DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said that she had no plans to sit again with Mega Harbour Development Cooperation for the P39-billion Davao City Coastline Development Project, even after receiving the corporation’s apology letter.
"I have received the apology letter and I hope that is the end of it. The lawyers advised me not to talk about it anymore, because they expect that the other party may change their mind and the issue will include a legal case. So it is better to talk about it in court," she said.
Duterte-Carpio confirmed that she received the letter this week a few hours after she issued the letter demanding an apology for their side, after the other party allegedly tagged her as reckless person on her decision to terminate the project.
“On the day that they received my letter, a few hours, they issued a letter basically saying that it is just their initial reaction,” she said.
Duterte-Carpio said that there were many attempts to have her sit with the developer but she refused all of it.
“There were several attempts (requests) for them to sit down with me, but I refused all of it so that dili sila maghuna-huna ug basin maghuna-huna sila nga makig-istorya ko unya mangayo, ingon ana gani (so that they will not think that I sit down with them to ask for something in return),” she said.
Duterte-Carpio said that she told the other party that they better talk through letters to avoid misunderstanding.
“I told them that we will just talk on paper to avoid confusion and so that statement of each party will not be misunderstood. What’s written on paper will be officially my statement, and what you wrote back to me, will be the only thing you have to say, because if talks will be done randomly, and verbally, it might be misconstrued, and will have another meaning,” she said in the vernacular.
She stressed that she listened to the side of the developer on the project, in reaction to the other party’s accusation.
“I am the mayor during the time when they came to the city for the project but that time I did not push it, which is why I told them I do not have the obligation to listen again to the presentation of the project because once is enough, dili man siguro mabag-o ang ilang reclamation project (their reclamation project will not change),” she said.
She added that they have not received any information of a follow up legal case against the city yet but she assured that they are ready to answer the other party should the case be filed.
“Wala pa man nuon naabot sa lawyers, pero gina-expect namo sila (We did not receive anything yet, it did not reach our lawyers, but we expect it) and we are prepared to answer them,” she added.
Duterte said that the implementation of the project is not possible under her administration.
“Sa akong term dili, maybe kung lahi na ang mayor, kung sa tan-aw niya makatabang. Wala ta kabalo but for my term not possible (It’s not possible in my term. Maybe under a different mayor, if he/she thinks that it will help the city, but for my term it is not possible),” she added.