
Ramon Jacinto was accused by his younger sister, Marilene, of attempted homicide after an alleged mauling incident in a Makati restaurant.
The Jacinto family here is the family of Ramon Jacinto, the rock and roll musical icon and businessman who got into problems with a government bank over a property at the Buendia stretch in Makati City.
The Jacinto’s money comes from the iron and steel business in Iligan City, the Jacinto Steel Mill. In her complaint-affidavit, Marilene accused RJ and his wife, Frannie, of mauling her after throwing invectives on her after an altercation at a Japanese restaurant in Makati last Nov. 10, 2010.
She said before taking a set, she saw RJ approaching her already shouting invective: “Marilene, p—–ina mo! Papatayin kita.” RJ appeared to be too drunk, forcing her to get out of the restaurant and go to her car.
But before she could reach her car, RJ was able to caught her then punched her at the head, face and hands with closed fists. RJ, according to her, didn’t stop and instead pushed her so hard with his hands that she fell her head first on the cemented street fronting the restaurant.
Lastly, RJ pulled her hair and dragged her for about three meters before his wife who only looked while he was being beaten. “RJ was ruthless and would not have stopped mauling me had my car with my driver not pulled up.
For fears that she sustained serious injuries, Marilene submitted herself to medical examination where doctors at Ospital ng Makati confirmed that she sustained hematoma at the right area of her head and right hand area and buttocks; tenderness at the cheek and jaw and right medial thigh; and abrasions at left foot.
She said that RJ intention was really to kill her based on the following insinuations: repeated verbal threats before and during the mauling, didn’t stop mauling her until her driver intervened, the injuries he inflicted were numerous and severe, she is thin and just survived a stroke but her brother didn’t mind this medical condition.
RJ’s mauling of her younger sister stemmed from tussle over family property which is common among rich clans all over the world.
He alleged in his counter affidavit that it was Marilene who has grudge against him that’s why she filed a complaint more than a year after the mauling incident.
The alleged “crimes” of Marilene, according to RJ, includes falsification of public documents to be able to buy a property from a certain Oregon firm; and for earning P226 million after committing violation of anti-graft and corrupt practices act for defrauding their company, F. Jacinto Group, Inc., via entering a settlement with another company.
RJ maintained that what happened on the night of Nov. 16, 2010 at Seryna restaurant was only verbal tussle urging Marilene to return the assets she embezzled for personal use.
RJ also alleged that if he really mauled his sister, he and his family could have not finished their dinner. Whether RJ is telling the truth or not, siblings’ dispute over family fortune is common all over the world.
Take the case of business magnate brothers Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani who had been fighting in court over who will get bigger share in the $8 billion fortune left by their father Dhirubhai Ambani in 2002.
The fortune of Gianni Versace, the late fashion designer, is also a subject of siblings’ rivalry. After his death in 1997, his siblings Santo and Donatella have been slugging it out who will have bigger role in the $3-billion fashion empire left by their elder brother, who was a bachelor when he died.
Although Santo and Donatella haven’t fought in court, their rivalry is very evident as they keep on introducing new line of clothes that are totally distinct from each camp.
The reported mauling by RJ of his sister leaves a bad mark in the music icon’s drive to recover an image damaged by the scandal left on the Makati City property and his fight with a Japanese business partner.
The last heard from the Japanese businessman was he will never again trust a Filipino. It was reported that the Japanese lost almost P1Billion.
Marilene is the first wife of now deceased Rep. Iggie Arroyo. She is the mother of two of the former congressman children.
In the middle of controversy over the death of her husband, Marilene continues to suffer from delayed justice as her case languishes in our justice system.
She has a rock and roll icon in the Philippine music scene for a brother. She was also rocked in the head and rolled in embarrassment, the reason she went to the courts
Myles Garcia said,
March 3, 2012 at 9:21 pm
More on Hadassah Peri’s rags-to-riches story:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2063949/Nurse-Hadassah-Peri-stands-inherit-33-6m-fortune-copper-heiress-Huguette-Clark.html
including 1st time photos of the lucky inheritee!!
Myles Garcia said,
March 1, 2012 at 12:16 am
Speaking of ex-ambassadors, the gofer-brother of La Fabulosa Pomposa one, passed away in Makati Med last week. But his passing has been eclipsed by the long-drawn out saga of Iggy Arroyo’s final return. Shall he? Won’t he? Who’s the Official Widow? Who’s the Official Griever? I mean such tedious drama. The coffin alone is logging more frequent flier miles than most of us can accumulate in a lifetime.
