CHRONICLES OF OUR GENERATION
chronicles of our generation
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Thursday, December 2, 2021
GEOPOLITICS OF FRANCE: WILL MACRON MAKE EUROPE A SUPER POWER
The 21st century brings great changes for the world order. The French recognize these and want Europe to keep up with the US and China. Will France lead Europe towards a superpower? Welcome to the next episode of The 20s Report.
How President Macron plans to capture Africa's demographic wave by using the French language, with the ultimate goal to cement French hegemony worldwide. BAKU - For centuries, France was a global powerhouse, permeating its will over five continents. Since those imperial days, it has lost considerable ground in its former domains. Only in Africa did France retain its hold, owing to the monetary system that was put in place. In the decade after World War II, President François Mitterand was quoted saying: “Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century.” Like a foretelling coming true, it is precisely because of Africa that modern-day France is returning as the global force it once was. And it’s using the soft power attributes of language to cement its hegemony
Can Macron lead the European Union after Merkel retires?
Troops from a European tank battalion that consists of Dutch and German soldiers prepare for an exercise near Oldenburg in northern Germany on Feb. 4, 2019.
After Germans vote Sunday and a new government is formed, Chancellor Angela Merkel will leave office after 16 years as the dominant figure in European politics. It is the moment that French President Emmanuel Macron has been waiting for.
The German chancellor, although credited for navigating multiple crises, was long criticized for lacking strategic vision. Macron, whose more swaggering style has sometimes ruffled his European partners — and Washington — has put forward ideas for a more independent and integrated Europe, better able to act in its own defense and its own interests.
But as the Anglo-American “betrayal” in the Australian submarine affair has underscored, Macron sometimes possesses ambitions beyond his reach. Despite the vacuum Merkel leaves, a Macron era is unlikely to be born.
Instead, analysts say, the European Union is heading for a period of prolonged uncertainty and potential weakness, if not necessarily drift. No one figure — not even Macron or a new German chancellor — will be as influential as Merkel was at her strongest: an authoritative, well-briefed leader who quietly managed compromise and built consensus among a long list of louder and more ideological colleagues.
That raises the prospect of paralysis or of Europe muddling through its challenges — on what to do about an increasingly indifferent America, on China and Russia, and on trade and technology — or even of a more dangerous fracturing of the bloc’s always tentative unity.
And it will mean that Macron, who is up for reelection in April and absorbed in that uncertain campaign, will need to wait for a German government that may not be in place until January or longer, and then work closely with a weaker German chancellor.
“We’ll have a weak German chancellor on top of a larger, less unified coalition,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe of the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. “A weaker chancellor is less capable of exerting influence in Europe, and then with the Macron election, the political cycles of these two key countries will not be in sync.”
The uncertainty is likely to last until after the French parliamentary elections in June — and that is presuming Macron wins.
Macron has argued forcefully that Europe must do more to protect its own interests in a world where China is rising and the United States is focusing on Asia. His officials are already trying to prepare the ground on some key issues, looking forward to January, when France takes over the rotating EU presidency. But given the likelihood of lengthy coalition talks in Germany, the window for accomplishment is narrow.
Macron will need German help. While France and Germany together can no longer run the European Union by themselves, when they agree, they tend to bring the rest of the bloc along with them.
So building a relationship with the new German chancellor, even a weaker one, will be a primary goal for Macron. He must be careful, noted Daniela Schwarzer, executive director for Europe and Eurasia of the Open Societies Foundations, not to scare off the Germans.
“Macron’s leadership is disruptive, and the German style is to change institutions incrementally,” she said. “Both sides will need to think through how they make it possible for the other side to answer constructively.”
French officials understand that substantive change will be slow, and they will want to build on initiatives already underway, like the analysis of Europe’s interests called “the strategic compass” and a modest but steady increase in military spending on new capabilities through the new European Defense Fund and a program called Pesco, intended to promote joint projects and European interoperability.
After the humiliation of the scuttled submarine deal, when Australia suddenly canceled a contract with France and chose a deal with Britain and the United States instead, many of his European colleagues are more likely now to agree with Macron that Europe must be less dependent on Washington and spend at least a little more in its own defense.
Few in Europe, though, want to permanently damage ties with the Americans and NATO.
“Italy wants a stronger Europe, OK, but in NATO — we’re not on the French page on that,” said Marta Dassu, a former Italian deputy foreign minister and director of European affairs at the Aspen Institute.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, whose voice is respected in Brussels, believes strongly in the trans-Atlantic relationship, Dassu said, adding, “We’re closer to Germany than to France, but without all the ambiguities on Russia and China.”
France also wants to become more assertive using the economic and financial tools Europe already has, especially trade and technology, the officials say. The point, they say, is not to push too hard too fast, but to raise the European game vis-à-vis China and the United States, and try to encourage a culture that is comfortable with power.
But France’s German partners will be going through a period of uncertainty and transition. A new German chancellor is expected to win only one-quarter of the vote and may need to negotiate a coalition agreement among three political parties. That is expected to take at least until Christmas, if not longer.
The new chancellor will also need to get up to speed on European issues, which barely surfaced in the campaign, and build credibility as the newcomer among 26 other leaders.
“So it’s important now to start thinking of concrete French-German wins during a French presidency that Macron can use in a positive way in his campaign,” Schwarzer said. “Because Berlin does not want to ponder a scenario in which Macron loses” to far-right Marine Le Pen or in which euroskeptics like Matteo Salvini take over in Italy.
Whoever wins, German policy toward Europe will remain roughly the same from a country deeply committed to EU ideals, cautious and wanting to preserve stability and unity. The real question is whether any European leader can be the cohesive force Merkel was — and if not, what it will mean for the continent’s future.
“Merkel herself was important in keeping the EU together,” said Ulrich Speck of the German Marshall Fund. “She kept in mind the interests of so many in Europe, especially Central Europe but also Italy, so that everyone could be kept on board.”
Merkel saw the European Union as the core of her policy, said a senior European official, who called her the guardian of true EU values, willing to bend to keep the bloc together, as evidenced by her support for collective debt, previously a German red line, to fund the coronavirus recovery fund.
“Merkel acted as mediator when there have been a lot of centrifugal forces weakening Europe,” said Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, head of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund. “It’s less clear how the next chancellor will position himself or herself and Germany.”
