Luis "Chavit" Singson, 75, was a long-time governor of Ilocos Sur for almost three decades and a former congressman. Currently, Chavit is a councilor of the small town of Narvacan in the same province.
Today, Chavit says he is more of a businessman than a politician. He was the chairman of LCS Group of Companies which has interests in construction, agriculture, transportation, mining, aviation, media, banking, finance and retail, among other industries.
As a chairman of LCS Group of Companies, Chavit is mainly responsible for bringing the Miss Universe pageant back to Manila. This is the third time the Philippines is hosting the Miss Universe pageant after 1974 and 1994.
After Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach won the Miss Universe crown last year, campaigns were launched to have the Philippines host the prestigious beauty pageant again but President Duterte opposed the plans saying he did not want government to spend on the project.
The proposal was brought to Chavit's attention by his project managers. Chavit initially balked at the steep price tag attached to hosting the Miss Universe pageant.
He said the Miss Universe Organization asked for a non-refundable fee of $1 million upfront. Chavit was then asked to shell out $6 million (Php299 million) as payment for the rights to hold the pageant in the country and another $6 million as budget to mount the production, which includes expenses for accommodation, transportation, meals for the MUO officials, candidates, and production staff, and other expenses.
Chavit’s management team told him there were only two possible outcomes if they said yes to the proposal: they would lose a little money or they would earn a little money.
“So I said yes,” he said. “Besides, it’s good for the country’s tourism. I just told [my team] to make sure that if we were going to lose money, that it would only be minimal.”
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
Chavit was reportedly spent $12 million or Php600 million to buy the luxury yacht, M/Y Happy Life, which has five floors and 16 rooms, some of which are equippedwith Jacuzzi hot tubs. It also has a karaoke room. The luxury boat ferried some of the Miss Universe candidates between Manila and Batangas province in one of the pre-pageant events.
When asked by Entrepreneur.PH in an interview on how much money he's making to be able to afford the expenses for hosting the Miss Universe competition in the country, Chavit said: “My net revenues amount to about Php120 million a month. There are a lot. I have many businesses that earn millions.”
He added: “The construction, I make billions; the transportation, I’m netting around Php100 million a month; I’ve earned Php1 billion from that in previous years, just for transportation."
Chavit also mentioned several new ventures: a commercial airline that will fly domestic and international routes, his bank in Puerto Rico [Vigan Banco International] now has branches in Los Angeles and Mexico, and he will soon open local branches of GO Sport, one of Europe’s largest sporting goods chains.
There'shis Baluarte, an 80-hectare interactive wildlife sanctuary that has become a popular tourist destination in his home province of Ilocos Sur. Visitors can spend time playing with the exotic animals in the zoo, including tigers, impalas, ostriches and camels.
Because of Chavit's long years in politics, as well as close relations with the country's presidents and top political leaders, many people would think that some of his wealth arose from using his political position and influence.
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
But despite all the controversies pit against him, Chavit insists his wealth came from legitimate business activities and not from corruption or illegal activities.
Here's Chavit poses with his daughter, Richelle Singson-Michael.
Another pose beside the newly crowned Miss Universe Iris Mittenaere.
0 comments
Post a Comment