Back in 1987 when my father transferred the business name AMBOS MUNDOS RESTAURANT to me during his dying days, I felt a foreboding sense of responsibility unexpectedly put on my shoulders. When I asked him why me when he has a choice among five children, he jokingly answered: "Hindi dahil sa mas mahal kita sa inyong magkakapatid kundi dahil sa aking paniniwala na ikaw ang huling bibitiw sa pangalang pinaghirapan ng ating mga ninuno." ( It is not because I love you more than your siblings but because I believe that you will be the last one to agree to part with the name that has been painstakingly established by our ancestors).
Afterwhich he added in a more serious tone: "Marami nang lumapit sa akin para bilhin ang pangalan ng AMBOS MUNDOS pero hindi ako pumayag kasi gusto kong magamit ito ng aking mga anak at maipasa sa mga susunod na henerasyon." (Many have come to me and offered to buy the name of AMBOS MUNDOS which I rejected because I would like my children to have the chance to use it and pass it on to the next generation.)
And that was that ...
I ask you now, how do you defend a family legacy that is being threatened by one of your own? How do you make someone understand that the risks he's taking is not his to make? How can other people ever understand that AMBOS MUNDOS is not just a business name?
For many years now, I have been denied the use of the business name AMBOS MUNDOS by people who claim that they have a right over it. So far, they have failed to convince the Office of Legal Affairs of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Intellectual Property Office, all of which have upheld my rightful claim to the name. Even the appeal they lodged with the Office of the President failed to produce their desired result.
As they continue to lodge one appeal after another, I stand firm and resolute in defending our family legacy knowing that AMBOS MUNDOS will eventually come home where it truly belongs.
By: Maria Teresa Gaudinez-Martinez for the real Ambos Mundos Restaurant
