Identity of offenses leads to double jeopardy MEMBER Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers PPI can be accessed at: manilastandard.net Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Baldwin R. Felipe Head—Ad Solutions Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

has built lodges for the rich and famous.

It is now a fully occupied hillside community, with all the amenities like a gymnasium where the young can play basketball and tennis, a chapel and even a high-end spa.

The residents do not have to go to the city since Alphaland has provided well-known restaurants rent-free at the entry.

It’s complete with helipads for those who want to go to Baguio by helicopter.

I saw the place when Ongpin’s three- room cottage on a hill was the only habitable thing built, serving as Ongpin’s getaway when he was managing partner of SGV.

I was there to have lunch with Bobby.

Now, it’s a sprawling community, a getaway for the rich and famous.

Oh, I had wished to have one of those units, but at the pricey cost of P40 to P50 million a piece, I couldn’t dream of buying one.

The Alpha Suites and CityClub

This column on “Missing Bobby Ongpin” would not be complete if I do not include the hotel residence that Ongpin built on the former property of Goodyear at the end of Ayala Avenue.

That residence hotel has been called the best place to stay by a survey on hotels.

And, of course, there is the City Club, the premiere leisure and sports club of the country.

Yes, my gulay, I’m a member of the City Club, my eternal thanks to Bobby, who gave me a complimentary membership, minus the eating in its beautiful restaurants.

An era of partnerships

I could not believe it when I read the dominant broadcast network GMA-7 now has partnered with its foremost competitor ABS-CBN.

This was after Congress failed to renew, Santa Banana, its 25-year lease franchise by the National Telecommunications Commission.

This announcement was made by no less than GMA-7 chairman and CEO Felipe Henry Gozon himself amid a slowdown of advertising revenue and expensive production costs.

Gozon said “we are now in an era of partnerships and this has led our expansion to new genres and diversified our revenue streams.”

Gozon was referring to deals with global platforms and even with ABS-CBN, once the giant network, GMA-7 continues to produce its own shows like the highly-rated Filipino-made live action reboot of the 1970s anime classic Voltes V, which Gozon said came with a price tag of P500 million.

Apart from its core business, GMA-7 also invested its excess cash in US telehealth startups.

These include a $2 million commitment with Wavemaker Three-sixty Health (Wavemaker 360), a healthcare focused-US venture capital firm.

My congratulations to GMA-7 and its chairman and CEO, Henry Gozon.

The law requires such installation, and it appears that Lacuna has been negligent in seeing to it that the Post Office Building is regularly inspected by her city hall personnel to find out if the building is compliant with fire safety and protection standards mandated by law.

It seems that Lacuna is so occupied with her advance campaign to get herself re-elected to city hall in the May 2025 midterm elections such that she has not been doing her duty to ensure that buildings in her city are compliant with the law. For that, and like Carlos before her, Lacuna may also face criminal and administrative raps for gross inexcusable negligence.

What happened to the Post Office Building should prompt the authorities to inspect other historic buildings in Manila and to make sure that no fire destroys them in the predictable future.

The inspection should start with the buildings of the University of the Philippines in Ermita, Manila, the Philippine Normal University, and the Far Eastern University; the old MWSS building along Arroceros Street near Manila City Hall; and the buildings at the Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, among others.