Subic Trees opinion

The case of Subic trees

By FR. BEL R. SAN LUIS, SVD

Word Alive - Manila Bulletin

The Irish-born British statesman Edmund Burke once said: “The only way by which evil men prosper in society is for the good to do nothing.”

This is what architect Felino “Jun” Palafox did in the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) casino hotel project in Zambales and look what happened.

He has either to post bail or go to jail!

The famous urban planner Jun Palafox was served an arrest warrant last week on a R50-million criminal libel case.

If he does not post a bail of R10,000 soon, he will go to jail. Truth to tell, he entertained the thought of doing the latter, if only to dramatize his innocence of the charge.

The whole case stems from a project to master plan a $120-million hotel casino last December 2008.

When he saw that the company wanted to cut down 366 trees in an urban area inside the Subic Freeport, he did not only oppose it but even gave up the project in protest along with the handsome $1-million professional fee.

Fortunately, Palafox got the support of President Macapagal Arroyo to whom he complained. The massacre of the trees was aborted.

Because the whole project was shelved, the proponent along with top Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and Subic town officials is fighting back through harassment, death threats, slander and now slapping him with the said criminal case.

Someone close to Jun Palafox confided that there are other illegal multi-million transactions going on in there.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should look into the matter. I’m sure she doesn’t and in no way tolerate such corrupt practices.

In an interview in our DZMM tele-radyo program “Salitang Buhay” with Palafox said, “the moral values I learned in the seminary (Christ the King Seminary on E. Rodriguez Boulevard) cannot compromise with the shenanigans that are going on there.”

As regards Jun’s entering the seminary, he said that out of seven brothers, six entered the seminaries – Christ the King Seminary, Vigan Seminary, and CICM in Baguio!

Unfortunately, nobody made it to the priesthood,” Jun reminisced. “It seems it was our parents who had the vocation,” he chuckled.

Looking back, however, Jun admits it was the seminary formation and discipline that served as rock foundation of his life and career later.

“We have a set of guiding principles, foremost of which are integrity and honesty.” For instance, several times he begged off from some projects where his integrity would be compromised.

The heartwarming story of architect Felino Palafox Jr. and Associates brings honor to the whole Filipino nation, worthy of emulation by our youth.

He does not deserve shabby treatment.

Subic business chamber backs hotel-casino project

MANILA, March 27 (PNA) -— The Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC), an organization of investor-companies registered in this free port, has endorsed the hotel-casino project being proposed here by Korean firm Grand Utopia Inc.

In a statement, the business group said the development project “will ultimately increase tourism in (Subic’s) central business district, create at least 5,000 jobs, and lend itself further to the viable and continued economic success of the Freeport.”

The declaration was signed by SBFCC president Danny J. Piano, who is also president and CEO of Absolute Service Inc.; vice president Romeo Duran, of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Law Offices; treasurer Dante Pollescas, vice president and general manager of Subic Enerzone Corp.; corporate secretary Rose Baldeo, president and CEO of Global Ship Management Service Inc.; director Tom de Bruin, president and CEO of Grainpro Philippines Inc.; director Sung II Cho, senior pastor of the Subic Bay Christian Worship Center, Inc.; and director Gerald James Hammond, general manager of Subic Drydock Corp.

The SBFCC issued its endorsement of the hotel-casino project in the wake of a congressional probe on allegations by noted Filipino architect Felino Palafox Jr. that some 300 trees in the project site would be destroyed if the plan pushed through.

But after independently gathering documents and other information on the controversy, the SBFCC said it has arrived at the conclusion that “there could be a reasonable balance between the conservation of nature and commercial and infrastructure development.”

The Subic hotel-casino issue “will understandably be perceived as a clash between nature and development,” the group said in its manifesto.

However, “if all encroachments against nature are to be disallowed, we will not be able to build anything anywhere anymore,” the SBFCC pointed out.

The group also pointed out that developments that make life convenient for people may be allowed although they could have some adverse effects to the environment.

These include projects like the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, where natural hills were cut and lands were paved, and the reclamation of 20,000 hectares of land around Manila Bay that destroyed corals and mangroves, but now houses the Philippine Senate building, among others.

“These are but examples of how commercial and infrastructure development may invade nature in pursuit of development, but which are nonetheless acceptable due to the benefits they bring and the control and minimization of any adverse environmental impact,” the SBFCC also said.

In the case of the proposed Ocean 9 hotel-casino project here, the SBFCC said that Parcel No. 35, the project site which supposedly contains an “urban forest”, is found outside Subic’s protected forest, and is in fact in a commercial district according to zoning guidelines.

“It has likewise been determined that Parcel No. 35 could not have been a virgin forest since the trees were introduced during development, nor could the trees in it have been more than 50 years old,” the SBFCC statement said.

The business group also noted that the allegation that some 300 so-called “heritage trees” will be destroyed in an urban forest “has spiraled into a huge controversy that threatens to erode the good image of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.”

As the members of the SBFCC live and work in and around the Subic Bay Freeport, they are “affected by the controversy,” the chamber said.

“Accordingly, SBFCC firmly believes that it is in the best interest of all concerned that the facts behind these reports be fully disclosed and well understood,” the Subic business group also said. (PNA)

After his ‘Subic circus,’ Palafox’s apology is useless

This is in reaction to the news item on the apology of “respected” architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 3/11/09)

In the article, Palafox was reported to have said — in reference to his previous allegation that five public officials were involved in anomalies at the Subic Bay Freeport — that he was “very sorry if it created a lot of trouble.”

I’ll not question the sincerity of his apology (though he blurted it out only after failing to substantiate his fantastical claims of conspiracy at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, or SBMA). I’d just like to air my frustration with the fact that he seems to think that his apology is enough to take back the havoc he has wreaked.

Palafox’s “sorry” won’t take away the fact that he has already tainted the names of those he dragged into the circus he created. His “sorry” won’t take away the fact that SBMA might be losing the confidence of potential investors in the future. More importantly, his “sorry” destroyed the dreams of thousands of unemployed and impoverished Filipinos hoping to land a job at the Ocean 9 hotel-casino project.