Still, Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, noted that “whoever is the chancellor, Germany is still responsible for more than half of Chinese trade with Europe.” Germany is “vastly more important than the other countries on all the big issues, from how to handle China to the tech wars and climate change,” he said.
That means Macron “knows he has to channel German power behind his vision,” he said.
But French and Italian positions will be crucial, too, on important pending financial issues like fiscal and banking integration, trying to complete the single market and monitoring the pandemic recovery fund.
Merkel’s departure may provide an opportunity for the kinds of change Macron desires, even if in vastly scaled-down version. Merkel’s love of the status quo, some analysts argue, was anachronistic at a time when Europe faces so many challenges.
Perhaps most important is the looming debate about whether to alter Europe’s spending rules, which in practical terms means getting agreement from countries to spend more on everything, from defense to climate.
The real problem is that fundamental change would require a treaty change, said Guntram Wolff, director of Bruegel, a Brussels research institution. “You can’t have fiscal and defense integration by stealth,” he said. “It won’t have legitimacy and won’t be accepted by citizens.”
But the German election debates ignored these broad issues, he said.
“The sad news,” Wolff said, “is that none of the three chancellor candidates campaigned on any of this, so my baseline expectation is continued muddling forward.”
Who will lead Europe after Merkel? Presidents and prime ministers jockey for the job.
As Germany prepares to elect its next chancellor Sunday, Europe is readying itself for a major shake-up of the unofficial hierarchy of continental leaders.
In nearly 16 years at the helm of Europe’s largest economy, Angela Merkel became the de facto representative on the world stage and the European Union’s chief power broker through countless late-night negotiations and a string of crises.
Germany will continue to wield immense influence. However, Merkel’s experience and reputation give her clout that none of her potential successors as chancellor could hope to match anytime soon. And so her departure will create an opening — for the first time in more than a decade — for other leaders to assert themselves and their vision for Europe.
A few favorites have emerged in the competition. French President Emmanuel Macron, head of the European Union’s second-biggest economy, has been jockeying for years to be the next leader of Europe. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, best known for saving the euro while president of the European Central Bank, also has several of the necessary credentials.
But analysts, politicians and diplomats tend to agree that no one person is capable of filling Merkel’s loafers. Instead, they say, it will probably involve a coterie of premiers — probably all of them men.
“Merkel’s exit creates a problem with leadership, a hole at the heart of Europe,” said Giovanni Orsina, director of Luiss Guido Carli University’s School of Government in Rome. “Either the new chancellor fills that void, or we need to conceive of a collective convergence.”
After 16 years, Germany’s Merkel is stepping down. Here’s how she built her legacy.
There will be a marked shift in the balance of power, said a senior E.U. diplomat, and other European leaders will have to step up.
“This cannot only be done by one. It has to be done by the group,” he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive political situation.
Merkel isn’t expected to leave office immediately after the election. The results are likely to be messy, and coalition talks could go through the end of the year — or beyond. Merkel would stay on as a caretaker until a new government is formed.
And then? Whoever steps into the job — the candidates include Armin Laschet, Olaf Scholz and Annalena Baerbock — would need time to settle in, and to establish themselves, before they could expect to command the sort of attention that Merkel has in Europe and internationally.
“Any German chancellor will move into a powerful position,” said Daniela Schwarzer, executive director for Europe and Eurasia at the Open Society Foundations. “Any next German chancellor will bring some experience and bring the same weight of the country to the table, but the personal weight will not be the same.”
What you need to know about Germany’s election
If Britain were still in the European Union, some of the power might shift across the English Channel. But in a post-Brexit world, London cannot expect to speak on behalf of the continent.
So, many heads are turning toward Paris.
“The German elections are being seen in France as an opportunity for a reset, where whoever comes in will have less stature than Macron does and whereby France’s influence in Europe would be increased,” said Nicholas Dungan, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
Macron has been preparing for this moment. He has repeatedly sought to emphasize his foreign policy experience, drawing a contrast with the German chancellor candidates, who spent most of their televised debates bickering about domestic politics.
Macron also has spent years outlining his vision for Europe.
In 2017, after another German election, he delivered a sweeping speech at Sorbonne University, arguing that the best response to ascendant nationalists was to acknowledge the European Union’s shortcomings — it is “too weak, too slow, too inefficient” — and then to work to make it stronger and more united.
He has reprised the theme many times. But his proposals — to integrate European defense, reform the euro zone, develop a common asylum policy and impose a new tax on U.S. tech giants — have not been enthusiastically embraced.
French ambassador to return to Washington as Biden, Macron seek to mend rift
The French president has lately been using the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, and a fight with the Biden administration over a nuclear submarine deal, to reiterate a call for European “strategic independence.” Other E.U. leaders have said they stand with France in the submarine spat, and they are equally frustrated about Afghanistan. Still, the idea of an E.U. military is far from becoming a reality.
Macron’s mandate as Europe-wide leader may depend in part on how much progress he makes when France takes over the Council of the European Union’s rotating six-month presidency in January — as well as on his showing in France’s presidential election in April. His main competitor, far-right leader Marine Le Pen, has a radically different view of the European project.
“To the question who will take the mantle, you already know the answer: It will be Macron,” an E.U. diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment. “The next question is: Will he retain the mantle?”
The determining factor, the diplomat said, may be whether Macron can learn to compromise.
“Macron has the tools and the chance to, for now, fill that void,” the diplomat said. “But he will only stay there in that position if he manages to bridge the gap between him and his way of doing things, and the east and the north and everybody else. That was Merkel’s way.”
Does the European Union need its own army? Afghanistan withdrawal revives an old debate.
Merkel’s critics, however, sometimes hold that against her. They say she delayed decisions at the E.U. level in an effort to preserve consensus and avoid conflict — and while doing so allowed for the erosion of democratic norms in countries such as Hungary and Poland. Her approach even earned its own verb: “Merkeln,” meaning to dither or bide one’s time.
“During the Merkel era, one always tried to handle and solve things among the 27, often postponing until the very last minute the required solutions for Europe, because of Merkel’s conviction that results could only be yielded by standing together,” said Sandro Gozi, a veteran Italian politician who now represents France in the European Parliament as part of Macron’s centrist “Renaissance” list.
