BIZ BUZZ: Air turbulence for legal eagle

Some marital unions are, sadly, not meant to last and others do end acrimoniously. But when the parties involved are high profile and expensive lawyers, “acrimonious” can be a rather mild term to describe the sad situation.

Biz Buzz learned recently that the wife of one such rainmaker—who handles the legal issues of many of the country’s largest firms involved in a … shall we say … very energetic industry—has filed a complaint against her husband for allegedly having an affair with another lawyer.

Meanwhile, the female lawyer he’s allegedly romantically entangled with is also married. Biz Buzz hears that her husband has been aware of these rumors circulating for some years now but has dismissed them as being nothing more than rumors.

It goes without saying that, with the male lawyer considered an authority in his particular area of legal practice (as well as being an academic in charge of forming young legal minds, too), the stakes are sky high.

Of course, due to space constraints, this is just one side of the story for now. We will be bringing more details from this unfolding telenovela in our next edition. Abangan!

—Daxim L. Lucas

Seaoil keeps nose clean

It may not be the biggest in the industry it belongs to, but this doesn’t mean independent fuel retailer Seaoil doesn’t stand out.

And in an industry where smuggling among the smaller players is the norm rather than the exception, the company run by Glenn Yu definitely stands out for keeping its nose clean.

Seaoil was recently recognized by no less than the Bureau of Customs in its 2022 report for being one of the top importers of petroleum in the Zamboanga Peninsula—an area that’s a favorite of smugglers for having notoriously porous border controls through the so-called southern backdoor of the country.

So recognition from the customs bureau for being the best behaved oil importer in this area can only mean that Seaoil plays by the book, so to speak.

In fact, for three consecutive years, Seaoil has been a top importer in the port of Zamboanga. In 2022, the company brought import revenues of almost P10 billion, which is nearly double its import revenue from 2021 that totaled more than P5 billion.

“Integrity is at the core of what we do in Seaoil,” said Yu. “We are committed to supporting the needs of our stakeholders, which includes paying the right dues and taxes to the government.”

Seaoil has more than 25 stations operating in the Zamboanga Peninsula alone, with more to open this year.

The fuel provider is also slated to open a depot in the Zamboanga Economic Zone in Zamboanga City in the early part of 2024.

The new depot, which broke ground last year, is a partnership with the Zamboanga Economic Zone and Freeport Authority and is geared toward serving its customers not only in the Zamboanga Peninsula, but also the nearby islands of Tawi-Tawi and Sulu. It is expected to have 18 million liters of fuel storage capacity and can receive direct imports.

“The opening of our Zamboanga terminal will enable us to make Seaoil’s quality products more accessible to our customers and commercial industries in Southern Mindanao,” Yu said.

Is it too much to ask of other small oil players to play the game cleanly, too?

—Daxim L. Lucas

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