If only Palafox’s “sorry” can be converted into thousands of jobs, which our country direly needs in this time of global economic crisis.

Obviously, Palafox picked a bad time to hurl allegations and to brandish his so-called environmentalism. If he is really concerned about the environment, why doesn’t he wage war on its real threats, like mining companies? He’ll be more productive this way, instead of going after the environmental threats at the SBMA that his mind has conjured.

Has he raised hell on the mining companies that killed thousands of trees, thus causing floods in Leyte and Samar?

In these dire economic times, and in these times when the government is hounded by corruption scandals that are ruining our country’s reputation, we don’t want Palafox’s circus of baseless claims to further tarnish our country’s name. To quote Jack Nicholson’s character in “As Good as It Gets”: “Sell crazy some place else, we’re all stocked up here.” By VIRGILIO M. ILAGAN

Palafox apologizes to 5 government officials linked to Subic mess

RENOWNED architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. has apologized to five government officials he earlier implicated in alleged anomalies at the Subic Bay Free Port.
“It can be hearsay, or maybe factual. I’m very sorry if it created a lot of trouble,” he told legislators during the resumption of the hearing being conducted by the the House Committee on Bases Conversion.

The congressional investigation was prompted by a resolution seeking an investigation on the environment issues surrounding the construction of Ocean 9 Hotel-Casino and Golf Course, particularly the cutting of 366 trees.

Since then alleged anomalies, such as extortion attempts related to bidding for the revision of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Master Development Plan and grand profiteering, cropped up.

Members of the committee, headed by Lakas Rep. Edwin Uy of Isabela, agreed to conduct separate investigations on the matter, as manifested by Party-list Rep. Carissa Coscoluella of Buhay.

Palafox issued the apology after failing to substantiate claims of protectionism and corruption against Sen. Richard Gordon, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chairman Ephraim Genuino, former congressman Prospero Pichay, Representative Coscolluela and SBMA Director Ricardo Coscolluela.

Palafox said earlier the five names he mentioned were being brought up constantly by “hundreds of people” as protectors of SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, and involved in some anomalies in the free port.

But members of the committee began to intensely grill Palafox upon realizing the architect cannot substantiate his charges with solid evidence.

“We cannot just allow anybody, even us legislators, to accuse anyone without reasonable basis,” said Lakas Rep. Maria Rachel Arenas of Pangasinan.

Arenas’s party-mate, Lakas Rep. Philip Pichay of Surigao del Sur, told Palafox during the hearing that he has caused pain not only to his brother Prospero, but also their mother and other people close to the family.

Pichay said he is wondering why his brother, now in the water-utility sector, got entangled in the issue.

He then demanded a public apology from Palafox, specifying that it must be printed and aired in the media to clear the names of those he has “smeared.”

Palafox said, in defense, that he has “never accused anyone” and that he was merely relaying information he has received.

“I must apologize for the pain it might have caused,” said Palafox. “I am just a taxpayer. I don’t have the resources to investigate, so maybe these should be referred to the NBI [National Bureau of investigation], the Ombudsman or to other agencies.

This further irked Pichay, who asserted that Palafox should have held on to evidence before making accusations.

He added that the committee hearing is not the proper venue to disclose hearsays.

Arreza, meanwhile, expressed relief over the course of the investigation.

“The committee, I believe, is now realizing that all Palafox has got from the beginning was blank ammunition. He’s just making noise,” said Arreza.

During last week’s hearing, Palafox disproved the accusation Coscolluela that the motive behind his exposé is to try to cash in on the real-estate project.

Coscolluela tried to pin down Palafox, accusing the architect of grand profiteering for trying to lure Gran Utopia to relocate its project to Moonbay Marina, of which Palafox is a stockholder.

According to Coscolluela, Subic Coastal Development Corp. (SCDC), operator of Moonbay Marina, stands to earn no less than $40 million should Gran Utopia relocate to its site, with 10 percent, or $4 million, going to the SBMA.

Palafox, however, told the panel his shares in Moonbay were payment for his professional fee for the project, as attested in a letter written by SCDC president Marianito Fernandez.

“The shares attributed to me were payment for my professional fee, which I have almost forgotten. And even if I am a shareholder in Moonbay, I am not part of the company’s operation, so I am not aware whether SCDC asked Gran Utopia to relocate its project to Moonbay,” Palafox said.

Palafox, who exposed irregularities and extortion in SBMA bidding, last year backed out of the $120-million Gran Utopia—in effect losing $1 million (P48 million) in professional fees—after learning that the project would involve clearing 366 endangered trees in Subic’s Central Business District. Written by Fernan Marasigan /Business Mirror

Palafox accused of breach of confidentiality

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – An official of the Korean firm planning to build a $120-million casino-hotel here assailed architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. for breaking their agreement’s confidentiality.

“We are deeply disappointed that our former architect, Felino Palafox Jr., began criticizing our Subic project in the media and using documents of our company,” Eric Ghi-Buhm Park, executive manager of Grand Utopia, said in a statement.

“By coming out in the media and speaking before various public gatherings (while) criticizing our Subic project, the architect has committed a breach not only of the provisions of the subcontract agreement but also of professional ethics,” Park said.

He issued the statement after the special House committee on bases conversion opened last week its initial hearing on two resolutions seeking to look into allegations that some 300 trees would be cut to make way for the casino project, and that members of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s bids and awards committee had asked for kickbacks in the bidding for the freeport’s master development plan project.

Palafox denied Park’s allegations.

“What [Park] said was all wrong. If there was breach of contract here, then it happened on their side. A 20-person team from our firm worked from July to November last year without pay. When we billed them for the down payment and mobilization fund, a couple of times I might add, they asked me to sign on their designs. They wanted my signature before they would release the payments. We did not get a single centavo from them despite our work,” Palafox said.

Palafox’s campaign to save hundreds of trees in the hotel-casino project site has stirred controversy, forcing the SBMA to issue repeated assurances that not one tree would be cut or removed from the site.

Park said Yamasaki, architect of Grand Utopia, tapped Palafox’s firm, Palafox Associates, for the Subic project because the Filipino architect committed “to take charge of the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and the environmental impact study (EIS).”