“I believe Macron and Draghi can make all the difference here,” Gozi said.
The French president and Italian prime minister were dubbed Europe’s “new power couple” by Politico in July, amid reports of a transalpine bromance. The two men, separated in age by 30 years, are both former investment bankers and longtime E.U. boosters, and have similar goals for the 27-nation bloc, especially on fiscal policies, where both favor further financial integration.
“I believe that in this new phase, leadership could be collective,” Gozi said. “I see Macron and Draghi as protagonists of that.”
At first, their leadership of Europe would be “two-legged,” Gozi said, but it would eventually include the new German chancellor. Indeed, many observers expect Macron would need strong German partnership to execute the most ambitious of his plans. But Gozi said the result would be “less Merkel-ian” — with faster action and less caution.
Germany’s Merkel makes final campaign push for stumbling political heir
Draghi has been positioning himself to take on a greater leadership role, observers say. He was a prominent voice in Europe’s reaction to the Afghanistan withdrawal, pushing for an emergency summit of the G-20, criticizing the European Union’s disorganized stance on accepting refugees, and calling President Biden during the evacuation efforts. In March, Draghi made headlines when he blocked the export of a batch of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine doses from the European Union amid a shortage inside the bloc. And he has been talking of using nearly $235 billion in E.U. money to enact an “epochal” pandemic recovery.
But his own sway may be limited by the size and influence of his country.
“The problem across history is not only who you are but the kind of car you’re driving,” said Orsina, of Luiss Guido Carli University. “Some things you can only do if you’re Germany, otherwise it’s that much harder, regardless of the leader’s personality.”
A number of other leaders will be elbowing for a more important role, including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Both share one obvious trait with their counterparts in France and Italy: They’re men.
After Merkel’s departure, council summits risk taking on the feel of an old boys’ club, said Open Society’s Schwarzer.
“There’s a certain element of having a female leader at the table — the balance will shift in that regard, as well, and that does make a difference in group dynamics,” she said. “Not only what happens in the room but the reception of politics.”
Some Europeans are sure to welcome Merkel’s egress as a chance for potential realignment and more substantive reforms to the European Union.
The Merkel era “has led to a Europe that is highly dependent on Germany and Germany’s choices,” said Rosa Balfour, the director of Carnegie Europe. “The gravity of power has shifted to Berlin, and it hasn’t been all for the good of the rest of Europe. If there’s a slight change in the balance of power, tipped in the favor of a broader pioneering group, from a European perspective there could be benefit in that.”
Critics argue, for instance, that Germany’s response to the euro-zone debt crisis and its push for austerity measures did deep and lasting damage to Greece and Italy, Balfour said.
Still, Merkel’s support remains strong across the continent — yet another indicator of how difficult she will be to replace. A recent survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations asked residents in 12 E.U. nations who they would vote for in a hypothetical election for president of Europe, Merkel or Macron.
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
GEOPOLITICS OF ROMANIA
US army tanks and soldiers continued being deployed on Tuesday to an air base in southern Romania, after the first shipment of tanks had arrived the day before. The tanks were offloaded from a train in the village of Mihail Kogalniceanu, where they would be taken to a nearby military air base. The deployment, known as Operation Atlantic Resolve, is part of an American operation to reassure NATO allies and other partners concerned about Russia. Five hundred US soldiers will eventually be deployed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Constanta County. The operation foresees the continuous presence of an American armoured brigade combat team in Europe on a nine-month rotational basis.
US to Turn Romanian Airbase into NATO Black Sea Hub
A US Air Force F16 jet takes off during the joint Romanian-US military drill ‘Dacian Viper 2014’ at the Campia Turzii military airbase, April 2014. Archive photo: EPA/MIRCEA ROSCA
The US Air Force will this month start awarding contracts for construction work to upgrade the Campia Turzii base, enabling it to support heavy cargo aircraft and host fighter jets, boosting NATO’s capacities in the Black Sea area.
“We are getting ready to award four projects for construction between May and August 2021,” Darren Walls, a design and construction program manager at the European Deterrence Initiative launched by the US after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, said in a US Air Force statement quoted on Tuesday by Romanian media.
“The upgrade is important because Romania needs to boost its capacity to receive further NATO aircraft in case of a crisis or conflict that require a collective response,” former Romanian official and security expert Claudiu Degeratu told BIRN.
“Romania also needs a second major air base that meets NATO standards so it can serve its newly acquired F-16 jets,” Degeratu added.
He said that Russia’s buildup of troops around the Ukrainian border in April “shows that a quick renovation of the Campia Turzii base is needed”.
Romania and its US allies already have a large NATO airbase at Mihail Kogalniceanu near the Black Sea. The improvements at Campia Turzii will increase the US and NATO’s capabilities to respond to any potential threats and deter Russia in the region.
US Navy Captain Scott Raymont, the US European Command’s Logistic Directorate chief engineer, explained recently that the reconstruction works at Campia Turzii “include the construction of airfield infrastructure and supporting facilities necessary”.
This will enable the base “to sustain the [US] Air Force’s combat operation and surveillance missions while increasing logistics capabilities in the theatre”, he added.
Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the Black Sea has become a strategic priority for the US and NATO defence in Europe, as the Kremlin has heavily increased its activity and presence near the Western military alliance’s south-eastern flank.
As a result, the US and Romania have intensified their military cooperation. Former US President Donald Trump’s administration planned to redeploy some of the US troops he ordered out of Germany last year to Romania and Poland – a move welcomed by Romanian and Polish officials.
On May 10 this year, leaders of Central and Eastern European NATO member states met in Bucharest to discuss the recent mass deployment of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.
“I advocated a bigger presence of the alliance and the US in the south of the [NATO] eastern flank,” Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said he told his US counterpart Joe Biden, who took part in the summit remotely.
Security analyst Degeratu said this was “a message to Biden so he continues Trump’s policy to redeploy troops in the region”.
Romania Unveils Patriot Missile System on Black Sea
Romania has become the first country to have a Patriot surface-to-air missile system in the Black Sea region, an area where Russia is increasingly perceived as a growing threat by Romania, the US and their NATO allies.
