Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Ledesma: Ayala and the ghost of the past By Jun Ledesma Sunbursts
THE City Council has differed action on the application for a business permit by Ayala conglomerate.
The reason or reasons: The presenters of the firm came to town to show their plans and convince the city legislators how the project would look like, but, I was told by a city councilor, they did not bring any engineering plan. What they brought was just the guarantee of the name and a bag-full of money worth P3 billion plus.
These did not wash and the action on their application was differed for the next session.
Ayala has to seek approval from the City Council for various reasons among them availment of tax incentives. On the other hand, the councilors want to see that everything that Ayala wants to do to develop the prime 12-hectare property of Anflocor in Lanang will dovetail with the local laws.
Fair, isn't it? Anyway, the contentious issue is the drainage system and traffic problem. Councilor Danny Dayanghirang said that if the Ayala planning engineers will show up this week and bring a comprehensive plan on how to address the drainage and traffic then the Council is prepared to give its imprimatur.
When the council failed to give its nod to the corporate giant's application last week I received some interesting e-mails. Chito Pratt, a social and political commentator, recalled how the multi-billion-peso brewery plant of San Miguel Corporation originally planned to be set up in Davao City was transferred to Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur because of corrupt influences in the city council.
What Chito didn't know was that I physically present when Mayor Rodrigo Duterte dressed down the members of the council in a feat of anger. The mayor was just into his first few months as the chief executive of the city and was curious why the SMC project was lost to a small town when every thing seemed to be all systems go.
Well, obviously he learned of it first hand from the SMC bigwigs in Manila who informed him who were the pacmen that demanded millions of money to get their votes. Before anyone knew it, the firm withdrew its plan from Davao City and transferred the brewery to Sta. Cruz.
In consternation that incident nearly made Duterte resign before he can warm his seat in City Hall. He told the greedy stooges that he will submit his resignation and ask the councilors to follow suit to give Davao City a fresh mandate. Some cooler heads intervened and prevailed on the mayor to reconsider.
I therefore cannot blame the likes of Pratt from visiting the ghosts of the past. However, I am confident that Vice Mayor Inday Sara will not tolerate any shenanigans in the council. Her father, the mayor, am quite certain shall have given her a briefing on how to spot potential scam. That experience he had with SMC is something that is deeply ingrained and will stay there for as long as he remains in public service.
Councilor Danny Dayanghirang has assured me that team Sara will not indulge into the predilection of the past councils. He explained that the Anflocor real estate is critical when it comes to drainage. Furthermore, its proximity to Victoria Plaza might exacerbate the traffic snarls.
Danny said that they want to see the mitigating measures, which Ayala will put in place to address the traffic problems.
I am staying at Guadalupe Village in Lanang and I know the nightmarish experience we go through each day passing through GMall and Victoria Plaza. When it rains floodwater rises right in front of the proposed Ayala complex. I want to think positive. With the presence of Ayala, the crowd will be dispersed and that would thin out the traffic mess.
If our traffic policemen will stop making friends with traffic violators we don't actually need to demand from local investors to take care of traffic. I am sure that Ayala Land had incorporated into their plans such simple thing as parking spaces but it will be superfluous to ask them that they too manage traffic mess. If there's anything the Davao City council should look into is to make sure that the methane gas tragedy, which happened in Glorietta in Makati will not happen in Davao.
Councilor Danny says they will fast-track the approval of Ayala permits. They better.