Park said Palafox signed the subcontract with Yamasaki on Sept. 22, 2008, two months before the groundbreaking for the project was held. By Robert Gonzaga - Philippine Daily Inquirer

366 trees to be incorporated in the hotel-casino project in SBMA

The 366 centuries-old trees that were originally set to be felled to give way to a proposed casino-hotel and golf course at Subic Freeport will be spared by the South Korean developer commissioned to implement the project.

At a congressional hearing yesterday, Eric Park, manager of Gran Utopia Corporation, assured the Lower House members that he will alter the development plan of the project to incorporate trees into the structures his firm will put up.

Park appeared at the hearing conducted by the House Committee on Bases Conversion to clarify accusations that the proposed project, to be financed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), would include the cutting of 366 trees, most of which are endangered species.

The SBMA, headed by administrator Armand Arreza, reportedly did not object to the original plan, although Park admitted that it may still be revised to save the trees.

Park categorically said their company would be amenable to the proposal of Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga to incorporate the 366 endangered trees in its development plan rather than cutting them.

“We could alter the development plan as long as we are allowed to pursue this project,” Park told the panel.

Architect Felino Palafox Jr., the urban planner who exposed SBMA’s consent to the tree cutting, insisted earlier that the idea is highly feasible, as his architectural firm had designed in several of its projects. Manila Bulletin

Attack of the clowns

By Conrado R. Banal III - Philippine Daily Inquirer
An architect named Felino A. Palafox Jr. has been making a lot of noise in the media, throwing at the SBMA (Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority) environmental issues such as the cutting of trees at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Getting the heat of course was SBMA head Armand Arreza, whom Palafox claims to have influential backers.

For instance, Palafox claimed at hearings in the House of Representatives that one of Arreza’s kids was asking money from SBMA locators. You know — as in extorting.

Palafox forgot to say, of course, which one of the two kids of Arreza it was, whether the nine-year-old or the 12-year-old.

But then Palafox provided the House with incontrovertible proof to his claims by saying he only heard those things.

Anyway, this is what I have heard about the whole affair. It seems that Palafox has interests in a venture called Moon Bay Resort, in turn owned by a company called Subic Coastal Development Corp. Word has it that Palafox is one of its stockholders.

Now the company was wooing a Korean group to investing in a hotel-casino project at their site in the Subic free port.

Unfortunately for Palafox and company, the Korean company dropped the project, apparently because the site was adjacent to a cemetery.

The Korean group instead chose another site, a two-hectare lot at the free port that nevertheless had fruit trees.

Subsequently, Palafox started to make a big fuss out of the plan of the Korean group to cut down those fruit trees.

Now, the site of the Moon Bay Resort project — some 16.5 hectares of it — at least based on the House hearings, also used to have a lot of trees.

Exactly what happened to them, Palafox was not saying. Maybe he did not have the luck to hear talk about the cutting of those trees.

Palafox seeks probe of Subic bidding

THE Korean developer that planned to put up Ocean 9 hotel-casino and a golf course agreed to alter its development plan to incorporate the trees into the structures it would put up in Subic, as environment issues were raised that prompted Congress to conduct an investigation on the matter.

At the continuation of the hearing being conducted by the House Committee on Bases Conversion, it was found out that the 366 centuries old endangered trees, the bone of contention, were not actually cut as earlier reported.

Eric Park, manager of Gran Utopia Corp., categorically said the Korean company is amenable to the proposal of Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) Rep. Elpidio Barzaga of Cavite to incorporate the 366 endangered trees in its development plan rather than cutting them.

“Yes, your honor, we could alter the development plan as long as we are allowed to pursue this project,” Park told the panel.

In the same hearing, Felino Palafox Jr., the architect who exposed that the hotel developer was planning to cut the trees to pave way for its hotel and golf course with the consent of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), disproved the accusation of Party-list Rep. Carissa Coscolluela of Buhay that the motive behind his exposé is to try to cash in on the real- estate project.

Coscolluela tried to pin down Palafox, accusing the architect of grand profiteering for trying to lure Gran Utopia to relocate its project to Moonbay Marina, of which Palafox is a stockholder.

According to Coscolluela, Subic Coastal Development Corp. (SCDC), operator of Moonbay Marina, stands to earn no less than $40 million should Gran Utopia relocate to its site with 10 percent, or $4 million, going to the SBMA.

Palafox, however, told the panel his shares in Moonbay were payment for his professional fee for the project, as attested in a letter written by SCDC president Marianito Fernandez.

“The shares attributed to me were payment for my professional fee, which I have almost forgotten. And even if I am a shareholder in Moonbay, I am not part of the company’s operation, so I am not aware whether SCDC asked Gran Utopia to relocate its project to Moonbay,” Palafox said.

Palafox, who exposed irregularities and extortion in SBMA bidding, last year backed out of the $120-million Gran Utopia—in effect losing $1 million (P48 million) in professional fees—after learning that the project would involve clearing 366 endangered trees in Subic’s Central Business District.

Palafox also asked the ethics committees of the Senate and the House to investigate the alleged graft involving a senator and a congresswoman to clear their names and to stop alleged bidding irregularities at the SBMA.

Palafox said he is seeking the investigation in reaction to increasing pressure for him to prove his allegations.

“I have already given you the names of people whom my sources said are backers of SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, who is strongly supporting the construction of the controversial casino and hotel project of Gran Utopia. It is up to both houses of Congress and antigraft bodies concerned to look into the allegations,” he said.

Palafox earlier named Sen. Richard Gordon, Rep. Carissa Coscolluela and her father SBMA board member Ricardo Coscolluela, Chairman Ephraim Genuino of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and former Lakas Rep. Prospero Pichay of Surigao del Sur as among those having knowledge of alleged irregularities in the SBMA.

The architect, who is ranked 94th among the world’s top 200 architects and who has projects in 32 countries, also earlier complained to Arreza that an SBMA official allegedly tried to extort 18 percent from his firm in order to approve the bid of the Palafox Associates in October 2007.