The Patriot surface-to-air missile system unveiled today in the Cape Midia, Romania. Photo: BIRN
Romania on Thursday received the first Patriot surface-to-air missile system acquired from US defense giants Raytheon and Lockheed-Martin, which has been hailed as a crucial step towards strengthening the country’s air defences in the Black Sea region, where Russia is increasingly active.
“The set-up of the first Patriot system is only a first step towards building a formidable air defence capability for our country, which will significantly contribute to consolidating deterrence and the defence of NATO on its eastern flank,” Romania’s Defence Minister, Nicolae Ciuca, said at the unveiling ceremony at the Cape Midia military base near the Black Sea port of Constanta.
Following the arrival of the first Patriot missile system, the Romanian military will receive another three missile systems in future. The remaining three missile systems will be delivered from 2022, military sources told BIRN.
Speaking at Cape Midia, the US ambassador to Bucharest, Adrian Zuckerman, saluted the acquisition of the Patriot system as a stride towards Romania becoming capable of defending itself and its NATO allies from threats. He singled out Russia and China among these threats.
The Patriot surface-to-air missile system unveiled today in the Cape Midia, Romania. Photo: BIRN
Romania on Thursday received the first Patriot surface-to-air missile system acquired from US defense giants Raytheon and Lockheed-Martin, which has been hailed as a crucial step towards strengthening the country’s air defences in the Black Sea region, where Russia is increasingly active.
“The set-up of the first Patriot system is only a first step towards building a formidable air defence capability for our country, which will significantly contribute to consolidating deterrence and the defence of NATO on its eastern flank,” Romania’s Defence Minister, Nicolae Ciuca, said at the unveiling ceremony at the Cape Midia military base near the Black Sea port of Constanta.
Following the arrival of the first Patriot missile system, the Romanian military will receive another three missile systems in future. The remaining three missile systems will be delivered from 2022, military sources told BIRN.
Speaking at Cape Midia, the US ambassador to Bucharest, Adrian Zuckerman, saluted the acquisition of the Patriot system as a stride towards Romania becoming capable of defending itself and its NATO allies from threats. He singled out Russia and China among these threats.
Globally, Romania is the 17th country to buy this US-built defence technology – Patriot being the acronym of Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target – and which is capable of intercepting aircraft and both cruise and ballistic missiles.
“The acquisition of these systems solves a big problem for Romania’s national defence system,” military expert Claudiu Degeratu told BIRN. “We inherited only missile systems produced in the former USSR; Romania did not acquire anything of relevance in this field after [the advent of democracy in] 1990,” he added.
Degeratu explained that the purchase of the Patriot systems should be seen in the light of Russia’s “accelerated militarization of the peninsula of Crimea following its annexation of this region”, from Ukraine in 2014.
“The Russian Federation has deployed new fighter aircraft, new modern missile systems, and warships equipped with short, medium and long-range missiles, including supersonic and submarine missiles,” the same expert said.
In recent years, Romania has stepped up its defence capabilities in order to deter Russian advances in the region following the seizure of Crimea.
Since then, Russia has significantly increased its military might in the Black Sea, which Romania and its allies in NATO perceive as a threat.
These and other geopolitical developments have turned Romania into a cornerstone of US and NATO defence strategy in Europe.
Following the withdrawal of nearly 12,000 US troops from Germany, US officials have announced an intention to redeploy some them to Poland and Romania, to reinforce deterrence of Russia on NATO’s eastern flank.
The US already has two military bases in Romania and is planning to invest in turning the former Soviet airbase of Campia Turzii in Transylvania into a major hub from which to boost reconnaissance patrols over the Black Sea.
Monday, November 29, 2021
p> The Philippines is a frontline of another cold war
The Philippines is a frontline of another cold war
Like in the Cold War, the United States is attempting to contain the influence of a great power rival in Southeast Asia. To counter China, the United States' approach to its relationship with the Philippines invokes déjà vu. Despite the passing of decades, the players, strategy and results remain the same.
First, the players. Many who have studied U.S.-Philippines relations during the Cold War focus on the relationship between President Reagan and the infamous Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. This is because Ronald Reagan was the quintessential "cold warrior" whose administration attempted to counter communist influence by supporting U.S.-aligned dictators the world over.
What gets less attention is President Carter's own complicity in propping up the Marcos regime. Carter, often categorized as a human rights-focused president, supported the Marcos regime after the declaration of martial law in the Philippines in an effort to keep U.S. access to military bases on the archipelago. While it is debatable whether Joe Biden is the new Jimmy Carter, he is a Democratic president who is claiming that his administration prioritizes human rights while navigating relationships with regimes that have dubious human rights records.
On the Philippines side, the comparison of President Rodrigo Duterte to Ferdinand Marcos is obvious: Duterte's drug war, encouragement of extrajudicial killings, shuttering of critical media and scoffing at international law echo the Marcos regime's myriad abuses. What's more, the children of both Marcos and Duterte are running on both parents' legacies in the Philippines presidential election.
Second, the strategy. The Philippines is, once again, seen as a geopolitically necessary bulwark against a superpower that threatens U.S. hegemony in the region. And again, the U.S. approach to containment is a prioritization of military superiority against China through access to bases on the Philippines.
To maintain access to these bases, the U.S. buys off the Philippine government with a steady stream of security assistance, turns a blind eye when atrocities are committed with said security assistance and reassures the Philippine government of lasting support whenever international or domestic criticisms are made.
Like in the first Cold War, the Philippine government is being given materials to engage domestic enemies, not foreign aggressors. Even with the most recently proposed arms sale of 10 F-16 fighter jets and a Harpoon Block II anti-ship missile system, the Philippines is no match for full-scale combat with the Chinese military and must rely on the military might of the U.S. to protect it. This approach does not foster sovereignty and self-determination; it leads to dependency and lackeyism.
Lastly, the results. In both cold wars, ordinary citizens at the crossroads of conflict were sacrificed. During the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, it is estimated that 3,257 people were murdered and 35,000 were tortured by the U.S.-backed Philippine security state. As of now, estimates put Duterte and his security forces' body count at approximately 30,000; this does not figure in the recent spate of killing human rights defenders. Along with Duterte's killings, his crackdown on critical media and political opposition mirrors Marcos's approach to dissent. As with most reigns of terror, we will not know the gravity or magnitude of the abuses committed until the regime has long disappeared.
