Zambales gov cries foul at Korean shipyard’s security rules
By Tonette Orejas - Inquirer
Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso on Friday decried what he called “rude” treatment he received from officials of Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Ltd. a few hours before Vice President Noli de Castro led the inauguration rite of the firm’s shipyard in Subic town on Dec. 5.
“They were very disrespectful toward me considering I was the governor of the province hosting their project. Diskumpyado pa sila sa kin (They distrusted me). It was demeaning,” Deloso told the Inquirer by phone.
He was referring to the 10 a.m. incident where, according to him, he was required to enter the main gate, join the long queue of visitors and pass the X-ray screen before he finally got a visitor’s pass.
“I have no problem undergoing those if I went uninvited or I did a surprise visit but I was invited three weeks ago and I was excited to come. An invitation given in advance meant that you were expected so you don’t necessarily have to go through all that process anymore,” he said.
“Instead of pinning a lei on me, they gave me a visitor’s pass,” he rued.
All Philippine dignitaries, including De Castro, were required to go through the same process, he said.
“I was the only one who complained because I think, as public officials and being guests of a foreign investor doing business in the Philippines, we should all be accorded respect,” Deloso, a lawyer, said.
“Indirectly, these Koreans are saying they are superior to us when they are on our land,” he added.
Jong Pyeong Yu, HHIC-Philippines general manager, considered the incident “my personal fault.”
“It happened because of the hectic schedule of our event and certain kind of miscommunication and misunderstanding. It is true that we were not able to assign respective Koreans for all those VIPs (because they were many and they arrived in several batches),” Yu said in a text message on Friday.
“I was supposed to be at the main gate when [Deloso] came but unfortunately [I] was escorting [Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority] personnel to the helipad where [De Castro] was about to land so only safety officers were at the main gate,” he said.
Yu said Deloso had not been singled out. The company had put in place a standard protection and security protocol.
Yu said he was meeting Deloso to “express my sincere apology.”
“They were very disrespectful toward me considering I was the governor of the province hosting their project. Diskumpyado pa sila sa kin (They distrusted me). It was demeaning,” Deloso told the Inquirer by phone.
He was referring to the 10 a.m. incident where, according to him, he was required to enter the main gate, join the long queue of visitors and pass the X-ray screen before he finally got a visitor’s pass.
“I have no problem undergoing those if I went uninvited or I did a surprise visit but I was invited three weeks ago and I was excited to come. An invitation given in advance meant that you were expected so you don’t necessarily have to go through all that process anymore,” he said.
“Instead of pinning a lei on me, they gave me a visitor’s pass,” he rued.
All Philippine dignitaries, including De Castro, were required to go through the same process, he said.
“I was the only one who complained because I think, as public officials and being guests of a foreign investor doing business in the Philippines, we should all be accorded respect,” Deloso, a lawyer, said.
“Indirectly, these Koreans are saying they are superior to us when they are on our land,” he added.
Jong Pyeong Yu, HHIC-Philippines general manager, considered the incident “my personal fault.”
“It happened because of the hectic schedule of our event and certain kind of miscommunication and misunderstanding. It is true that we were not able to assign respective Koreans for all those VIPs (because they were many and they arrived in several batches),” Yu said in a text message on Friday.
“I was supposed to be at the main gate when [Deloso] came but unfortunately [I] was escorting [Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority] personnel to the helipad where [De Castro] was about to land so only safety officers were at the main gate,” he said.
Yu said Deloso had not been singled out. The company had put in place a standard protection and security protocol.
Yu said he was meeting Deloso to “express my sincere apology.”
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
12:52 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home