“I know my revelations against top government officials allegedly involved in irregularities will put me in hot water. Instead of earning praises, I’ve been getting brickbats and death threats from those challenging me to prove my allegations,’’ he said.

“I really hope it is in my power to substantiate my claim, but I don’t have the capability to investigate graft and only key government agencies have the mandate and resources to do so. I hope that in fairness to the people I named, in fairness to me and the public, the Ombudsman, the Presidential Antigraft Commission, Commission on Audit, the National Bureau of Investigation and even the ethics committees of Congress will closely look into this matter,’’ he said.

According to him, he was not accusing directly any of those named of wrong-doing but that he was only stating what others related to him. Business Mirror

Grand Utopia official lashes back at Palafox

SUBIC BAY Freeport: A top official of the controversial $120-million hotel and casino that has become the subject of environmental concern has finally lashed back at its former architect who turned into the project’s No. 1 critic after being sidelined from the project.

In a statement, Executive Manager Eric Ghi-Buhm Park said that Grand Utopia Inc. is deeply disappointed that their former architect Felino Palafox Jr. began criticizing their Subic Project in the media using documents of their company.

“By coming out in the media and speaking before various public gatherings [while] criticizing our Subic project, the architect has committed a breach not only of the provisions of the subcontract agreement but also of professional ethics,” Park added.

Environment Secretary Lito Atienza also inspected the project site last January and confirmed that the trees remained intact at the project site.

“If architect Palafox, as our professional local architect, was sincerely concerned about the trees from the very beginning, wasn’t it his responsibility to advise his client Grand Utopia of an alternative solution instead of publicly criticizing his client’s project in an unethical way with all exaggerations?” Park rued.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Armand Arreza in a separate statement is urging the critics of the project to be objective and stop sensationalizing the issue that has only delayed the project.

“We still think that this project would be beneficial to the Subic Bay Freeport, especially with the projected manpower hiring of about 5,000. It’s a project proposal that we have to evaluate objectively,” Arreza said.

Arreza made the appeal after the Special Committee on Bases Conversion of the House of Representatives on Tuesday conducted its initial hearing on two resolutions seeking to investigate claims made by noted architect Palafox.

The project remained on hold since November last year after Palafox’s claims triggered protests from environmental groups concerned about trees at the project site.

The SBMA official also bared project proponent Grand Utopia Inc. has already asked the SBMA to give them an alternate location since the allegations have caused the project much delay.--Anthony Bayarong - Manila Times

Architects, planners contradict Palafox claim in Subic

SUBIC Bay Freeport -- Development and conservation of nature can co-exist.

With this in mind, various professional associations, including the biggest group of architects in the country, have called on concerned government agencies to conduct an objective appraisal of the proposed hotel-casino project in the freeport.

In a manifesto, the Council for Built and Natural Environments, composed of nine professional organizations, said “a second look” at the project is needed to come up with “a more objective and intelligent appreciation of the situation.”

The group released the manifesto after conducting a fact-finding mission on the proposed site for the Ocean 9 hotel-casino project last Feb. 5 where they found that no tree has been cut or felled, contrary to allegations made by urban planner Felino Palafox, Jr.

The CBNE is composed of United Architects of the Philippines, Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners, Philippine Association of Landscape Architects, Geological Society of the Philippines, Integrated Chemists of the Philippines, National Master Plumbers Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Agriculturists, Philippine Institute of Interior Designers, and Society of Filipino Foresters.

The Ocean 9 hotel-casino project proposed by Korean firm Grand Utopia has been sidelined since groundbreaking in November last year after Palafox alleged that it would result in the destruction of some 300 trees, including supposedly century-old trees at the proposed project site.

The allegations by Palafox, who was previously hired to design the project, stirred a controversy, although the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority had categorically stated no trees had been cut and it would not allow any tree-cutting.

The group’s fact-finding mission validated that the project site is within Subic’s commercial district, that there is no natural forest in the proposed project site, and that no tree has been cut or felled. Journal.com.ph

Subic hotel-casino proponent now looking for alternate site

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT­—Despite the raging controversy stirred by allegations of tree cutting to make way for the Ocean 9 hotel-casino project here, the Korean proponent has not given up on its $120-million project and is now scouting for another location.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza said in a media briefing that Grand Utopia Inc. asked Subic authorities for help in finding another site for its hotel-casino complex.

“We have, in fact, found a suitable new location, but it’s not yet final,” Arreza said.

He identified a block of waterfront property where the decade-old steel skeleton of an aborted hotel project still stands as a possible site.

“Understandably, Grand Utopia is already impatient because of the delay resulting from the controversy,” Arreza said, referring to allegations by noted Filipino architect Felino Palafox Jr. that the project would destroy about 300 trees at the proposed site.

The purported tree cutting has caused uproar among environment, religious and civic groups, although not a single tree has yet been cut, as some independent groups had verified, including Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, who inspected the site last month.

Arreza said what happened was really unfair to Grand Utopia, “because this locator has, since the beginning, indicated its willingness to abide by Philippine laws.”

He added if the Ocean 9 proposal would indeed destroy trees, the plan could always be altered or rejected by authorities.

“That’s why we have laws to guide us in making decisions,” he said.

Arreza also called on critics of the project to stop “sensationalizing” the issue for the truth to emerge and the matter resolved rationally.

He said the issue is “already moot” since no trees have actually been cut at the project site, and the SBMA and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have categorically stated they will not allow any tree to be cut.

“This is already a closed case as far as we’re concerned, but the problem is somebody continues to muddle the issue,” Arreza said, referring to Palafox.

“Palafox fancies himself as a crusader for the environment and a fighter of corruption, but so far he has been making unsubstantiated allegations,” Arreza said.

“He owes a lot of people explanation for what he’s done,” he added.

Arreza said Palafox began “exposing” internal documents about the Ocean 9 hotel-casino project even before Grand Utopia could formally present its plan to the SBMA.

The initial environmental examination (IEE) report for the project was received by the SBMA only in the first week of January this year, but Palafox has been talking about its details since late November, Arreza said.

