DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio demanded an apology from Mega Harbour Port Development Corporation after the company allegedly branded her as a "reckless, callous and unethical individual" over her decision to terminate the P39-billion joint venture agreement (JVA) for the Davao Coastline and Port Development Project.
Duterte-Carpio, in a letter to Mega Harbour that was posted by Davao Breaking News and she confirmed to SunStar Davao, pointed out the she made a careful review of the agreement before she made the decision.
She said she communicated her decision ahead of time.
"I do not wish to belabor with you on the merits and bases of the joint venture agreement. We can save that argument for the right time and the proper venue. Contrary to your claim, you were given notice when my letter informing you of my decision was received by your office. This fact was duly acknowledged in your letter dated July 27, 2017," she said.
Duterte-Carpio said her careful review of the actions betrays the accusation of Mega Harbour.
"A careful review of my actions betrays your accusation that I have put your company in a ‘bad light’ and ‘tarnished even blackened beyond repair your reputation.’ Nothing in my statement could also reflect that I subjected you to 'immeasurable humiliation or ridiculed men and women from your company,'" she said.
Duterte-Carpio said she has the very obligation to inform the public of her decision.
"As local chief executive, I have the obligation to inform the public of my decision after a year of telling them that I will review the project documents. The fulfillment of my obligation is not publicity, it is accountability," she said.
She reminded Mega Harbour that sometime in 2011, she was the mayor when the officials of the same corporation presented the project to the city government of Davao.
"I was the person who sat on the chair across your people who explained the project. This time, I am again the Mayor and I have no obligation to repeatedly sit down and listen to you. My option was to review all the documents that you have submitted to the City Government. I thoroughly read all the materials and minutes of meetings, including your presentation to the Neda Regional Infrastructure Development Committee," she said.
Duterte-Carpio added that it took her a year to articulate her decision because she had to diligently go through all the documents.
She also admitted that she had to hire consultants who independently assessed and vetted the project.
"These bare the truth of my direct involvement in the process -- even more than your definition of what a direct involvement is, which is to simply sit down with you, look at your glossy presentations, and listen to your briefings," she said, adding that disclosing information on what formed part of her decision is a personal choice.
"I purposely did not disclose what information significantly formed part of my decision to terminate the agreement because I expected a legal case from your end. What I did not expect from you is to call me out as a reckless, callous and unethical individual. You should be the last person to speak about ethics if you write letters such as the one I received," she added.
Duterte-Carpio said it is also questionable for the Mega Harbour to threaten her with legal suit when she only did what she had to do as a public official.
"Finally, it is utterly fiddling of you to threaten me with a legal suit should I continue to fulfill my obligation to explain to the public why I terminated the agreement. And you certainly do not have the right to tell me how and when I should do my job. I demand an apology," she added.
Mega Harbour, in a recent press statement, said that the mayor made an unfair decision in terminating the project.
"We cannot stand by this. We are deeply concerned, even seriously alarmed, by your letter dated July 19, 2017, informing us that you have come to a final decision not to further proceed with the project," Mega Harbour president Engineer Victor Songco said in his letter to Duterte-Carpio dated July 27.
Songco added that the company presented the project to the Regional Infrastructure Development Committee, submitted additional documents and agreed to an increase in the local government’s land share.
"We undertook to develop an area for about 4,000 informal settlers along coastal roads and redevelopment of coastal barangays (allocating P1.19 billion for redevelopment works, including roads and open spaces)," Songco underscored.
Mega Harbour, Songco said, also secured investments (capital and technical) from various local and foreign companies, in addition to investing and expending capital of their own, in order to finance and execute the P39-billion project.
Last June 21, 2016, the JVA was signed by then Davao City Mayor and now Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. It was also legally supported by the Davao City Council through Resolution No. 02788-16 and Ordinance No. 0515-16.