What happened after Marcos's ouster was a critical reevaluation by the Filipino people of the Philippines' relationship with the United States due to the United States' unwavering support of Marcos.
As a result, the reawakened democracy voted in 1991 not to ratify a treaty that allowed the U.S. access to bases in the Philippines. It wasn't until 2014, with the signing of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, that the U.S. was allowed to fully station bases in the Philippines. If the U.S. is determined to follow the exact same approach in the new cold war with regards to the Philippines, a similar backlash is bound to occur.
Setting aside the questionable utility of participating in another cold war, the United States owes it to the people of the Philippines not to repeat the mistakes we made in the first Cold War. This starts with distancing ourselves from human rights abusers who will cause more harm than good in the long term, and taking steps to demonstrate that human rights are a priority.
One substantial way to do this is to limit U.S. military aid to the armed forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police. By withholding security assistance until perpetrators of human rights violations are held accountable for their actions, the U.S. creates an incentive for the government of the Philippines to develop a framework to address human rights concerns and gives the U.S. moral consistency when criticizing other states of human rights abuses.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
PANDORA PAPERS
PROFILES: Filipino tycoons, government officials in Pandora Papers leak
MANILA, PHILIPPINES
(1st UPDATE) Explore the offshore financial dealings of Arthur Tugade, Dennis Uy, and other Philippine power players in the Pandora Papers
(Done in partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists)
This page, produced by Rappler and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), features the offshore companies linked to more than 35 Filipino politicians, contractors, bankers, and business professionals.
Their profiles are based on a cache of leaked documents from offshore service providers, namely, Trident Trust, Commence Overseas Limited, Overseas Management Company Trust Limited, Asiaciti Trust, and Alcogal.
The documents were shared with Rappler and PCIJ by the non-profit International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which led a global investigation with more than 600 journalists in 117 countries.
PCIJ and Rappler found more than 940 individuals and companies with Philippine addresses in the leaked files.
We sifted through hundreds of emails, documents and corporate records, and selected names that were in the public interest.
We found an extremely small number of accounts are tied to big businesses with legitimate sources, while the rest are mysterious at the very least.
There are legitimate uses of offshore companies, and we do not intend to imply that all of the individuals or companies included in this page were in violation of the law.
PCIJ and Rappler sent requests for comment to all those on the list. The answers we received are included in the profiles.
Arthur Tugade
Arthur P. Tugade is the Philippines’ transport secretary under the Duterte government. Before that, he was president of the Clark Development Corp. under the Aquino administration.
IN THE DATA:
Tugade and his children appear in Trident Trust records as beneficial owners of Solart Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company which appears to have been operating at least since 2007.
The offshore company was supposedly created for the income of the Tugade family’s businesses under Perry’s Group of Companies, Trident records show. Company assets worth $1.5 million (P75 million) were mentioned, but it is unknown whether the amount was transferred to Solart.
The offshore entity is not declared in the list of businesses in his yearly Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.
RESPONSE:
On October 5, 2021, a day after the Pandora Papers were published, Tugade issued a statement, saying that Solart Holdings was set up to hold a portion of his family’s cash assets.
“It is a legitimate attempt to grow our financial portfolio like what any astute and judicious entrepreneurs would do to diversify their investments. We decided to have a portion of our savings invested outside the Philippines, which is valid and legal,” he said.
Tugade said he consistently disclosed ownership of “offshore investments” in his SALN from 2012 to 2020. “In the said period, the account barely moved,” the transport chief said.
Dennis Uy
Dennis Uy is a businessman with interests in shipping and logistics, gas distribution, telecommunications and other industries. Uy donated P30 million to Rodrigo R. Duterte’s presidential campaign in 2016 and was later appointed presidential adviser for sports. He has also been serving as honorary consul to Kazakhstan since 2011.
IN THE DATA:
Uy appears in Commence Overseas Limited records as the beneficial owner of China Shipbuilding and Exports Corp., a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company registered in 2016.
He is also listed as director of Pacific Rider Limited in Overseas Management Company (OMC) Trust Limited records. Pacific Rider is another BVI company registered in January 2017. Uy’s company, Udenna Management and Resources Corp., is identified as the principal shareholder of Pacific Rider.
Uy is also a stockholder of Apex Mining Co., Inc, a Philippine corporation that ultimately holds Monte Oro Mining Co. Ltd., another BVI company managed through Commence.
In the prospectus of one of Uy’s companies, Chelsea Logistics and Holdings Corp., which was published before its initial public offering, the company declared that Chelsea purchased three tank vessels from China Shipbuilding and Exports Corp. (CSEC), one each in 2011, 2013, and 2014. The collective cost of the three vessels is $48.3 million. Chelsea disclosures did not indicate that CSEC is also owned by Uy.
RESPONSE:
PCIJ and Rappler sent a letter to Mr. Uy on September 16 via email and made several followups. We have not received a response as of press time.
Juan Andres ‘Andy’ Bautista
Juan Andres “Andy” Bautista served the administration of President Benigno Aquino III in two capacities.
He was appointed as chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government in 2010 and chairman of the Commission of Elections in 2015. The House of Representatives started an impeachment proceeding against Bautista in 2017, following allegations of unexplained wealth by his estranged wife. Bautista resigned from Comelec in October 2017.
Before his stint in government, he served in various law firms, including Anglo Oriental Consulting Ltd. (Manila), White & Case (Hong Kong/New York), Troutman Sanders (Atlanta), and Castillo Laman Tan & Pantaleon (Manila). He was also a partner with international law firm Allen & Overy.
IN THE DATA:
Bautista appears in Trident Trust records as incorporator of Baumann Enterprises Limited, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands in 2010. The offshore company was reincorporated in 2017.
In the same year, Bautista was in hot water after his estranged wife, Patricia Paz Bautista, claimed he had a boxful of bank books and documents for undeclared wealth worth P1 billion. Baumann was one of the companies mentioned by Patricia to the press as a firm owned by her husband.
Before the year ended, Bautista had resigned from his post as Comelec chair, and left the Philippines. Baumann has never been declared in Bautista’s Statement of Liabilities, Assets and Net Worth (SALN) from 2010 to 2015.
RESPONSE:
In an email, Bautista said Baumann Enterprises is a shelf company his family purchased upon the advice of the Bank of Singapore (BOS), the institution in charge of the offshore income of the Bautista family through private banking.
