Pension? What Pension?!

I was reading the papers recently and came across a column where the writer expressed curiosity over a trust fund that’s supposed to benefit PLDT employees when they retire.  It’s a nice notion, a fund that you can dip from when you’re ready to call it a day on your career – but, upon reading further, it’s anything but beneficial for the employees.  In fact, it looks like someone else stands to benefit from that fund.

PLDT’s Beneficial Trust Fund or BTF is apparently being used to buy up whole TV networks and shares in radio stations and newspapers – and we aren’t talking about just any old media outfit, we’re talking about the big guns: TV5, shares in the Star and Business Mirror, and there was even talk about PLDT’s head honcho buying GMA 7.  But what’s got PLDT’s employees running scared is that these acquisitions are all losing money at a pretty fast clip – and there are nasty rumors circulating that this is all a front that will lead to the Indonesians (It was in the news: the Salims are the real power behind PLDT.) taking over Philippine media.  What the hell?!  And that still isn’t all: other rumors say that it’s all a ploy to put PLDT big man Manny Pangilinan in Malacanang come 2016!  Again: what the hell?!?

Honestly, it all smacks of transparency here because the PLDT employees are up in arms.  Considering that the BTF was created for their benefit, they’re going to be on the losing end if no one gets to the bottom of this business of buying up TV stations that seem to be going to pot.  Someone had better look into that BTF (and the companies formed under it: BTF Holdings and Media Quest) soon.  I may not be a patriot, but I don’t care much for the notion of foreigners running the show.