MANILA, Philippines?Don?t expect fireworks at San Miguel Corp. (SMC) between the sons of chair Eduardo ?Danding? Cojuangco Jr. and president Ramon S. Ang despite rumors of simmering tension between the two camps.

But at the same time, former lawmaker Carlos ?Charlie? Cojuangco said the distance that he and his brother, Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, were keeping from the affairs of one of the Philippines? biggest conglomerates was in keeping with their father?s orders.

?We have no rivalry. We are good soldiers. Let?s leave it at that,? he said when asked about the Cojuangco brothers? purported rivalry with Ang, who now runs SMC as its chief operating officer.

Following orders

Asked whether their being ?good soldiers? in allowing Ang free rein to manage SMC was on account of their father?s wishes, Charlie Cojuangco said: ?Yes, we follow orders.?

Persistent reports that Danding Cojuangco was gravely ill have been generating rumors of rivalries among family members and associates.

The 74-year-old tycoon and chair emeritus of the Nationalist People?s Coalition, the party that he founded in 1992, is often the subject of rumors regarding his role as a political kingpin.

But lately, his poor health?and even, in at least three instances last year, his purported death?has been the topic of anonymous text messages.

Not cancer

Asked about his father?s health, Charlie Cojuangco told the Inquirer Wednesday night that the tycoon was being treated for an irregular heartbeat?and not cancer, as was often rumored.

He said his father?s medical condition had been improving after treatments in the United States late last year and a number of recent visits to St. Luke?s Medical Center in Quezon City.

During one such confinement at St. Luke?s in December 2009, the tycoon was said to have voluntarily given up his hospital suite and moved to a room in the basement to give way to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was to undergo an executive checkup that weekend.

Ms Arroyo later visited the tycoon in his room when she learned that he was also confined in the hospital, Charlie Cojuangco confirmed.

Ablation

On the phone with the Philippine Daily Inquirer in Bacolod City on Wednesday night, Mark Cojuangco said: ?My dad is fine and well.?

He said his father had been confined in the hospital again but had since been discharged.

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who was with the Cojuangcos at their home in Quezon City on Wednesday night, also confirmed that Danding Cojuangco was fine and at home.

?All the procedures done on my dad in the United States were completely successful,? Mark Cojuangco said.

He said his father underwent an ablation by microwave in the United States last November.

An ablation is used to treat an abnormal heart rhythm through a surgical or non-surgical procedure.

But the medicine prescribed to Danding Cojuangco in the United States apparently had ill effects on his stomach.

?This has led to apprehensions about the condition of his stomach, leading to more tests being done,? the lawmaker said.

He added that on hindsight, the tycoon would not have had to go to and from the hospital had he undergone a complete executive checkup.

Read between the lines

Asked about their future role in SMC, Charlie Cojuangco said: ?Me and my brother, we know our place.

?You?re not going to get more from me. What I said is a lot. If you know how to read between the lines, that?s what it is.?

He said his father clearly had ?a high degree of confidence? in Ang?s business acumen.

Over the last two years, Ang engineered the transformation of SMC from a food and beverage firm into a conglomerate with interests in power generation and distribution, telecommunications, banking, property development and infrastructure?all the while retaining majority control of the traditional food business units.

?Not ours?

He also said he and his brother were not planning to be actively involved in the management of SMC.

?That company is not ours,? he said by way of explaining the nature of SMC as a publicly listed firm.

?If ever that ends up with us [in the event that ongoing legal battles go the Cojuangcos? way], we [will be] just stockholders,? he said, adding:

?For us, being stockholders of an institution, we don?t want the institution to shrink. We want it to grow.

?I?m a small shareholder with only a few thousand shares to my name.?

Charlie Cojuangco sought to put to rest all the talk about any rivalry with Ang, saying they were ?not competing for the same space.?

?We?re not part of the management of the company, so there?s no competition,? he said.

He added that he even felt frustrated at having been prohibited by his father from doing business with SMC, on grounds of corporate governance. With a report from Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas