Himlayang Pilipino fires president who questioned P15 M ‘DOJ’ legal fund
The shrinking pre-need industry has just been shaken anew with the post-Halloween dismissal of the Himlayang Pilipino Group president.
Prior to his Nov. 11 termination, the president, Alberto Albano, had written an open letter to the board and shareholders of Himlayang Pilipino questioning the withdrawal behind his back of over P15 million reserved for retirement and trust funds. In that and a subsequent letter, Albano questioned the P15 million in “litigation expenses” at the Department of Justice when Himlayang Pilipino, he said, was itself not a party to any major litigation case.
“The amount of P15.13 million is so huge that to book it as expenses would put Himlayang Pilipino in a net-loss situation and quite possibly impair its future operations,” Albano said.
“On his own, and without consulting me and the board, (the assistant vice president for accounting and collection) decided to shift the accounting treatment of the transactions as payment to the ‘Aguirre Joint-Venture’ account,” he added.
Albano, who used to be vice president for finance of the Jacinto Steel Group of Duterte economic adviser Ramon “RJ” Jacinto, said it did not matter how the withdrawals had been booked.
“What is crucial to me is that, with our current deficiencies in our perpetual care fund, retirement fund and the insurance premium fund, such a big amount is stealthily smuggled out of the company’s treasury,” he told the shareholders.
Albano also disclosed that the Himlayang Pilipino Group had been helping the Aguirre Group, which include the collapsed Banco Filipino and the BF Homes chain of subdivisions, whose directors and officers have been sued by the Bangko Sentral for falsification, grant of illegal loans in the billions, and major violations of banking laws, rules and regulations.
Jimmy Choo foils Cathy Choo
Luxury international shoe brand Jimmy Choo has foiled Cathy Choo, a German-registered cosmetics brand, in its bid to trademark its business name in the Philippines.
In a recent ruling, the Intellectual Property Office said Cathy Choo’s mark and name were “confusingly similar” to the famous shoemaker’s, especially since Jimmy Choo’s international trademark registrations also cover cosmetic products.
Jimmy Choo was granted Philippine registration in 2006, while Cathy Choo only filed for local registration in 2013.
The shoemaker was represented in the litigation by Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon & San Jose, Cathy Choo by Cruz Marcelo Tenefrancia.
Heard through the grapevine
It looks like Jollibee director Ang Cho Sit wants to enjoy his wealth while he can.
After cashing out about P420 million in September, the 67-year-old brother-in-law of Jollibee chairman Tony Tan Caktiong earlier week sold another P120 million worth of Jollibee shares.
Ang’s Longshore Corp. had 0.34 percent in the fast-food giant at the start of the year. This stake had now been reduced to 0.15 percent, or over 1.67 million shares, with an estimated market value of still over P400 million.