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Sunday, June 27, 2004
Bishop: Pagcor to book 150 hotel rooms for Glo
APART from boosting morale, President Arroyo’s oathtaking in Cebu will be good for business too, particularly for hotels.
But not everyone is pleased.
A bishop has accused the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) of shelling out millions of pesos to pay for 150 hotel rooms for guests of President Arroyo in Cebu next week.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz revealed this, as he reminded the government of the country’s worsening budget deficit and the need to cut costs.
But Pagcor public relations director Dodie King, in a message relayed to Sun.Star, said there is “no truth to that preposterous report.”
He confirmed, however, that Pagcor will sponsor five rooms for Malacañang.
“That’s between Pagcor and its guests. Malacañang has nothing to do with that,” said K4 campaign media bureau chief Cerge Remonde in a separate phone interview.
Although Pagcor can afford the expense—having reported P5.41 billion as income from January to March this year—President Arroyo wants her inaugural rites on June 30 to be marked by “simplicity and austerity.”
part from Waterfront Hotel, embassies and consular offices have made booking inquiries with another Cebu-based hotel, Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort.
But Shangri-La’s communications director Neil Rumbaoa said in a phone interview yesterday that the resort has not received any requests from Pagcor.
In televised interviews Friday, President Arroyo said she intends to use all government resources for projects that will benefit the poor.
Her six-point agenda: triple the amount of loans for small and medium enterprises; create one million jobs a year; deliver clean water to the people; provide electricity to 1,500 barangays a year; construct new school buildings and provide scholarships to poor families; and to cut the cost of common medicines by half.
Cruz, however, said the use of government funds for Arroyo’s inaugural celebration runs counter to Malacañang’s declaration that the country will be able to meet its budget deficit target by spending less.
“President Arroyo would like to acknowledge that Cebu gave her more than a million votes. It’s like a payment for a favor,” said Cruz, a former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
Cruz criticized Pagcor for subsidizing the inaugural, supposedly in exchange for its expansion of
operations.
“Pagcor spent more than P150 million for the purchase of equipment and `patubig’ (waterworks) projects before the elections. Now, after the elections, it has reserved 150 of the best hotel rooms in Cebu on the occasion of a projected inauguration. And the Pagcor officials claim the purest of intentions in its fund management,” Cruz said.
Cruz earlier accused Malacañang of using millions in Pagcor funds to fund Arroyo’s campaign.
President Arroyo, however, insisted that her inauguration will be austere, and clarified that the street party in Cebu City is a celebration of Cebu City officials, whom she will induct on June 30, and not part of the national inaugural rites.
She said she decided to start her mandate with major activities in three areas in the country, to symbolize her concern for the entire Philippines, not just Manila or Luzon.
On June 30, the President will deliver her inaugural address at the Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta, after which she will fly to Cebu City for her oathtaking.
The next day, she will fly to Butuan City and then to Maasin, Leyte to induct newly elected officials. She will cap her first working day with a Cabinet meeting at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. (Sunnex)
(June 27, 2004 issue)
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