MEDIUM RARE

That L, in my book, stands for Legendary, although the complete initials spell Luis C. Singson. Does anybody know Chavit Singson by his Christian or any other name or aliases? Local (and legendary) kingpin, a kingmaker even outside his beloved Ilocos Sur, a national and oftentimes controversial newsmaker, now a billionaire businessman whose latest investment lies outside our islands – a 4 ha Philippine economic zone in Korea dedicated to entertaining tourists via a beach resort, hotel, recreation and leisure facilities and amenities. Why in Korea? Well, Chavit already has a hotel (converted from the Singsons’ ancestral house) in Vigan City and a palatial “white house” outside city limits that has been converted into a hotel called Casa Blanca.

While pursuing his business interests with the zeal of a man half his age – “My children must learn to fend for themselves when I’m gone,” meaning they’ve work to learn and do – Chavit is calling it quits as mayor of Narvacan and president of the League of Municipalities at the same time that Rodrigo Duterte is stepping down and out of Malacañang. Chavit’s contribution to the current election campaign is his prediction that a fellow-Ilocano will be the next president “by winning by a landslide.” Philippine politics will surely be less colorful without LCS; they don’t make politicos like him anymore. Not that he’s resting on his laurels. For one thing, he’s here, there, everywhere erecting more telephone towers with DITO. “We need 70,000 to 100,000 towers” and we’re nowhere near those figures. He’s also planning to bring in from China e-buses good for 26 passengers. Those things cost P2 million each, but the LCS Group is willing to cut the price in half as soon as our operators and drivers decide they’re living in a modern era of transportation efficiency minus the evil twin of pollution.

Decades ago, it was Chavit’s pride and joy to point out how the economy of Ilocos Sur improved by literally riding on a generation of cheap but efficient scooters and motorcycles that enabled his constituents to grow their little businesses.

These days, soon-to-be private citizen LCS is not hiding his pride and joy, a bullet-proof armored car that he swears is “made in the Philippines by BMW or Baluarte Motor Works.”