Bill killers for hire
A lawmaker wonders why a bill that would protect farmers, poultry and hog raisers, and fisherfolk against big-time smugglers, is having a hard time reaching the table of the President for his signature.
The Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, which Congress and the Senate had already approved, just needs the signature of the President to end the days of the big-time smugglers.
“It looks like the smugglers looked for people who could stop the bill from reaching the President’s desk. These groups think we don’t know what they are up to. They are supposed to be talking to some legislators to block the bill,” the lawmaker said.
He said the “menace” is lurking in the very confines of the agency that should be protecting the country from smugglers.
But the lawmaker believes in the President’s pronouncements that “he means business,” just like in his tough decision to eradicate POGOs from the country.
Pizza bust?
A financial dispute in the United States may hurt the financial health of the beloved American fast food brand Pizza Hut, which has huge patronage among Filipinos.
More than 140 Pizza Hut restaurants are at risk after the franchisee that runs them filed for bankruptcy.
The financial mess was linked to a major dispute between the pizza giant’s parent company and the EYM Group, which operates 142 locations across five states in the US South and Midwest.
EYM was founded by former McDonald’s Mexico president Eduardo Diaz. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Eastern District of Texas to protect it from collectibles owed to Pizza Hut of $2.25 million, and another $21 million to Manufacturers Bank.
EYM ran 15 Pizza Hut locations in Indiana and Ohio that were abruptly shuttered at the end of June.
Now a further 127 restaurants across Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina, and Wisconsin are on the brink of shutting down due to the dispute.
EYM has blamed Pizza Hut for its financial problems. It said its sales were badly hit because the pizza chain did not modernize its menu or app to keep up with rivals like Domino’s and Little Caesar’s.
Pizza Hut’s US restaurants have seen sales slip 6 percent this year compared to last.