Anyway, back to the more controversial ex-envoy who did have those farcical escapades in ***’s NYC apartment. Well, in his obituary, it was stated that the Leyteno is survived by his wife, his oldest son, Daniel (who is an architect/interior decorator) in New York City, and son’s “…partner, a Michael.” Oh. I was somewhat surprised to see this in print in the official obituary of a supposed leading R.P. political personality; but I guess we’re all very avante these days. But I was not at all surprised to learn that not only has D.R.a spacious flat in NYC + his business, but he owns a compound in Montauk, Long Island (a couple of summer cottages, I guess) and this spread in Beverly Hills featured in Architectural Digest.
http://www.architecturaldigest.com/homes/homes/2012/01/daniel-romualdez-los-angeles-house-article
Shifting gears, some Oscar trivia. So some starlet wore a Monique Lhuillier at last Sunday’s fete; several professional models wore Oliver Tolentino’s ready-to-eat pina dresses. However, this is NOT the first-time that Filipino/a designers crashed the Oscar bash. Who was the first Manila designer to have his work worn at the prestigious event (i.e., the actress walked up to claim her Oscar in his design)? Hint: it was 50 years ago.
Alicia Perez said,
February 26, 2012 at 1:07 am
The Maria Petronila “Cookie” Chanco Syquia – Larsen murder at the prewar, Art Deco-style “Michel” apartments in Malate, Manila.
No, she was not some “DH” ( domestic helper ) married to a Danish man as the newspapers trivialized her to be. She was a “de buena familia” heiress of the very old money Syquia clan.
Alicia Perez
toto gonzalez said,
January 21, 2012 at 8:04 am
21 January: Greetings to Maria Luisa Madrigal de Vazquez on her birthday!!!
Happy “48th” Birthday, Tita Ising!!!
Toto Gonzalez
Larry Leviste said,
January 18, 2012 at 1:38 am
Less has More Impact
Hollywood’s first major awards night for film and television last Monday celebrated celebrity fashion that was truly elegant, which is the refusal of anything over the top. For the 69th Golden Globes it was all about age appropriate, quiet quality, reverse glamor and dare we say comfortable couture that were the terrific trends on the red carpet.
Angelina Jolie with a slash of red on her white sheath by Donatella Versace was top of the list, Nicole Kidman and Selma Hayek wore the new template for discreet Art Deco beadwork. Crimson, all shades of nude and blush plus the return of black were the colors of choice. Chiffon, satin, charmuese, taffeta, gazar, organza and peau de soie were fabrics deftly employed.
The newest jewelry trend were the sparkle plenty headbands worn by Michelle Williams and Charlize Theron. Every shape and color for dangling megawatt earrings were the jewels of choice. Also small clutch bags and statement cuffs with competing big precious stone rings. Hair was back combed and upswept and make-up was 60s movie star style with eyeliner, false eyelashes and pale lips on a sea of beautiful faces.
Suddenly it seemed stars and their stylists have finally nailed the best looks at the Golden Globes night in Hollywood by keeping it minimal yet stunningly singular. It was about a personalized, made-to-measure look and the actors owned it.
Wardrobe winners Clair Danes in J. Mendel, Meryll Streep in Dior, Helen Mirren in Badgeley Mischka wore memorable looks that will be remembered for their seductive simplicity and consideration for comfort that would have them partying the night away after a champagne soaked dinner.
Fashion must follow function. When the dress does not overpower the woman, it becomes memorable. In this spread study the stars in their personalized couture and see how less has more impact.
Larry Leviste said,
January 12, 2012 at 3:25 am
THANK YOU MYLES for the Elizabeth Taylor link, I loved her line, ” We are not owners of these jewels, merely custodians. “
Myles Garcia said,
January 11, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Toto, I know people are starving and their existences are temporarily being diverted by the Ortigas-Bayot scandale (why did it take her 44 years to act?) but I just came across this YouTube clip
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O92PNZlkZv4&feature=fvst [/media]
to share with your discerning readers (particularly Enrique B. and the former Tai-tai). This is the clip showing La Taylor singing “Send in the CLowns” (she is partially dubbed in the last part of the song) but wearing some cheap little bauble to cover that hideous tracheotomy scar of hers. The little bauble, is of course, La Peregrina, which fetched nearly $12 million at last month’s auction of her jewelry.
Enjoy!!