Sharon
Cuneta invests P50 million in Panglao  CUNETA | | Philippine
Megastar Sharon Cuneta recently bought two hectares of land in the coastal barangay
of Songculan, Dauis (in Panglao island) for P50 million.
A savvy real estate investor, Sharon's entry raised the barometer higher for Panglao
as a booming estate-island for tourism and real estate.
Conflicting reports indicate that the popular singer-actress who is married to
LP senator Kiko Pangilinan, is going to build town houses, a small hotel and a
bed and breakfast place in Bohol. Whether all three will be inside the two hectare
site is not officially known. |
The
site facing the picturesque Tagbilaran Bay fronting the city's sea front pier
and boulevard and gifted with a small cove near its shoreline, has been visited
a few times by both the senator and megastar.
The site was purchased by the 36-year old star from the Salvallon family, whose
members changed their plans regarding the development of their Dauis, Panglao
island property. The sale was confirmed to the Chronicle by Bohol realtor Marcelino
"Marjon" Lumayag although he got a figure of P40 million for the sale.
REAL ESTATE EXPERT
Sharon Cuneta, who first sang "Mr. DJ"
at the age of 12 and who made her first million pesos at the age of 16, is a master
real estate investor. People even believe that she made more money in the real
estate business than her showbiz and advertising career - making idol out of senior
actress Amalia Fuentes.
The latter parlayed a showbiz career - or popular film rivalry with actress Susan
Roces (wife of the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.) - into a successful
real estate business where she is now living like a queen on rentals of her properties.
This August, the estranged wife of actor Gabby Concepcion and mother to popular
actress KC Concepcion and Frankie, was known to have started a six-unit upscale
townhouse project in a compound in ritzy Scout area in Quezon City.
| | | Cuneta,
now almost 25 years in show business, is known to own properties in Tagaytay,
Antipolo, the Pacific Place in Makati, three units in Twin Towers in Ayala Makati
and two units in Ortigas, among many others.
The megastar, however, admitted that she is also loaded with debt which she used
for her expansive real estate businesses. She believes in real estate as a way
to multiply her wealth - and by her own admission, Sharon makes much more than
an average surgeon-doctor in any given year. |
She learned
her business skills from her late father, the former Pasay City mayor Pablo Cuneta,
a long-time local henchman of the late president Marcos. "We
stayed in three houses in San Lorenzo in Makati. Dad would buy, improve and then
sell the house and then transfer into a bigger house and so on. We also lived
in Dasmarinas Makati", the durable screen and TV superstar explained.
HARD TIMES AND VALUES
Sharon Cuneta, born with a silver spoon,
was thrifty since young. At 8 years old, she would place 50 centavos per day from
her P2 allowance in her piggy bank and opened her first bank account before she
was 10 years old at BPI - P20.00.
To this day, Sharon Cuneta refuses to buy luxurious cars but only functional cars
like vans - although she could very well afford a fleet of Mercedes Benzes.
Cuneta, a fixture in ABS CBN Sunday night shows, also invests in jewelry and admitted
having gone financially broke at the age of 21, right after her break-up with
Concepcion and KC was only two and a half years old.
The superstar has more than recovered.
After a string of movie hits, mega TV shows, monster hit songs and sold-out concerts,
Sharon Cuneta continues to provide for the future by investing her earnings in
real estate.
And like all savvy realtors, Sharon only considers three elements in investing
in land - location, location and location.
That says much about her P50-million investment in Panglao island. (Bingo P. Dejaresco
III)
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