MANILA, Philippines - (Thumbs up) Word has it that that a very famous European football player now owns an island in Coron area. Palawan is earthquake-free, and the islands in the north are said to act as barriers against any potential tsunami.

The next chic thing, it seems, is island-shopping in Palawan.
With Boracay being as packed as a Greenbelt, weekend escapees (high-end demographics, that is) are going elsewhere. A young tycoon (old rich family) and his wife have given up their Boracay home to buy a place in Palawan.

Steve Tajanglangit, one of Boracay?s pioneer developers, is launching on July 30, the country?s first floating hotel, the 7,107 Islands cruise ship. It will travel around the tourism triangle of Puerto Galera, Boracay and Coron.

Touted as the next jewel in the tourism crown, Coron is being developed as the gateway of the Calamianes group of islands, which Tajanglangit is promoting.

Dubbed ?Asia?s last frontier,? the Calamianes group consists of 680 islands in the northern tip of Palawan. The country?s elite and foreigners, weary of overdeveloped Boracay, are setting their sights on the area and building their homes there.
Answer to Maldives

?Calamianes is the Philippines? answer to Maldives, only better because the islands are higher,? says Tajanglangit.

Although known for its mangroves, Coron is building a harbor town consisting of two convention centers, deluxe resorts and shopping centers.

This destination is now being serviced by Philippine Airlines, Seair and Asian Spirit. Plans are afoot to build an international airport.

Coron has only 300 rooms for tourists, so Tajanglangit?s cruise ship will serve as temporary hotel. It has 137 tropical-theme cabins with 353 beds, replete with modern amenities. There is a fitness center, spa, beauty salon, function room, entertainment lounge and international buffet meals.

Tajanglangit and some partners own a few islands in the Calamnianes group. He plans to develop only a portion of the islands to preserve the environment. Since he owns prime land in Station One, including Boracay Terraces Resort, Tajanglangit has learned lessons from this popular destination.

?Boracay can?t compete with Phuket or Bali because these islands are bigger. But when you overdevelop Boracay, the value of the property will shrink,? he says.

Incidentally, businessman Iñigo Zobel bought the lot behind Boracay Terraces from Tajanglangit and built his home there, estimated at P57 million. He sold the house and lot to George Yang, Dodie Puno, et. al. for a mere US$3 million (roughly P17,000 per square meter inclusive of the Locsin-built home and tropical garden by Adrian Lizares).

Carlos Chan, owner of Oishi, bought a neighboring lot for P15,000 per square meter, which only covers land.

Here?s what to remember if you?re thinking of buying an island or two:

1. Decide whether it is for investment or private use, which will dictate the size of the property you?re buying. Sizes vary from 6 hectares to over a hundred.

2. Triple-check ownership of properties and titles. Check also if it?s a tax declaration. A tax declaration property is as good as ownership as long as annual taxes are paid. A property with cadaster is ready for titling.

3. Make sure there is water supply.

4. If you can, buy other properties surrounding your land. This saves you from becoming a ?there goes the neighborhood? victim. You can eventually sell the surrounding properties for a profit to chosen friends, or even to an international hotel chain.

5. Every island has on one side a sandy area and a back side that?s the opposite. And all islands, coves and peninsulas have their own advantages and disadvantages. Do not waste time looking for a perfect one.

6. Prices differ depending on the width of the beachfront, how many beaches the property has, the terrain of the island, the distance of the property to the mainland and other important factors. Consult professionals before forking over money.

7. Use a reliable realtor from the city, who deal directly with the locals. They have been in the island property business long enough. They do all the legal paperwork down to the last detail, such as supplying a permanent watchman to guard and protect your acquired property and submitting monthly reports, and they are very thorough in double-checking legal documents. They also have the best and exclusive listings of properties for sale.

8. When investing, inquire about future developments in the mainland like plans for an airport, the expansion of the existing one, road developments, perhaps a future marina or port and other planned infrastructure. Busuanga has an airport and is the gateway to the Calamianes Group of Islands.

9. After having found one, don?t sleep over it. It could be sold to someone else the next day.

(Thumbs up) Retailing gone green

Marks & Spencer is doing its part to help the environment. Its stores in the Philippines will start using paper bags made of biodegradable material. The new paper bag is part of Marks & Spencer?s Plan A campaign to Reduce Waste?Reuse and Recycle.

By working closely with suppliers and customers, Marks & Spencer will do its part to combat climate change, reduce waste, safeguard natural resources, trade ethically and build a healthier nation through a project called Plan A.

From coffee and tea, to chocolates, to organic cotton T-shirts, Marks & Spencer is committed to responsible sourcing.

Its stylish trousers are made of recycled polyester.

Bottles collected from neighborhood recycling programs are delivered to a recycling company, cleaned and then put into a big machine to crush them into tiny flakes.
The flakes are melted and then split into the two chemicals that make polyester?a process called polymerization. From this the polyester yarn is made, which is then passed on to a polyester manufacturer who makes the garment. The transformation from bottle to Marks & Spencer trouser takes about six months.

For men, there?s the Blue Harbour Golf recycled gilet. Recycled trousers for women are available in all Marks & Spencer stores.

Marks & Spencer has also removed hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and unnecessary preservatives from a wide range of food products.

The sunflower logo on packaging is on Marks & Spencer? ?Eat Well? range.

(Thumbs down)?Pasa load??! How chic

At cocktails last Tuesday, overheard was a tragic-comic tale. A publishing executive was saying how shocked he/she was to learn that their very stylish glossy magazine editor in chief was a victim of scam text messages asking for ?pasa load.?

The hoax goes this way: The text message is sent to the social network of the editor, asking if they could give ?pasa load? to the editor.
Turned out, the names of editors of other glossies have been used as well in the scam text.

Thank god, the executive said, nobody fell for it. (If this were New York, could you imagine Anna Wintour asking for pasa load?)