Playing with Fire
Benjie and Belen should welcome SM!
By Gonzalo Duque
A respected businessman and former politician –Mr. Roberto “ Bing” Arcinue — was quoted as casually saying he could not see the day Mayor Benjie Lim and Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, well-known big time mall operators, would ever allow Henry Sy’s SM mall to set foot in Dagupan City.
Bing allegedly remarked, “cut my neck,” or words to that effect, or “mimisa ak ya labos ed Manaoag if SM would ever rise in Dagupan.”
The reason for Bing’s skeptical attitude is that allowing SM to rise here is tantamount to seeing the two most prominent politicians committing suicide.
Everyone knows that Benjie owns Magic chain, while Belen, the CSI chain.
On the surface, Kuya Bing, beloved hubby of our pretty colleague Belle at the Pangasinan Historical Institute, is right. And many observers are of similar opinion. Talagang tama sila, pag pumasok ang SM sa Bangus City, paktaylo ang negosyo nila. Knockout ang Magic at CSI. Do you think so too?
We don’t think so. Probably there is reason to believe that Belen would fight tooth and nail the coming of SM here because she has two huge malls in the city, one at the heart of the city, and another in Barangay Lucao.
As to Benjie, malalayo ang mga malls niya, or they are out of Dagupan except that one on Burgos street.
When we say, SM won’t necessarily wipe out CSI just like that, it’s because Belen’s malls have acquired their own loyal clientele. And their location is unbeatable especially the one on A B Fernandez Avenue. We are not a mall-marketing expert but common sense would dictate that the poblacion crowd would no longer do their malling at the Maresville site, where SM Dagupan is supposed to rise.
Halos pareho naman ang goods to be sold. So if Belen would upgrade her goods that would compete with SM, people would stay loyal to her store. We have a feeling, if the arrival of SM is a done deal, ganyan ang gagawin ni Belen. Never say die ang kaibigan natin e. We could see Benjie simply wearing his Mona Lisa smile because this development won’t affect much his stores.
The more serious point though that we consider as SM’s inevitable rise in the city is that the expected opposition by the two-some would expose their public policy as tainted with private or personal gain, which is anathema to public service.
Will they oppose SM because it will hurt their business interests? Ay, matindi ya, mga agagui! Ompaway ya selfishness so motivation da. Makapoy, madi, laos!
And so back to our sacred contention – SM will rise in Dagupan. The surveys point to the public’s overwhelming favorable attitude to it.
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Belated Happy birthday, Bishop Socrates Villegas! It’s great to know that Bishop Soc was a fan of the late Bruce Lee. If that is so, he must be fan of Muhammad Ali, too, Bruce Lee’s idol.
Bishop Soc gives us the impression he has an excellent PR. Warm, smiling, has sense of humor, and a go-getter. His predecessor, the nemesis of jueteng, Bishop Oscar Cruz, is the more serious type. Parang unapproachable, but he is okay, too.
We raise our glasses to the two for the giant shadow they cast on their Christian flock in the province.
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