A PROMINENT businessman in Angeles City has sought the assistance of Porac town officials to stop a group of individuals who allegedly occupied portions of his golf course and residential estate.
Ruperto Cruz, owner of the Royal Garden Golf and Country Club, sent two separate letters to Porac Mayor Condralito Dela Cruz and the Municipal Council headed by Vice Mayor Dexter David.
In his letter to Dela Cruz dated August 17, Cruz said a group of men and women are “illegally tilling, planting and going in and out of his property.”
“They destroyed the fence in such a way that we lost security feature inside the whole subdivision. Intruders go in and out of our premises. We also lost lights, wires, and other construction materials,” Cruz said.
The businessman stated that he sought the assistance of leaders of Barangay Santa Cruz, where portions of the golf course are situated, but to no avail. “They (barangay officials) said it is not in their jurisdiction.”
Cruz asked Dela Cruz to prevent in what he described as “wrong doings of land grabbing” in a legal way.
“If we allow these people to go on with their wrong doings, it will deprive workers of permanent jobs and jeopardize the construction of a hospital with 120 beds similar to Saint Luke's and Makati Medical Center, a European replica chapel and the establishment of an special economic zone which is expected to generate large scale employment for the town,” Cruz said.
The group are also trying to occupy a portion of the property that was donated to institutions, including the Bahay Pag Ibig for the elderly, Bantay Bata orphanage, and Indu, according to Cruz.
He asked the mayor to act swiftly as the incident will send a wrong signal to investors and locators in the area.
“Businessmen may shy away and invest somewhere else. It can deprive our future doctors, nurses, construction workers and permanent employees inside the facility,” Cruz said.
The businessman also informed Dela Cruz that golf course management secured all pertinent documents in a legal process.
“Porac is lucky to have such hospital, economic zone, golf course, tourist oriented and industrial facilities,” Cruz said.
In the same letter, the businessman said they are "helping Porac change its local image into first class city and productivity to lessen the number of overseas Filipino workers."
“Agri-business is essential but will not increase Porac’s revenues and change its global image,” Cruz told Dela Cruz.
The businessman sent a similar letter to the town’s council.