“That was grossly unethical because he [Palafox], technically, did not own the plans since he was just hired as a project designer,” Arreza said.

Palafox claimed last year that he backed out of the project after learning that Grand Utopia intended to cut trees.

Arreza said documents from Grand Utopia indicated that Palafox was precisely hired because he promised the Korean firm to facilitate the granting of an environmental compliance certificate for the project.

SBMA documents also show that an environmental assessment group hired by Palafox for the project’s IEE had said in its initial report “tree-balling is highly recommended.”

A manifesto from the Council for Built and Natural Environments (CBNE), composed of nine professional organizations, meanwhile, urged “a second look” at the Ocean 9 controversy to “come up with a more objective and intelligent appreciation of the situation.”

The CBNE said a fact-finding mission it conducted on February 5 validated that the proposed project site is in Subic’s commercial district, there is no natural forest in the proposed project site and that no tree has been cut or felled.

Based on its findings, the group concluded that vegetation in the project site can neither be considered virgin forest, or a natural old-growth forest, and that there are no century-old trees in the area.

The CBNE is composed of the United Architects of the Philippines, Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners, Philippine Association of Landscape Architects, Geological Society of the Philippines, Integrated Chemists of the Philippines, National Master Plumbers Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Agriculturists, Philippine Institute of Interior Designers, and the Society of Filipino Foresters. Written by Henry Empeño / Business Mirror

Palafox on a witch hunt

Gordon, others linked to alleged Subic anomaly
An architect on Tuesday implicated five former and incumbent government officials, including Senator Richard Gordon, in alleged bribery and protectionism in the construction of a $120-million hotel-casino project in Subic.

During the hearing of the House Committee on Bases Conversion, architect Felino "Jun" Palafox Jr. named Gordon, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Board of Directors member Ricardo Coscolluela and his daughter Buhay party-list Rep. Ma. Carissa Coscolluela, Pagcor Chairman Ephraim Genuino, and former Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay as the "backers" of SBMA Administrator Armando Arreza in supporting the project.

He said he initially did not want to disclose the names of the officials allegedly involved in the corruption but was compelled to do so because of death and legal threats he has been receiving and the "black propaganda" being hurled against him.

"I'm doing this for God, for country and for planet earth," Palafox said.

Palafox however admitted that he did not have direct knowledge of the alleged corruption. He also refused to disclose his sources during the House hearing, saying he had a "personal and professional commitment" to them.

The younger Coscolluela denied the allegation and challenged Palafox to substantiate his claims during the next hearing. "You had better be able to substantiate your claims against me or I will see you in court," she said, adding that all the accusers and accused must likewise appear in the next hearing.

Earlier in the hearing, Palafox alleged that there was bribery and protectionism in the process of the approval of the $120-million project.

Palafox said he backed out from the deal with Korean Firm Gran Utopia Inc. because the project's design entailed the cutting of 366 trees in the supposed construction site in Subic's Central Business District.

He however said that despite the SBMA's stance that it does not want trees cut for the project, the SBMA signed a contract with the Korean firm allowing the construction.

But Arreza said during the hearing that there was a provision in the contract that says its execution was subject to laws and to the issuance of an environmental compliance certificate by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

"We don't know why we are being subjected when there are no trees cut," said Arreza.

He also maintained that the SBMA's stance "has always been to preserve the trees."

Even as he said that the area where the hotel-casino was supposed to be built was not a protected area, Arreza said the SBMA is now helping Gran Utopia Inc. find another site for the project.

For his part, Oscar Cabayanan of the DENR said they would not likely issue an ECC to Gran Utopia if the construction of the project entails the cutting of trees. "No trees should be cut," he said. - JOHANNA CAMILLE SISANTE, GMANews.TV

DENR: Reports on tree-cutting exaggerated

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Reports on the cutting of trees in this free port are exaggerated.

So declared Environment Secretary Lito Atienza when he visited the controversial site of the proposed Ocean 9 hotel-casino project here on Wednesday.

Inspecting the trees at the 2-hectare project site here with officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), officials of project proponent Grand Utopia Inc. and members of the media, Atienza noted that contrary to some published reports, the trees at the project site had remained intact all along.

“We should stick to the truth,” Atienza said.

“They said trees have been cut here, so where are those cut trees?” Atienza wondered aloud during the inspection.

“A lot of reports that came out in the newspapers now turn out to be inaccurate and exaggerated,” he also told the media.

Atienza inspected the project site exactly a week after announcing that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) would now control the issuance of environmental permits in this free port—a task previously delegated to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) under a memorandum of agreement between the two agencies.

In revoking the agreement, Atienza noted among others that the SBMA has been criticized lately because of the allegations, notably by architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr., that some 300 trees would be destroyed to make way for the hotel-casino project.

Some reports also alleged that some “century-old trees” have been cut in the site, which was sometimes described as “old-growth forest.”

But Wednesday’s visit apparently convinced Atienza that the allegations were unfounded.

Atienza said activism for the environment is good. “But, of course, we have to stick to reality and the truth,” he said.

Noting Palafox’s avowed passion for the environment, Atienza told the media that he and Palafox “could work together.”

“At this point, personally, I can see that no trees were cut,” Atienza declared.

“It is very important that the whole country should know that no trees have been cut in SBMA up to now,” he also assured SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga and SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, who joined him in the inspection.

“If there were century-old trees here, we should see them now; but there’s none,” Atienza said. “This is a reclaimed area during the US Navy days, so it’s impossible for century-old trees to be here,” he added.

At the same time, Atienza told officials of Grand Utopia to cooperate with the DENR to resolve the controversy regarding the trees at the project site.

“Let’s work together for a win-win solution,” Atienza told Ocean 9 managing director Louis Joong-Moon Choi.

He said that while Ocean 9 “is a very good project” since it will create some 5,000 jobs once operational, the proponent should also be sensitive to local issues, particularly those environment-related.

Atienza suggested that Grand Utopia should redesign the $120-million project to incorporate ”mature trees” in the project site.

“You can use the [existing] trees to add ambiance to the project,” he said, noting that world-class tourism projects spend millions of dollars to incorporate trees in their design.

