I FIRST learned about it during the groundbreaking ceremony to launch Lexus in the Philippines.  I refer to the projected construction of the tallest building in the Philippines.

That was late last year, when Toyota Motor Philippines Inc. (TMPI) assembled a select group from the automotive industry and media to break the eagerly awaited news that Lexus would soon land in the country.  It came from a TMPI top gun, who requested anonymity “as I am not authorized to speak about it.”

But during the recent launch of the all-new Altis at the Sofitel/Philippine Plaza coinciding with the much-awaited Toyota Thanksgiving Party, I finally got confirmation about this blockbuster piece of news from no less than the would-be builder himself of the edifice.

“Yes, that’s true,” said Alfred V. Ty, the vice chairman of TMPI.  “We will soon begin constructing the tallest building in the City of Taguig.”

Not known to many in the motoring circles is the fact that Alfred is also the president of Federal Land, a huge pillar in the country’s real-estate business. 

At present, the Cebu Plaza in Cebu City, which Alfred had resuscitated last year, is experiencing an unprecedented success in the hotel business in the Queen City of the South.

Alfred’s monumental project in Taguig is now ballyhooed as taller than the tallest building in Makati when completed and, therefore, would be the country’s highest piece of brick.

It will be 66 floors high, to be built on a 10-hectare area in the heart of Taguig’s Bonifacio Global City.

The catch is, Alfred would be hitting two birds with one stone here:  the building will be a combination of a phalanx of high-tech offices and condos, and on the ground-floor lobby adjacent to it will be a state-of-the-art dealership building housing the Lexus dealership.

The building will revolutionize the approach of erecting an edifice equipped with multifunctional divisions and partitions in the emerging megacity that is Taguig.

“We are glad to hear that the giants in the corporate world are training their eyes on our city,” said Mayor Freddie Tiñga of Taguig.  “Because of their robust support, we envision to make Taguig the next Makati by 2010.”

During the 2008 all-new Altis launch, Alfred was asked: “Why 66 floors?  Why not 65, 70 or even 75?”

“Six and six spell good luck in Chinese,” he said.  “If you have both numbers [6 and 6] in any project that you engage in, the Chinese belief is you will surely succeed.  In Chinese, 6 and 6, when pronounced, would sound ‘Smooth sailing’ and, therefore, you will not encounter any rough road ahead of you.”

Being of Chinese descent, Alfred cannot be faulted for relying much on Chinese customs and traditions.  He’s been hitting it big with Toyota since Toyota’s rebirth in 1989 because he practically allowed himself to be guided by “the stars.”

For example, Alfred even postponed his marriage some years back because the planned year of marriage “was perceived as a bad year.”

He moved it one year to comply with “the movement of the stars.”

In the Year of the Pig that was 2007, Toyota garnered four of the top five best-selling vehicles in the land, and I believe it was by design that Toyota had aggressively engaged in massive production of predicted bestsellers while likewise introducing the first locally manufactured Toyota sedan, the Vios.

I am sure Alfred was in the forefront of this calculated business maneuver—in consultation with the stars.

The 2007 results were stupendous: Toyota Innova was No. 1 with 10,544 units sold, Toyota Vios No. 2 with 8,717, Toyota Fortuner No. 4 with 7,216 and Toyota Avanza No. 5 with 6,257. 

Only Honda’s Civic broke the stranglehold of Toyota by emerging No. 3 with 7,603 units sold.

After Toyota ended 2007 with its sixth-straight Triple Crown Affair, TMPI first vice president Daniel M. Isla rightly said, “It’s getting better all the time,” during Toyota’s Thanksgiving Party for the media on January 28.

This year being the Year of the Rat, Alfred is going for the tallest building in the Philippines while, at the same time, unleashing the much-admired Lexus by the fourth quarter of the year.

Good luck, Alfred, and yes, Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Pee stop. I wish well Kengo Takase, the outgoing, amiable president of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines, as he goes back to Japan shortly for a new assignment. You will be missed, Kengo-san. To his successor Masahiko Ueki, welcome to the Philippines!

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IF you think those locally sold vanity plates are expensive, think again.

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Full Tank: Alfred’s Chinese stars

I FIRST learned about it during the groundbreaking ceremony to launch Lexus in the Philippines.  I refer to the projected construction of the tallest building in the Philippines.

Attention, Parents!

EVERY year thousands of young children all over the world are injured or killed in car accidents.  Many of those casualties can be prevented if the victims are in car seats.