Beer tycoon brews entry into Philippines politics

[dArKeR]

THE GODFATHER: The chairman of San Miguel has launched his own political organization, with big consequences for next May's election

REUTERS , MANILA
Tuesday, Nov 18, 2003,Page 5

Filipinos love to drink Eduardo Cojuangco's beer and eat his food, but his other role as a political godfather is having a much more divisive effect as the country gears up for a volatile election campaign.

The 68-year-old chairman of San Miguel Corp, seller of nine of 10 beers in the Philippines, kept a stony silence throughout a recent battle over the impeachment of the top judge that brought the country to the edge of a constitutional crisis.

But the fact that his own political machine launched the attempt to impeach Chief Justice Hilario Davide has left few Filipinos in doubt that he was pulling the strings.

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