Be real men, SBMA officials told

Philippine Daily Inquirer

I thank the Philippine Daily Inquirer for tracking me down to get my side of the story “Condos beyond treetops.” (Inquirer, 4/6/08)

Now that I’ve read the whole story, allow me to give my comments beyond a “No, I didn’t, it’s they who did it” reply.

For a senator to shoot from the hip every time he sees my shadow is pathetic. Doesn’t he know his accusation that I was responsible for the high-rise housing project of Hanjin can easily be disproved by the documents? I was out of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) by 2005. The housing project was approved by the SBMA board last year. (Whether it was before or after the senatorial elections, I don’t know. Who was running for senator then?)

Sen. Richard Gordon now backtracks, saying there were no trees on the site, but he is against the tall buildings. In other words, he is now concerned about aesthetics. Why? Because it was during his time that hundreds or thousands of trees were felled to give way to the APEC villas and clubhouse. Was that necessary? Maybe he’ll blame former President Fidel Ramos, but we all know that the heads of state only had 15 minutes or so to wash their hands in their individual units.

The villas were supposed to be a private sector-financed project but who ended up holding the proverbial empty bag? The government-owned Home Insurance Guarantee Corp. (HIGC). Because the Financial Builders Corp., which built the villas, failed to pay the banks (DBP and ING), which in turn foreclosed on the government guarantee. I understand 18 units have been sold but how come the loans were not paid? And why did HIGC (now HGC) agree to extend the guarantee when the land was government property? But I am digressing.

Gordon also now defends SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza but at the same time makes a fool of him. He says that Arreza told him that he (Arreza) was not told there was anything wrong about it. Arreza was in effect made out to be washing his hands at the expense of a subaltern, Amethya de la Llana Koval. We all know who got Arreza appointed to the job. But if the current SBMA board did approve the housing project, and it has good explanations for its decision, Arreza (and SBMA Chair Feliciano Salonga) should be man enough to stand by their decision. Gordon makes a wimp out of Arreza who, I am sure, is not.

There were projects during my term that were subject of attack but I stood by them. This housing project was not mine, so somebody else should stand by it.

By the way, it was precisely the policy of the SBMA board during my time to conserve the forests of Bataan, that’s why we launched the Subic-Clark Alliance to develop the corridor between and around the two ecozones. I am glad that Gordon rides on the project as evidenced by the photo showing him behind President Macapagal-Arroyo during the ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the Subic Container Port and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

--FELICITO C. PAYUMO,

former chair and administration,

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority