Monday, November 19, 2007 Trade mission nixed due to blast By Stephen Capillas
THE bombing that claimed the lives of Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar and several others at the Batasang Pambansa complex had shaken investor confidence in the country and may result in the cancellation of a planned trade mission by City Hall officials.
In separate radio interviews, Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno and Acting Mayor Vicente Emano lamented last Wednesday's explosion that also injured several other persons.
Armed Forces Chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon dismissed speculations that the Congress bombing was the work of government aimed at distracting public attention from the ZTE broadband controversy and impeachment trial.
"No comment on that since it is a political issue and one cannot comment on speculation just yet. Where's the evidence? Let's wait for the PNP to finish its inquiry," he told local media covering the Bishops-Ulama forum held here in Cagayan de Oro Sunday.
Meanwhile, Moreno said the explosion--which came on the heels of the Glorietta mall blast that killed nine persons in Manila--sends a strong negative signal to prospective investors and tourists to the country.
The governor said this might also affect the already negative image of Mindanao, particularly here in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental before the international community as evidenced by the travel advisories issued by the British and Australian governments.
The Cagayan de Oro business community has yet to issue its reaction to the Batasang explosion. In light of this, Emano said he might forego joining a trade mission in South Korea.
"Based on what happened at the Batasang Pambansa complex and the previous Glorietta Mall explosion, I may be unable to join the trade mission in South Korea and the activity may be cancelled altogether," the vice-mayor said in Visayan.
Emano, whose son Misamis Oriental Second District Representative Yevgeny Emano supposedly met Akbar minutes before the explosion, voiced similar sentiments saying it would be sometime before the country recovers from the fallout of bad publicity caused by the explosion.