He also directed DENR field officers to conduct tests at the project site to determine whether some trees have really been poisoned, as insinuated by Palafox and other critics of the project.

Atienza said that results of the soil tests may be available after a week.

NGOs, religious groups doubt Palafox claims

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Enlightened by a visit to the site of the controversial $120-million Ocean 9 hotel-casino project, several socio-civic groups are now having serious doubts about the allegations made by an urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. that the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority is planning to destroy 300 trees just to put through with the plan.

“All the allegations of Palafox will have to be assessed,” Fr. June Vic Diolata, executive vice secretary of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, said. “We hope we could see a dialogue between the two parties.”

The site visit was organized by the AMRSP and was joined by some 100 representatives from the Haribon Foundation, Kapatiran, Zambales Earth Savers, and students from De La Salle University, Adamson University, Assumption Academy in Bulacan, and Columbian College in Olongapo City.

Palafox was absent during the site visit.

Diolata stressed that the visit was very helpful in providing information that would counter the “serious” accusations made by Palafox.

“The site enabled everyone who participated here to come up with an objective opinion,” Diolata added.

Arreza, meanwhile, assured the visitors that he is amenable to a dialogue with Palafox.

“That was what we have been asking Palafox ever since, instead of his propagating malicious ideas against SBMA,” Arreza said.

“I can face him right now if only he has had the courage to come here,” he added. Arreza laughed off claims by Palafox that some trees were poisoned to remove the obstacles hampering the project.

“He might be referring to some narra trees, which naturally shed leaves in this season, making them appear lifeless” Arreza said.

--Tonight

‘Environmental corruption’ slammed

OLONGAPO CITY – The architect who withdrew from a $120-million casino-hotel project at the Subic Bay Freeport in protest of tree-cutting there returned on Saturday to talk with local community and continue his crusade against “environmental corruption.”

“We just tried to save those trees and we opened a can of worms of corruption. I’m just here to tell the truth – for God, for our country, the planet earth and future generations,” Felino Palafox Jr. told religious leaders, environmental advocates, residents and students.

He was referring to plans of the Korean firm, Grand Utopia Inc., to cut or transfer trees so it could build a casino-hotel in a forested patch inside the free port.

Speaking at the Columban College here, Palafox said a letter from concerned employees of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority in July last year alerted him about the plan to cut trees in the project site.

Palafox said he was tapped by Yamasaki, the firm that made the basic design of the casino-hotel, as local architect and environmental planner. “We realized that the reason they (Yamasaki) got us is so they could use my name and my license for their designs,” he said.

At that time, Palafox told his staff that it was the firm’s choice to accept $1 million and destroy the trees. “But the field of architecture is a noble profession. If we accept that, I told them, then we are no better than prostitutes,” he said.

In November, Palafox quit from the project, because of the issue of cutting more than 300 trees.

He said SBMA officials had also threatened to sue him for disclosing an extortion attempt by a member of the agency’s bids and awards committee in connection with the port’s master development plan project.

“I just wanted to save the trees, not to destroy other people’s reputation,” he said. “But now, I have death treats from corrupt officials of the SBMA. They are trying to scare me and discredit me so that when I am called by the Senate to testify, then I will no longer have any credibility.”

Sen. Pia Cayetano asked Sen. Jamby Madrigal, chair of the Senate environment committee, to conduct an inquiry on the plan to cut trees in the casino-hotel site.

Palafox said SBMA officials also gave mixed signals to the public and investors on the project. He referred to varying accounts of SBMA officials on the number and sizes of trees in the area and the supposed corruption involving SBMA officials whom he did not name.

“There is really a grand deception here. Some people in the SBMA tell me that there is corruption here. But Subic belongs to all Filipinos and not to a few corrupt SBMA officials,” he said.

A group led by the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) visited the project site on Saturday and was met by Arreza and SBMA officials.

“Granting that the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) has already revoked or suspended their authority to issue ECC and other permits as required by environmental laws, I think the DENR’s review, study and recommendation will be very crucial in the next days,” said Fr. Junvic Dialito, AMRSP executive director.

“We will wait and monitor the result of the DENR review of the site and of the project. So far we have seen that the trees are still standing, thank God. I think that’s the result of the exposé that has been made,” Dialito said.

By Robert Gonzaga - Inquirer

Groups to review Palafox’s claims in Subic tree controversy

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT - Environmentalists, civic groups and members of the religious sector who are pressing to save trees allegedly threatened by the $120-million Ocean 9 hotel-casino project here said they will reevaluate facts presented by both parties in the controversy after visiting the project site.

In particular, the groups will reassess the claims by architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr., who said earlier that the project will destroy more than 300 trees, some of which are classified as endangered species.

The groups visited the project site on Saturday after hearing Palafox speak on the Subic tree row in a forum at Columban College in Olongapo City.

“All the allegations of Palafox will have to be assessed,” said Fr. June Vic Diolata, executive vice secretary of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, which organized the “Save a Tree, Save the Country” assembly on Saturday.

“We hope we could see a dialogue between the two [parties],” he added.

Some 100 representatives from the Haribon Foundation, Kapatiran, Zambales Earth Savers and students from De La Salle University, Adamson University and Assumption Academy in Bulacan motored to Olongapo City for the assembly, which was soon followed by a trip to the project site.

Palafox, however, did not join the site visit, where Administrator Armand Arreza of the Subic Bay Metropolican Authority (SBMA) and Ocean 9 managing director Louis Jong-Moon Choi were present to answer inquiries.

Choi pointed out that Grand Utopia Inc., the proponent of the Ocean 9 project, has been complying with all relevant laws, rules and regulations.

He added that Palafox, who was initially tapped to design the project but later turned critic reportedly in his desire to save trees in the area, “has never visited the project site.”

Arreza, meanwhile, agreed with suggestions that the two parties meet for a dialogue to thresh things out in the continuing controversy, even as he belied claims by Palafox that the SBMA intended to allow tree cutting to make way for the project.

In the Olongapo forum, Palafox claimed that “161 trees are dying in the area,” and further implied that the trees could have been poisoned or intentionally subjected to stress.

