THE Court of Appeals (CA) has rejected the bid of former Iloilo second district congressman Augusto Syjuco to stop the P11.2-billion worth mega dam Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMP) in Calinog, Iloilo.
The CA did not issue a Temporary Environmental Protection Order (Tepo) against the project asked by Syjuco to back up his Writ of Kalikasan plea issued by the Supreme Court.
Aside from the CA ruling on JRMP, the Commission on Elections also denied Syjuco’s vote-buying case against Ilonggo Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, new Iloilo 2nd district Representative Arcadio H. Gorriceta, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr., and several others for lack of concrete evidence.
Iloilo political and business leaders in Iloilo rejoiced on the new development, saying that Syjuco’s attempts to derail Iloilo’s development would never succeed as long as there is unity among the leaders and people of Iloilo.
Iloilo City Representative Jerry Treñas said the legal victory is shared by all Ilonggos who have always believed and “supported us in all our endeavors to make Iloilo a premier province in the country and to foster human, economic and social growth all throughout Iloilo.”
Treñas hit Syjuco’s accusations regarding all the projects being supported and pushed by Drilon including the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC).
Syjuco’s grudge against Drilon and his patent attempts to get back at Drilon have many times undermined the development of Iloilo and put the province in a bad light, Trenas said.
Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog justified the JRMP as an important solution to address the lack of potable water supply in the city.
He said that aside from improved irrigation system, JRMP project, once it is constructed, is a potent source of potable water for the city.
“We are extremely grateful by this decision of the Court of Appeals. Mr Syjuco has no idea how this project will help address the shortage of potable water in Iloilo city, improve agricultural productivity, and boost rice self-sufficiency in the city and all throughout the Western Visayas,” Mabilog said.
The major legal setbacks, a back-to-back legal defeat, experienced by Syjuco last week should be enough to convince him to stop engaging in forum shopping to advance his personal interests, as they have already been proven useless after his two cases were thrown out, Mabilog said.
Benefit
Ilonggo business leaders including former Tourism Secretary Narzalina Lim also lauded the CA’s decision, stressing that the JRMP project, when completed, will benefit 783,000 farmers and provide uninterrupted irrigation water supply to approximately 32,000 hectares of farm lands in 22 municipalities in Iloilo and could triple palay production to over 350,000 tons per year.
Lim said the ill motives and smear campaign have no place in a functioning legal system.
Syjuco should be ashamed of himself for putting at risk this very important project, which will not only help the farmers, but will also generate about 17,000 jobs during its construction.
Early this year, Lim and the officials and members of the Iloilo Economic Development Foundation Inc., issued a statement of support for all the development projects in Iloilo such as the ICC and the JRMP project pushed by the Ilonggo Senate President. (Lydia C. Pendon)