Trouble is brewing at the Antonio family’s Century Properties Group Inc. residential complex in Quezon City.
A small group of angry owners are complaining about extremely long delays in delivering their condominium title certificates to Century’s The Residences at Commonwealth despite paying for the units in full.
The title is crucial since it certifies ownership of the units that have been purchased.
But hearing no clear response from building management, one of the owners told Biz Buzz they were starting to worry if it was related to the unusual case involving ownership of the land. of 4.4 hectares on which The Residences at Commonwealth was built.
The owner of the land, as advertised in an old Century marketing brochure that Biz Buzz found, was a company called AZ 17/31 Realty Inc. while Century’s subsidiary focused on middle incomes, Century Limitless Corp., was identified as the promoter.
It was like any other land owner-developer business, which usually plays a big role in the growth strategy of almost every major real estate player in the country.
What was not typical was the fact that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked the registration documents of AZ 17/31 in 2017.
This was after the SEC discovered that one of the founders, the family matriarch, had died years before the company was registered in 2008, which the companies regulator said was an act of fraud. manifest.
The owner group said they just wanted clarification on the status of their units. They also hoped that they would not have to resort to legal action.
Biz Buzz has been asking Century for its official comment since the end of March this year but, like what the owners have experienced, no clear and definitive answer has been given so far.
—Miguel R. Camus
Another rogue banker
Biz Buzz recently got hold of confidential information involving an apparently rogue banker (working for a major local financial institution) who managed to separate over 20 million pesos from at least two victims.
It is now rumored on the streets that the scammer may have been able to victimize others and get away with up to 100 million pesos. And here’s the thing: in addition to being a high-ranking bank official, the scammer is also a “she.”
How is this scam perpetrated? This rogue banker, along with a number of alleged accomplices, apparently engaged in illegal banking practices by tricking victims into depositing their funds in so-called special peso term deposit accounts.
But instead of placing victims’ funds in the offered investment facility (which does not exist), this scammer deposits the money in his own personal bank account.
As soon as the victims started looking for their money, this rogue banker got on the plane and Biz Buzz learned that she had recently taken a commercial flight to Tokyo, Japan, after which the runway went cold. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
Incidentally, the funds – originally deposited in a bank – turned out to have been transferred to another financial institution within hours and withdrawn soon after.
In addition to suing the now-missing rogue banker, the victims plan to file suit under anti-money laundering law against the banking institutions involved. Watch this space, friends.
—Daxim L. Lucas
Best Workplaces
Professional networking site LinkedIn recently unveiled its second annual ranking of the 15 best companies to work for in the Philippines.
The honor roll was dominated by mobile provider Smart Communications, followed by Accenture, Shell, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Emerson (an automation solutions provider) and BDO Unibank. Water concessionaire Manila Water, Nestlé and WPP also made a difference.
Despite the challenges faced by frontline doctors during the protracted pandemic, the Philippines General Hospital (PGH) also landed on the list, the only public institution on the list, as it ranked 10th. PGH is Metro Manila’s main COVID-19 referral hospital.
Rankings 11th through 15th are: Insular Life Assurance Company Ltd.; Robinsons Bank Corp., San Miguel Corp., as well as DXC Technology and Cognizant, both of which are IT consulting firms.
To compile this year’s rankings, LinkedIn said it looked at data across seven pillars, each revealing an essential element of career progression: advancement ability, skill growth, company stability, opportunity externalities, affinity with the company, gender diversity and the dissemination of education. backgrounds.
One of the top trends cited by LinkedIn based on this year’s list is that flexible working is no longer just a “nice to have.” Metrobank, for example, has developed employee wellness programs: work-from-home policies, employee training, and support for employee emotional and mental well-being.
LinkedIn said these big companies also provide stability through development opportunities. For example, Accenture has strengthened a program to help non-college job applicants who have the potential to meet entry-level requirements.
Taking care of mental health has also become mainstream. Topnotcher Smart Communications launched the “Mind Your Health” program to educate employees on various mental health issues.
—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla INQ
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