Monday, November 26, 2007 Mongaya: Better in PR By Anol Mongaya Panahom
DIRECTOR Alex Leyson of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) needs to directly convey to local congressmen his clarification on the figures advanced by car leaders on car sales compared to car registration figures. While the car dealers insist on the existence of luxury car smuggling, Leyson keeps on saying the figures used by the car dealers are misleading because most of those registered are multicabs. It seems the car dealers are better in getting their “misleading” message across.
Meanwhile, small-time but legitimate used motor vehicle traders are adversely affected by the government’s knee-jerk reaction to the car dealers’ media campaign. In a position paper submitted to Customs Cebu District Collector Ricardo Belmonte, local brokers handling these traders cited a recent memorandum limiting the issuance of certificates of payments (CP).
The new memorandum had curbed further the assembly of multicabs because the bureau won’t anymore issue a CP that is important in registering newly assembled multicabs at the LTO. With this new memorandum, let’s expect a dive in the number of vehicles registered this year.
Ricky Gantuangco, an independent broker often quoted for his anti-car smuggling views, denied being privy to the activities of alleged smugglers when he joined our group at SM last Friday. Instead, he cited the number of media reports during the past months. “You only need to search the Sun.Star website for the list of stories,” he said.
However, the customs grapevine buzz on another broker handling the illegal shipments of a member of the Cebu Automotive Dealers Association had become louder. It seems the car dealers’ house is made of glass. It only needs someone brave enough to throw a rock.
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The Sun.Star family returned to the old Cebu Plaza Hotel, which is now the Marco Polo Hotel, for its gala dinner of Sun.Star’s 25th anniversary celebration last Saturday. It seems the hotel has become grander under the new management though it definitely faces better competition from other plush hotels today.
Nevertheless, Sun.Star’s anniversary affair was an occasion to meet friends from other media outlets, news sources and advertisers. With news sources and journalists thrown together in one venue, expect discussions on hot issues especially local and national politics.
While city officials present refused to speculate and just smiled when asked on Basak-San Nicolas Barangay Captain George Rama’s expression of support for Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos as president of the Association of Barangay Councils, barangay officials were more revealing. George could just be playing games. Or he could be toying with a trial balloon to see if the Ramas have a sizable support from among the barangay captains while at the same time ensuring that Mary Ann won’t run against him as mayor in 2010.
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The 10 candidates of Miss Superbalita 2008 caught the attention of Sun.Star’s officials and guests at the Marco Polo Hotel. The public will definitely see more of the new batch of candidates this December as the pageant activities unfold until the finals night on the eve of the Sinulog.
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