by Kris Danielle Suarez, abs-cbnNEWS.com
MANILA, Philippines - As the jackpot in the 6/55 Grand Lotto balloons, hordes of Filipinos aren't just lining up to buy tickets - many are already dreaming of what to do with the jackpot if their numbers turn out to be lucky.
The jackpot amount - estimated to breach the P490 million mark by Wednesday night's draw - seems a big enough sum to buy anything and everything.
But don't be fooled, here is a list of what nearly half a billion pesos can be spent on in the Philippines.
Assuming no tax is levied on the jackpot, P490 million is sufficient for...
1. Running an entire executive department. In particular, it is more than enough to pay for the P200 million budget supposedly proposed by Sec. Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) for next year. (Carandang and Budget Sec. Florencio Abad have clarified that the budget is actually P50 million.)
2. Buying a private island off Leyte. Calanggaman Island, an island off the coast of Leyte, was bought by Legacy Group owner Celso de los Angeles for just P16.85 million. This fact was one of the reasons the erstwhile banker was nailed by Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation for syndicated estafa and perjury.
3. The historic Admiral Hotel along Roxas Boulevard. Developer Anchor Land Holdings acquired this last year from the Lopez-Araneta family for P359 million.
4. Restoring the original proposed budget for state colleges and universities (SUCs). The Commission on Higher Education, which oversees SUCs, will have a P400 million budget cut for 2011. From an original P23.8 billion, the agency will only have P23.4 billion to spend for 111 SUCs nationwide. This, however, can be offset by the SUCs themselves, according to CHEd: The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) estimates SUCs can generate P11 billion both internally from tuition and other sources.
5. The damages ABS-CBN is seeking from ex-talent Willie Revillame. After television host Willie Revillame bolted out of ABS-CBN (the parent company of ABS-CBN Interactive, which owns this website) and sued the TV giant for terminating his contract, the network lodged a P476 million counter-claim damage suit. Assuming Revillame loses the case, he can easily pay off the network - and have a few millions to spare - if he wins the jackpot (it's also possible if the winner is a crazed die-hard fan willing to give him the money).
6. At least 4 additional Doppler radars for PAGASA. The wrath of tropical storms Ondoy and Pepeng back in 2009 put a spotlight on how the state weather bureau PAGASA is ill-equipped to forecast weather accurately. One of the proposed solutions was to purchase additional Doppler radars to help accurately predict rainfall. Each radar costs P100 million - and the jackpot would be enough for at least 4 of those.
7. Advertise the Philippines abroad. If you are among those who think the Department of Tourism's "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" campaign is ill-conceived, then you may be able to offer your services to handle the country's promotion abroad instead. The DOT has proposed a budget of P476 million for international tourism promotions for the year 2011, and with your winnings, you'll be able to promote the country to foreigners. You can now lure them with a better slogan, or opt to retain the "Wow Philippines: More Than The Usual" campaign and save money.
However, P490 million isn't enough to pay for...
1. The construction of the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard. You'd think this stretch of road would cost only a few hundred million pesos. But the 8-lane boulevard traversing Pasay and Parañaque actually costs P1.1 billion, leading some to dub it the "most expensive" stretch of pavement ever. Allegedly, a 5-km stretch of the road was overpriced by over P650 million. A graft case, involving former officials of the Public Estates Authority and a private contractor, stemmed from this, and the case is already going through the motions at the Sandiganbayan First Division.
2. Priority infrastructure projects under the public-private projects initiative of the government. The projects included in the government's priority list, ranging from toll roads to airports to railways, are worth P4 billion and above, which explains why the Aquino government is going on a marketing blitz to attract investors with deep pockets.
3. One of Lucio Tan Jr's latest investments. The son and namesake of the country's second richest, "Bong" Tan initially paid P600 million in March as downpayment for acquisition of a listed mining firm, his vehicle for a backdoor entry into the stock market. But the entire deal was eventually valued at P1.38 billion.
4. One of the big 3 television networks. Dreaming of becoming the next Gabby Lopez, Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP), or Atty. Felipe Gozon? You'll need more than P490 million to do so. At present, the big 3 television networks cost billions, with the newest major player TV5 costing MVP nearly P5 billion for 70% of the company. ABS-CBN is worth P41.6 billion while GMA Network is around P24.2 billion.
5. The Mang Inasal chicken business. Want a franchise of Mang Inasal? Your lotto earnings would be enough for a few branches. But if you want the entire company, sorry to say your lotto earnings won't suffice. Food behemoth Jollibee Foods Corp. recently bought 70% of the the Iloilo-based company for a cool P3 billion.
6. The last 3G frequency allocation. To have a share in the lucrative data-based telecom market, one needs at least P65 million to make a bid for the last remaining 3G frequency at the National Telecommunications Commission, the regulator. However, you first need to show that you have P3 billion in your purse to qualify.
7. Manny Pacquiao's earnings for his last fight. The Sarangani lawmaker has guaranteed earnings of at least US$15 million after beating Mexican Antonio Margarito last Saturday in Dallas (Sunday in Manila). That's worth a cool P645 million. Add to that around US$ 5 million (P218 million) per-pay-view sales, and you have around P863 million. Sorry, but you can't match the purse. -- With Lala Rimando, abs-cbnNEWS.com
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