AN intriguing guest at the Island Shangri-La over the weekend was a Filipino businessman whose family business prospered under the Marcos and Aquino administrations.

Alas, when President Fidel Ramos came to power the businessman encountered a major problem - his former wife was aligned with a close confidant of Ramos and managed to deny him access to the President.

But with commendable initiative, he checked into the Shangri-La, where the President was billeted and managed to grab Ramos' ear whenever he came out of the lift and strolled across the lobby to his car.