“We were told this was normal private banking practice to facilitate our family’s desired objective of pooling our assets together,” he said.
The former Comelec chairman also noted he and his other family members had not directly dealt with Trident. He also reiterated that his personal assets in the company “were reported and duly reflected” in his SALNs.
However, Bauman has never been declared as his in his SALNs from 2010 to 2015.
Still, he contends he had not stolen any public funds from the Philippine government, “nor do I possess any ill-gotten wealth.”
Aboitiz family
The Aboitiz family owns one of the oldest conglomerates in the Philippines, the Aboitiz Group. It was founded by Filipino-Spanish businessman Jon Ramon M. Aboitiz in the 1970s. The conglomerate has interests in power generation, banking, real estate and infrastructure.
IN THE DATA:
Pandora Papers show several members of the Aboitiz family as having offshore companies, but only one has been mentioned publicly to be used for business purposes: Nice Fruit Hong Kong Ltd., a company registered in Hong Kong. Asiaciti Trust records show that 14% of the company’s shares is owned by Txanton International Limited, a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company. It is in turn, indirectly owned by Enrique Mendieta Aboitiz, current board chairman of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, as his trust in the firm is held by an individual named Leung Yi Ki. Nice Fruit, a joint venture with Del Monte Pacific Limited, and listed by the latter in its annual reports as such.
Enrique has three other BVI companies as revealed in Alcogal records: Arcata Group Limited, All Venus Limited, and Radiant Magic Limited. He also has two Seychelles companies: Permanent Victory Limited and Cloud Victory Limited.
Meanwhile, Maria Cristina Cabbarus Aboitiz, who is a current board member of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., and wife of the late Robert Aboitiz, appears in the AsiaCiti Trust records as the beneficial owners of Woodcrest Hill Limited and Stillcho Trust.
Trident Trust records also show Melissa Marie Aboitiz Elizalde as the beneficial owner of Ozmond Holdings Limited and Santdomico Corporation. She is among the top 100 shareholders of Aboitiz Power Corp., a listed firm in the Philippines.
She also co-owns Igsoon Investment Limited with her siblings, Luis Miguel Osmena Aboitiz, the former chief strategy officer of Aboitiz Power, and Mary Anne Aboitiz Arculli.
RESPONSE:
PCIJ and Rappler sent a letter to the Aboitiz family on September 16 via email and made several followups. We have not received a response as of press time.
Gaisano family
The Gaisano family owns the publicly-listed Metro Retail Stores Group and the private mall operator Gaisano Grand Malls Group.
IN THE DATA:
Siblings Frank, Edward, Jack, and Margaret Gaisano appear in the Commence Overseas Limited list as beneficial owners of Beacon-Glory Assets Limited, Cathedral Pacific Limited, Chinaberry Asia Limited, and Pura Group Limited.
RESPONSE:
Frank Gaisano, through their lawyers, said that the BVI companies were made “for offshore business opportunities.”
The Gaisano family chose to incorporate the companies outside of the Philippines “for cost and tax efficiency.”
“There is no Philippine law that requires Filipinos (those not working in the government) to declare to Philippine authorities the offshore companies that they own or invest in,” their statement read.
Gatchalian family
The Gatchalian family rose to prominence as operators of plastic manufacturing facilities under the Wellex Group Inc. (WGI). The Gatchalian patriarch, William T. Gatchalian, founded the firm in 1969.
For the past five decades, the family has expanded its interests to include real estate, tourism, banking, and mining.
In 2001, the second generation of Gatchalians, led by now-Senator Sherwin, joined the political arena. Sherwin served as representative of Valenzuela City in Congress from 2001 to 2004, then as mayor of the city from 2004 until 2013, then back as congressman for another term, before getting elected to the Senate in 2016. His brothers have held the mayoral and congressional seats since he vacated them.
These political developments happened as members of the Gatchalian family, including Sherwin, were indicted in 2016 for the government’s alleged irregular acquisition of an insolvent bank owned by WGI.
In 2019, the Local Water Utilities Administration acquired Express Savings Bank Inc., a local thrift bank based in Laguna, a province south of Metro Manila.
IN THE DATA:
Members of the Gatchalian family – namely, William and his wife, Dee Hua; his son, Kenneth; and Dee Hua’s sister, Elvira Ting – are linked to at least nine offshore companies, as shown in Commence Overseas Limited records.
William and Dee Hua are named as direct beneficiaries of Creston Global Limited. Dee Hua is also named as sole direct beneficiary of Topwin Ventures Limited and Dedication Limited. She co-owns Silver Green Investments Limited and Polymax Worldwide Limited with Elvira Ting as well.
Meanwhile, Kenneth is found to be a direct beneficiary of Dynamo Atlantic Limited, Pentagon Development Limited and Overjoy Holdings Limited. He also co-owns Firstlink Investments Limited with Elvira Ting. There are no details of when the companies were incorporated, except for Dedication Limited, which was revealed to have been registered in the British Virgin Islands in 1992.
Polymax Worldwide Limited is the only publicly declared entity. Metro Alliance Holdings Corp., a WGI subsidiary, incorporated the company in 2003, Metro Alliance annual reports show. Polymax was used to acquire the controversial Bataan Polyethelyne Corp. from International Finance Corp. in 2005.
BPC was debt-ridden when Metro Alliance acquired it. Metro Alliance also never got to operate the facility. Instead, Polymax sold its shares to Iran-based NPC International Limited and Petrochemical Industries Investment Group, to offload its liabilities.
RESPONSE:
Nikki Jimeno, the Gatchalian family’s legal counsel, said the offshore companies were incorporated for “legitimate investment purposes” as they would like to explore “global trading”.
Jimeno also noted stockholders of its companies were notified of the activity. Among the offshore companies found in the Pandora Papers, only Polymax Worldwide Limited were disclosed in the annual reports of Metro Alliance Holdings & Equities Corp.
Olivares and Santos families
The Olivares and Santos families own Our Lady of Fatima University, which has six campuses across the Philippines. The institution started from the establishment of Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in Valenzuela in 1967. By the next decade, they expanded and opened the Our Lady of Fatima College of Nursing. Since then the institution has opened campuses in different parts of Luzon.