“You can kill trees simply with rock salt, or bulldozers can be used to shake the trees overnight, which can cause their death,” Palafox added.

He also presented photographs showing markings on trees at the project site, describing the trees as “marked like convicts lined up for execution.”

Arreza, however, laughed off Palafox’s claims, explaining that the “dying trees” could be some narra trees that naturally shed leaves at the start of the dry season.

He added that the tree markings were made during the SBMA tree inventory last year, and “precisely to ensure that not one tree is touched until the DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] is done with processing the project’s environmental compliance certificate.”

Meanwhile, the cranes in the area that Palafox claimed are poised “to massacre the trees” are being used to test the soil to determine the integrity of the site, which was reclaimed from swamplands, said Arreza.

Arreza added that concerned groups are welcome any time to investigate and undertake tests to determine whether the trees are being poisoned.

“We have nothing to hide.”

Diolata said the visit confirmed that “the cranes were being used for soil testing only” and that “all of the trees are intact.”

He added that the site visit “would enable everyone who joined to come up with an objective opinion.”

Olongapo City councilor JC de los Reyes, who represented the local government during the assembly, commended Arreza for “his transparency and courage to face the people, who were just doing their job as Filipinos.”

Regarding Palafox’s allegations, he described them as “still hanging,” adding that he would later present Palafox’s alleged “evidence” for the SBMA to answer.

“My purpose, really, is to ferret out the truth, because there are two sides to this story,” de los Reyes said.

By. Henry Empeño - Business Mirror

SBMA gave mixed signals—Palafox

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines—The architect who blew the whistle on plans to destroy a tree patch for a casino-hotel said officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority were giving mixed signals to people and investors on the project.

Architect Felino Palafox Jr., who earlier said more than 300 trees would be destroyed for the project, said SBMA officials were involved in a “grand deception” when they told the Korean firm, Grand Utopia Inc., it can develop the site and later announced that no tree would be cut there.

Palafox also said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources had confirmed that trees in the site were big, not small as SBMA officials would want the public to believe.

“While the SBMA was telling us one thing, [some of its officials] were telling another thing to the Koreans,” he said.

“We can’t blame the Koreans [for hoping that the project would go on smoothly] because maybe [the SBMA] was telling that they could cut the trees and proceed with project,” he added.

Religious group support

Palafox was in Olongapo City on Saturday and spoke in a forum organized by religious groups at the Columban College.

At the project site, SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza assured the groups that no tree will be cut for the project.

He told them that the issuance of the ECC for the project now rests with the DENR.

Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza earlier scrapped the 2006 memorandum of agreement (MOA) in which the DENR authorized the SBMA to process and issue ECCs for projects at the Subic freeport.

Arreza said the bulldozers and cranes found at the project site were used for soil testing, and not for destroying any tree.

“There are no century old trees here because this land was reclaimed only in the 1960s,” said Arreza.

“There is a different agenda behind this and I ask you not to participate in that unless there is proof,” he said.

Word of honor

Larry Pangan, representing the group Earth Savers (Zambales), asked: “Can we have your word that no tree will be cut?”

“The President has said that,” Arreza said, referring to an order from President Macapagal-Arroyo during their recent meeting.

“We are not going to cut any tree. We have made that statement several times,” he said.

In a statement on Saturday, Sen. Pia Cayetano said she would keep an eye on how the DENR would rule in the case of the casino-hotel project of Grand Utopia.

She said she has asked the chair of the Senate environment committee, Sen. Jamby Madrigal, to conduct an inquiry on the plan by the firm to cut trees. By Robert Gonzaga, Ansbert Joaquin and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon

Coscolluela hits back at Palafox

“HE started it!”
This was the reaction yesterday of Carissa Coscolluela as she got back at controversial urban planner Felino Palafox on claims that the Buhay party-list representative is waging “a black propaganda campaign” against him to destroy his credibility.

“He started this. Sino ba ang unang lumabas sa media at nagsalita tungkol sa isyu ng extortion sa Subic bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA)?” Coscolluela asked.

“I don’t know him personally, so I don’t have a reason to launch a massive black propaganda campaign against him. In fact, I admire his reputation as accomplished person in his field of expertise,” the lady lawmaker said.

But Coscolluela said Palafox was out of line when he started to throw baseless accusations of extortion against an SBMA official, whom he has failed to identify until now.

“I felt it is unfair to the SBMA that has accomplished a lot to be put in a bad light after Palafox indiscriminately threw baseless accusations against the agency,” she said.

“He started with his accusation last year and he again came out to the media this year with the same allegation pero hindi naman niya sinasabi kung sino,” she added.

At first, Coscolluela said, Palafox said to media that a son of SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, was only nine years old then, asked for an 18 percent “commission” in exchange for the approval of his bid for a project inside the Freeport zone.

“Paano mangyayari iron? Sampung taon lang ang anak ni Administrator Arreza at kung nangyari ito last year, ibig sabihin siyam na taon lang ito noon,” she pointed to a certain “Boy Coscolluela” as the one who reputedly tried to extort from him.

Subic tree row: Group says reforestation a better option

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT—A nongovernment organization that recently completed an environmental study of the project site for the proposed $120-million Ocean 9 hotel-casino project here has concluded that replacing affected trees in the area would be a “wiser option” than relocating them elsewhere.

Pastor Malabrigo, a professor at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB) and team leader of the environmental consultancy group Kanlungan Development Association of Innovators Inc., said the trees in the area are “mostly diseased.”

In this instance, he said, reforestation and other environment-protection activities should be undertaken by the project proponent Grand Utopia Inc., instead of spending too much for tree-balling and relocation.

Kanlungan, which was tapped by Grand Utopia to undertake the Initial Environmental Examination Report (IEER) for the hotel-casino project, is composed mostly of professors and experts from UP and holds office on the UPLB campus.

The group’s report, which was completed after a three-week study of the project site, debunked most of the arguments made by critics of the project, who said the development would sacrifice more than 300 trees.

