MANILA – Gaming café operator PhilWeb Corp. spiraled into uncertainty this year as President Rodrigo Duterte tightened gambling regulations and vowed to destroy “oligarchs” in the economy.

Tycoon Roberto Ongpin has left the company, and its new chairman, Gregorio “Greggy” Araneta III, is betting on a rebirth.

Araneta acquired Ongpin’s 53.76-percent stake in PhilWeb for P2 billion or P2.6 per share. At PhilWeb’s closing price of P13.52 per share on Dec. 8, that stake is worth P10.4 billion.

Ongpin and Araneta bring to mind the two-decade-long Marcos regime.

Ongpin served under the late strongman's cabinet while Araneta is married to the former leader's youngest daughter, Irene.

Here are the key events in the unfolding story of PhilWeb: