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Thursday, May 08, 2003
Mongaya: Filinvest replies
By Anol Mongaya
SOME members of the local medical community insist that RL, the immigration officer who recently died, indeed had the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) virus. They could not understand why Dr. Junjie Zuasula of the Department of Health (DOH) would follow the Chinese mistake of covering up just to be able to say that Cebu is Sars-free.
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It seems the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) is skating on thin ice in its latest apprehension of four right-hand drive vehicles. They were not able to apprehend the vehicles on the road as the law provides. Moreover, the burden of proof that the vehicles were illegally imported is on them.
The customs grapevine views the series of CIDG apprehensions with a grain of salt. “Gusto ra na sila maapil sa tara,” BOC kibitzers are saying.
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Filinvest spokesman Cerwin Eviota sent me a series of long e-mails in reaction to my comments about the flooding blamed on FLI’s Corona del Mar project with the plea to give their side some space. I will, but because of space limitations, I could not reprint all. Also, I just want to point out that while I have been critical of how Talisay City officials handled the issue, I also tackled Filinvest’s side in a column or two.
Cerwin insists that Hunat leaders were the ones looking for ways to derail the tripartite process. “Seeing that the talks were leading to hopeful resolution, they instead appeared to be looking for a reason to back out and hang on to their chosen anti-thesis…. If Hunat leaders could not trust Filinvest, neither does Filinvest see any sincerity from these leaders, much more any intent from them to come to a solution.”
Moreover, from the FLI point of view, getting approval for its plans from the City Council and the city engineer’s office was a separate process. “It is unfair to insinuate that the City Council took haste in approving a resolution that, to Hunat’s view, favors Filinvest.
Hunat leaders knew through the tripartite meetings that Filinvest pursued the approval of both the alteration of the development plan for Corona del Mar and the upgraded drainage plan …The Council only acted on a procedural matter. No haste was done. The crux of the resolution was not a matter that would depend on the outcome of the tripartite conference.”
But while FLI blames Hunat for failure of the talks, I believe the Talisay City government should have waited for a resolution of the tripartite process. I think it was natural, in pursuit of its interest, for FLI to push for approval by the City while Hunat would view this with suspicion. City officials could have decided to delay action on the FLI development and drainage plan to give the tripartite talks a chance. Mayor Eddie Gullas had started the process. The City then should have waited for its success or failure if only to prevent another confrontation in the streets.
Meanwhile, Cerwin defends the FLI drainage design. “While the City Engineer’s Office attested that Filinvest drainage design at Corona del Mar was more than adequate from what was required to accommodate possible floodwaters, Hunat leaders simply brushed aside detailed engineering studies and insisted on their elementary perception on how the waters flow.”
“They tried to present hydrologist Engr. Fe Walag, yet she, as the minutes of the joint MMT and tripartite conference show, subscribed to the drainage design of Filinvest. This fact Dodong and Jojo Leuterio have acknowledged in radio interviews. Walag only raised her concern on the social dimension: if Filinvest was ready to face a hypothetical scenario of severe flooding…”
I think we will only be able to confirm who is right when the rains return. Tan-awon nato, bay. My point was: the city could have prevented another confrontation at the picket lines.
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Lovely, candidate No. 6 at the recent Jamaican Nights, visited the Superbalita office to explain that what happened was an unfortunate accident. She felt bad that two rival papers placed her nearly nude photo on the front page.
(Send your reaction to superbalita @sunstar.com.ph or anol_cebu @hotmail.com or text to 09179761193)
(May 8, 2003 issue)
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