Among the more significant findings by Kanlungan is the need to replace 161 “diseased trees,” even as the group recommended that 70 healthy trees be relocated, and 51 others be retained at the 1.9-hectare project site.

“People should look at the prospects of an 8-hectare reforested land versus the pitiful condition of the mostly defective trees in the project site,” Malabrigo said, as he argued for the reforestation option on Wednesday.

He said the project site, which served as a minigolf course during the US Navy days, is unsuitable for tree growth, with the concrete paving for the golf links causing the development of “very disturbed root systems.”

As a result, Malabrigo explained, trees in the area eventually developed various diseases such as rotting.

He added that most of the trees in the area “are very common species” like atis, langka and guava, among others. These “can be easily replaced with prime, even endangered, trees,” he said.

Malabrigo also stressed that his group did not recommend extensive tree-balling because this would cost from P100,000 to P200,000 per tree, depending on its size.

The better alternative would be reforestation, which costs around P70,000 per hectare per year, he said.

Moreover, “the very tedious process of balling and transplanting will subject the trees to a lot of stress,” Malabrigo pointed out.

“Unhealthy trees won’t be able to withstand this.”

“Rather than spending too much for relocation of trees whose survival is really uncertain, the SBMA [Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority] Ecology Center might as well ask the proponent to allocate resources for other environmental restoration and restoration activities,” he concluded.

In the course of its environmental examination, Kanlungan also said it has identified 235 trees and 47 palms in the project site, as opposed to 336 trees (including palm species) as inventoried by the SBMA Ecology Center.

Malabrigo said the discrepancy was due to the fact that the SBMA inventory individually counted each sprouting pole of the palm specie Palmera tree, when they should have been counted as individual clusters.

“Palms are not trees, and should be differentiated as such,” Malabrigo pointed out.

He said of the 48 tree species found in the area, only two—ipil and narra—are classified as “endangered.” The Manila Palm is also considered endangered.

Malabrigo, however, clarified that the term “endangered” means the population is threatened “in the wilds only” and does not necessarily mean that the species is on the brink of extinction.

This is true in the case of Manila palm, that is scarce in the wilds, but is commonly used in gardens and man-made landscapes.

For the Ocena 9 hotel-casino project, Malabrigo said the two ipil trees at the project site will not be affected by the project design and will be retained, along with five of the 18 Manila palms.

Among the 13 narra trees, which are found mostly at the periphery of the lot parcel, only one of these will have to be transplanted.

The rest, he said, “will find their way into urban landscaping” for the hotel-casino project.

He also clarified that the description of the project site as “densely stocked with trees” was inaccurate, since it has a tree density of less than three trees per 200 square meters.

This ratio falls short of the standard of one tree per two square meters, Malabrigo said.

To compensate for the trees that would have to be removed, Malabrigo said Grand Utopia would have to come up with replacement trees totaling 8,050, or 50 seedlings per one tree that will be replaced.

He said this ratio would be enough to reforest an 8-hectare area with the recommended spacing of three meters by three meters.

He added that the SBMA Ecology Center has already identified the Pastolan area at the east side of the Subic Bay Free Port as a viable reforestation area.

As to the contention by project critics that several trees in the area are “century-old,” Malabrigo said this cannot be ascertained without cutting the trees down and counting the annual rings.

But he noted that most of the trees in the area are saplings and poles with girths less than 10 centimeters in diameter.

The SBMA also said earlier that the project site, as confirmed by geological surveys, was reclaimed by the US Navy from swampland sometime in late 1950s or early 1960s. This, SBMA officials said, precludes the possibility that century-old trees could be found in the area. Written by Henry Empeño / Budiness Mirror Correspondent

Subic extortion

When Administrator Armand Arreza of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) went to the Kapihan sa Manila media forum to talk about the alleged extortion attempt on Palafox Associates, environmental consultant for the South Korean-owned casino-hotel planned for construction in the Subic Bay Freeport, he said he asked Felino Palafox Jr. for the identity of the person who asked for an 18 percent commission. Palafox did not identify the person, he said. Arreza said of Palafox: “Why is he not cooperating?” He also said it was reported that it was his son that asked for the commission, but his son is only 10 years old.

Last Monday, Palafox explained why he could not identify the person who delivered the extortion message. The message was not delivered to him personally, he said. “It was an engineering consultant, Ed Santos from Woodfields Consultants, who conveyed the message to our architect Chona Ponce. Santos refused to tell the name of the person who asked the 18 percent commission from Palafox Associates and Woodfields Consultants in order for us to be short-listed in the updating of the Subic Master Plan. This happened in October 2007.

“As a good citizen, I immediately reported the incident to Arreza, who volunteered to investigate the matter and he suspected someone from the bidding committee. I then told Secretary Cerge Remonde and Secretary Ed Pamintuan about the extortion attempt, when I did not get feedback from Arreza on his investigation. I was hoping, and they assured me, they would investigate. The government has the resources to investigate.”

Palafox added that he was “not clamming up.” He said, “Our sources on anomalies at the SBMA involving Arreza are so scared for their lives and safety, their business and investments, and their employment. When I told them I would report the information received, they refused to be identified or to name names.”

He added that he had been told that Santos has resigned from Woodfields and that his boss is now in Finland.

Palafox also denied naming Arreza’s 10-year-old son as the one asking for the 18 percent commission. “This is absurd, ridiculous, and too big a lie,” he said.

Palafox explained that he did not start the extortion story. “When the media interviewed me regarding the trees on the site of the proposed casino-hotel project, I was asked if I was aware of any extortion cases in Subic. I do not have control over what media writes or publishes.”

He added that his firm was commissioned to do projects here and in other countries, but he was never asked for “commissions” like they do in the SBMA. “In Clark, we have American and Kuwaiti investors who intend to invest $2 billion.” Nobody asked for the so-called “SOP, Facilitation Fee, TIP (To Insure Promptness), Lagay, Patong, which people reportedly talk about in the SBMA,” he said.

As a parting shot, Palafox said he did not name any Coscolluela as the “extortionist.” The congresswoman who said I did was wrong, he said. By Neal Cruz - As I see it - Philippine Daily Inquirer