Controversy Over New MLM Company In The Philippines

ENVIRONMENT Secretary Michael Defensor has taken to heart President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s standing order to create business opportunities for the Filipino.

But his being a Cabinet secretary has raised questions of propriety.

To friends and colleagues in and out of Malaca?ang and Congress, Defensor is aggressively pitching his family?s new multilevel marketing (MLM) company, JC Spicecorp Inc., which sells through its members a variety of goods -- from shoes to watches, hotdogs to tocino (sweet meats), and even cars to real estate.

A lawyer in the Ombudsman?s office, who requested anonymity, said government officials, especially ranking ones, were discouraged from promoting their commercial interests while in office because it was improper and left a bad taste in the mouth.