IN THE DATA:
August Olivares Santos, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Our Lady of Fatima University, appears in Commence records as the beneficial owner of 7-21st Street Investments Inc., a company registered in the British Virgin Islands in 2008. A 2012 document shows that at least six relatives are also directors of the company. They are Enrico John Olivares Santos, Mylene Olivares Santos, Robert Jerome Bjorn Olivares Santos, Vicente Olivares Santos Jr., and Yvonne Olivares Santos. All of them are either current members or once served on the board of Our Lady of Fatima University.
August Olivares Santos also appears in Trident Trust and Commence Overseas records as director of two other offshore firms: Fairbrook Overseas Limited and Waterberry Management Limited, companies registered in the British Virgin Islands.
RESPONSE:
PCIJ and Rappler sent a letter to the Olivares and Santos families on September 16 via email, and made several followups. We have not received a response as of press time.
The Sy family
The Sy siblings – Henry, Hans, Harley, Elizabeth, Herbert, and Teresita – own the SM Group. Forbes ranked them as the richest Filipinos, collectively worth $16.6 billion.
IN THE DATA:
The names of Henry, Hans, Harley, Elizabeth, Herbert, and Teresita appear in the Commence Overseas Limited records as owners of Quicksilver Global Limited and Valueplus Resources Limited.
The list also states that Teresita and Harley are the beneficial owners of Deercreek Worldwide Limited.
Harley is also said to be the beneficial owner of Crownhill Overseas Limited, Equimax Worldwide Limited, Simplex Group Limited, Broadbase Global Limited, and Pioneer Zone Investments Limited.
Teresita is listed as the owner of Antares Resources Limited and Accura International Limited.
Harley and Teresita were also mentioned as owners of Jetstream Capital Limited.
RESPONSE:
PCIJ and Rappler sent a letter to the SM Group on September 20 via email, and made several followups. We have not received a response as of press time.
Tantoco family
The Tantoco family founded luxury retail chain Rustans and own the SSI Group, the Philippines’ largest specialty retailer.
IN THE DATA:
The names of SSI president and director Anthony Tantoco Huang and its CEO Zenaida Tantoco appear in the Commence Overseas Limited list as beneficial owners of Transwell Worldwide Limited and Eaglepass International Limited.
RESPONSE:
PCIJ and Rappler sent a letter to SSI on September 20 via email. We have not received a response as of press time.
Joselito ‘Butch’ Campos Jr.
Campos is the founder of food and condiments firm NutriAsia Inc. In 2006, the firm bought a majority stake in Singapore-based Del Monte Pacific Limited.
Campos also has interests in real estate and pharmaceuticals through his father’s businesses, Greenfield Development Corp. and Unilab Laboratories Inc. The food tycoon is known among the local art circle to be a collector. Campos chairs the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and the Bonifacio Arts Foundation Inc.
IN THE DATA:
Pandora Papers do not show Campos as a beneficial owner of any offshore firm, but he is revealed to have done business with one. In 2011 and 2015, Campos bought art pieces through Montefalco Limited, a Hong Kong-based offshore firm.
Asiaciti records reveal Montefalco facilitated Campos’ art purchases abroad. The two transactions, which at one point involved a purchase of a Fernando Amorsolo oil painting, were worth $150,000 and £160,000, respectively.
RESPONSE:
In an email, Antonio Ungson, internal legal counsel of Del Monte Pacific Limited, said Campos is “a private citizen and has purchased artworks only in his personal capacity.”
Ungson reiterated that Campos does not have beneficial interest in Montefalco Limited.
Helen Dee
Helen Dee is the chair of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC).
The bank was used by cyber criminals to steal $81 million from the Bangladesh Bank in February 2016.
IN THE DATA:
Helen Dee appears in Trident Trust records as the beneficial owner of Jason Holding Ltd. and Neenah Ltd., two companies registered in the British Virgin Islands in 1988 and 1994, respectively.
In April 2016, amid the Bangladesh Bank heist investigations, records show that Dee changed the agent in charge of these two companies, from Trident Trust to MMG Trust. There are no details on what the companies are being used for.
RESPONSE:
PCIJ and Rappler sent a letter to Ms. Dee on September 16, via email, and made several followups. We have not received a response as of press time.
Rolando Gapud
Rolando Gapud is the executive chairman of the board of Del Monte Pacific Limited.
He served as “financial adviser” to the Marcos family. He would later on help identify the family’s assets for government retrieval.
IN THE DATA:
Gapud appears in Asiaciti Trust records as the beneficial owner of Retiro II Trust (Cook Islands) and Northwick Holdings Limited (British Virgin Islands). His wife and six children were also identified as direct beneficiaries.
As of 2014, Northwick Holdings Limited owns 40% of a company called Great Arian Property Holdings Co. Inc. in the Philippines. Gapud had also disclosed in Asiaciti Trust records that Retiro II Trust would comprise of “properties held in the Philippines by BVI companies which he owns and administers personally.” The communication was made in 2014. In the same year, Gapud was named as chairman of Del Monte Foods Inc.
RESPONSE:
In an email, he said “the trust and Northwick Holdings were formed upon the advice of our lawyers for estate planning purposes.”
Gapud noted the trust and Northwick were never activated and have remained dormant.
“No assets were ever added to the trust or Northwick,” he added.
Oscar Hilado
Oscar Hilado is director of several companies with interests in telecommunications, tourism and mining. He is chair of publicly listed firm Phinma Corp. since 2003. In 2015, he became an independent director of Rockwell Land Corp.
IN THE DATA:
Hilado appears in Commence records as the beneficial owner of Merrylink International Limited, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
RESPONSE:
Hilado said the company was established as part of an investment portfolio plan “that was ultimately not pursued.” He said the company is now closed.
Enrique Razon Jr.
Enrique Razon Jr., chairman of International Container Terminal Services, the country's leading terminal operator, has been on in Forbes’ list of 10 richest Filipinos since 2011.
In the past decade, Razon has expanded to hospitality and infrastructure business, through Bloomberry Resorts and Prime Infrastructure Holdings, respectively. He also has business interests in water distribution, retail, and mining.
Razon has bagged key infrastructure projects in the past five years. Razon’s infrastructure firm, Prime Infra, got a water dam project and the rights to distribute electricity in a provincial island town in the Philippines.
