COCKTALES: Elder Biazon may run for Senate, younger Biazon for House

By: Victor C. Agustin
July 13, 2012 4:45 PM

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon has again said he "prefer(s)" to return to Congress and that he may have to leave the Bureau of Customs. (Lans Reotan/Interaksyon.com)

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The online news portal of TV5

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon has again said he "prefer(s)" to return to Congress and that he may have to leave the Bureau of Customs by September if he were to run again for the Senate or in his old congressional district in Muntinlupa in 2013.

And, if he could not make it to the Liberal Party senatorial slate, one option, he said, is for his father, current Muntinlupa Representative Rodolfo Biazon, to instead have a go again for the Senate under the Liberals, with Ruffy Biazon stepping down to reclaim the Muntinlupa position he vacated in 2010 after three terms.

"I must admit I'm really more comfortable as a legislator; I am happier as a legislator," the younger Biazon told the Cocktales TV show, which will air Sunday 9:30pm on Aksyon TV.

Despite President Aquino himself pitching for the Customs chief, the Senate candidacy of the younger Biazon seems to have a hard time gaining traction in the surveys.

The Customs chief, who is just 10 months into the job, said he had already discussed the possibility with his father, who served as senator in 1992-1995 and in 1998-2010.

"We'll inform the public in due time," he said.

"I know that sometime in the future, I'll be using this knowledge to complete the reforms," the younger Biazon said, referring to his "immersion" in the Bureau of Customs.

These reforms include computerization of transactions to lessen the personal discretion of customs officials, the use of GPS on container vans to prevent diversion to friendlier ports and the amendment of the 1957-enacted Tariff and Customs Code to allow easier online shopping, for example.

PNB loses CFO

The chief financial officer of the Philippine National Bank, Carmen Huang, has abruptly resigned from the Lucio Tan bank, according to two bank officers who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the case.

Huang, who has been CFO since 2002, handed in her resignation Monday and went on terminal leave after she declined to be reassigned to a subsidiary, according to one account.

Money-go-round

• In addition to pending applications to fly to Guam and Saipan, Cebu Pacific is seriously considering adding even a Manila-Honolulu stretch in time for the Yuletide travel season next year, when it starts flying long-haul with an initial fleet of four Airbus A330-300.

• The Manila Bank may have closed down in 1987, but the Court of Appeals ruled that former Cavite congressman Renato Dragon still needs to repay the loan he obtained from the shuttered thrift bank way back in the late 70s. The original loan of P6.9 million had already ballooned to P48 million as of 2002.

Heard through the grapevine

After one and a half months in the United States, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and his wife of nearly seven years, Ma. Corazon de la Cruz-Purisima of HSBC, will return to Manila next week, hopefully contributing to the country's healthy population growth after seeking divine and medical intervention.

Email: cocktales_tv5@yahoo.com