Donald Trump’s business partner to be Philippines’ special envoy in Washington

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Republican President-elect Donald Trump. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:47pm, 23 Nov 2016Updated: 10:59pm, 23 Nov 2016

Among the conflict-of-interest questions swirling around US President-elect Donald Trump’s global business interests, Trump Tower at Century City in Manila’s financial district stands out.

My role is to enlarge the relationship between the two countries

Jose E.B. Antonio

Century Properties Group Incorporated of Manila, the company behind the US$150 million tower that’s set to open next year, paid as much as US$5 million to use the Trump name, in a licensing agreement that’s common for the president-elect. Trump has at least 10 similar licensing deals around the world, each of which might complicate his administration’s international diplomacy, according to ethics specialists.

But in Manila, there’s an extra connection: Century Properties’ chief executive and controlling stakeholder, Jose E.B. Antonio, was appointed last month to serve as a special government envoy to the US for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has vowed to expel American troops from his country and ranted against US President Barack Obama.

Antonio, who established the Philippine-China Business Council when he served as a special envoy to Beijing in 2005, says he sees no conflict between his public role and private partnership.

“My role is to enlarge the relationship between the two countries,” he said. Of his business tie to Trump, he said: “I guess it would be an asset.”

Antonio said that he visited Trump Tower in New York days after the US election; he didn’t speak to the president-elect, Antonio said, but he saw Trump talking with potential appointees. Asked about his account, Hope Hicks, a Trump spokeswoman said: “They did not meet.”