Recently, Razon was allowed to build a mega vaccination site on reclaimed land in Metro Manila.
IN THE DATA:
Razon appears in 2016 Commence Overseas Limited records as the beneficial owner Monte Oro Mining Co Ltd. (MOMCL), a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Apex Mining Co Inc., a mining company registered in the Philippines, indicated in its annual reports that MOMCL is a subsidiary of Monte Oro Resources & Energy, Inc. (MORE).
MOMCL was incorporated in 2016, and lists the Filipino billionaire as a direct beneficiary.
Razon owns 40% of the shares of Apex Mining Co Inc. Apex annual reports also show that MOMCL owns a gold mining project in the Republic of Sierra Leone in West Africa.
Aside from MOMCL, Razon also appears in Commence records as a direct beneficiary of Saxony Asia Limited, a company registered in 2016.
RESPONSE:
PCIJ and Rappler sent a letter to Mr. Razon on September 16 via email. We have not received a response as of press time.
Peter Rodriguez
Peter Rodriguez is the founder of Asian Aerospace Corp., an air charter operator. The company is considered a pioneer in the local industry.
In 2001, Asian Aerospace Corp. partnered with U.S.-based arms and defense firm Lockheed Martin Corp. for a P2.1-billion deal with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
PCIJ reported Lockheed was looking to sell military planes to the then Arroyo-led Philippine government, and delivered the units even before a final contract was signed.
IN THE DATA:
Rodriguez appears in Commence Overseas Limited records as the beneficial owner of Skyjet International Group Limited. The company was incorporated in 2017 in the British Virgin Islands.
Skyjet looks to be used for the trade of aircrafts, as a press release from 2011 shows it sold a $18.5-million plane to Glory Key Investments Limited.
RESPONSE:
Rodriguez said the company was established for “business purposes.” As to whether the transactions he made through these companies were reported to concerned agencies is unknown.
Elmer Serrano
Elmer B. Serrano is a lawyer of the Sy family, owners of SM Prime Inc. and SM Investments Inc. The family operates the largest mall chain in the Philippines, and the country’s biggest bank in terms of assets.
Serrano sits as secretary of several Sy-owned firms, including 2GO, SM Prime Holdings, Premium Leisure Corp., and Banco dDe Oro Savings Bank.
IN THE DATA:
Serrano appears in Asiaciti Trust records as director of Myddleton Holdings Ltd., a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. He was appointed in 2018. Information on the beneficial owners or the purpose of the company are not available.
RESPONSE:
PCIJ and Rappler sent a letter to Mr. Serrano on September 16 via email. We have not received a response as of press time.
Wenceslao family
Delfin Wenceslao Jr. is president and director of real estate firm DM Wenceslao & Associates Inc. In 2003, the firm expanded to construction with the incorporation of Aseana Holdings Inc. The company has since been specializing in developing reclaimed land, with the 204-hectare Aseana City in Pasay as its flagship project.
Wenceslao Jr. passed away last September 22 at the age of 77.
IN THE DATA:
Wenceslao has appeared in Commence records as director of a British Virgin Islands company, Crown Star Ventures Limited, as early as 2001. By 2014, he included his children – Carlos Delfin, Delfin Angelo, and Edwin Michael – as co-directors of the company.
In a report by Esquire Philippines, Delfin Angelo said it was the same year the company created a “family constitution,” which detailed “the goals, concerns, rules and even dispute resolution mechanics of the family with regards to the business.” All of his sons serve on the board of DM Wenceslao & Associates Inc., with Delfin Angelo now sitting as CEO.
A 2017 document also shows Wenceslao’s wife, Sylvia Chua Wenceslao, as beneficial owner of Crown Star Ventures Limited.
RESPONSE:
PCIJ and Rappler sent a letter to DM Wenceslao & Associates Inc. on September 16 via email, but learned that he passed away on September 22.
We made follow-ups with DM Wenceslao since. We have not received a response as of press time.
Monte Oro Resources and Energy
Monte Oro Resources & Energy Inc. (MORE) is a corporation wholly owned by Apex Mining Co. Inc. Among Apex Mining’s stockholders are: Ramon Y. Sy, Walter W. Brown, Graciano P. Yumul Jr., Modesto B. Bermudez, and Dennis A. Uy.
A. Brown Company Inc. and Prime Metroline Holdings Inc. are also among Apex’s top stockholders. A. Brown is owned by Walter W. Brown. Prime Metroline is owned by Enrique K. Razon Jr.
IN THE DATA:
Monte Oro Resources & Energy Inc. (MORE) appears in Commence records as the major shareholder of Monte Oro Mining Co. Ltd., a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Monte Oro Mining Co. Ltd. (MOMCL) is 90% owned by Monte Oro Resources & Energy Inc. (MORE) while the remaining 10% is owned by Walter W. Brown, according to a 2017 email.
In a 2016 Commence record, Razon was indicated as the beneficial owner of MOMCL.
RESPONSE:
Billy Torres, vice president for finance and compliance officer of APEX Mining Co. Inc. confirmed that Monte Oro Mining Co. Ltd. is owned 90% by Monte Oro Resources & Energy Inc. In turn, Monte Oro Resources and Energy Inc. is owned 100% by Apex Mining Co. Ltd. (APX).
Torres said Monte Oro Mining Co. Ltd. has an exploration project in Sierra Leone, and noted “it is normal to establish offshore companies to hold offshore projects.”
Jose Carlo Antonio
Jose Carlo Antonio is managing director of listed property giant Century Properties. Prior to joining the company in 2007, he worked in the investment banking groups of Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.
IN THE DATA:
Antonio’s name appears in the list by Commence Overseas Limited as beneficial owner of Bantam Enterprises Limited, a company incorporated in British Virgin Islands in 2013.
RESPONSE:
In an email, Century Properties said that they have endorsed the queries of PCIJ and Rappler to BVI Finance. We will update this story once the company has responded to our request. – Rappler.com/PCIJ
CONTRIBUTORS TO THE ‘PANDORA PAPERS’ PROJECT: Carmela Fonbuena, Miriam Grace A. Go, Karol Ilagan, Elyssa Lopez, Pauline Macaraeg, Ralf Rivas, Felipe Salvosa
ILLUSTRATED PROFILES: Guia Abogado
Other stories in the Pandora Papers Philippines series:
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