Punchline
Accountabilities of Vlad Mata and Tony Uy
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
FIRST the good news. The evidence of technical malversation of public funds and corruption by the Lim administration is already piling up so fast and so high in just over a two-week period since Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez took over the city’s reins as acting mayor.
The Lim administration’s lies, cover-ups and denials of the shenanigans reported incessantly in The PUNCH are now staring back at all the city hall appointees who unabashedly joined the chorus to prop up a corrupt administration.
Now the bad news. Massive corruption has its costs and the city will have to suffer the consequences. The misused and stolen funds can no longer be recovered to keep the city’s ship on even keel for the rest of the year. Programs will have to be shelved, bonuses will likely be suspended, and that’s just for starters.
Since Mayor Lim is temporarily (or permanently?) incapacitated, he cannot be made to account for his administration’s criminal acts presently but there is one who can and should be made to account, namely Mr. Vlad Mata as city administrator – the alter ego of the mayor. He should initially be made to account for the Lim administration’s sins against the Dagupeños. Besides, isn’t it mostly his signatures that appear in the documents that authorized illegal activities and issued illegal orders?
With the documents and statements of city officials that will surely see to his indictment and prosecution, charges should be filed against him pronto before the Ombudsman before he can plan on flying the coop and leave the city high and dry. Even Mr. Lim’s appointees affirm that Mr. Mata, as city administrator, was Mr. Lim’s top partner in crime against the city. Sayang ka, Lt. Col. Mata!
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THE LOYAL SIDEKICK. Now that the regional trial court has effectively voided the rush-fire sale of the decrepit MC Adore Hotel to a known business ally by affinity, city hall observers are certain that Mr. Lim, the Judas 9 and Mr. Lim’s loyal sidekick Mr. Tony Uy are now in hot water with the winning bidder, AMB ALC Holdings & Management Corporation. And who’s Mr. Uy? And what’s with the “business ally by affinity”?
For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the close business circle of Mr. Lim, here’s a trivia to keep in mind particularly about Mr. Uy.
Mr. Uy is a longtime business partner of Mayor Lim who represents the latter’s investment equity in many business enterprises, i.e., the restaurants inside the Metro Plaza among others. He is Mr. Lim’s appointed director at the DAWASA (Dagupan Waterworks and Sewerage Authority) and is currently employed at the Eternal Gardens, a company owned by business tycoon Ambassador Antonio Cabangon-Chua, as its top sales agent. It was Mr. Uy who brokered the sale of the Orchids Hotel on Rizal St. in Dagupan to Mr. Cabangon-Chua’s group. And what is the significance of Mr. Cabangon-Chua’s group in the sale of MC Adore? He is the owner of the winning bidder AMB ALC Holdings & Management Corporation, and guess who brokered his entry in the bidding? Mr. Uy. And guess who certified to the acceptance of the remittance of the bid to the city? Who else but Mr. Uy!
(Note: It was Mr. Uy who was also known to have brokered the “sale” of the 30-hectare lot in Barangay Awai, San Jacinto in year 2001 from the original owner, Estrella Sangalang, to Jose Mariano Cuña, another business associate of Mr. Lim, for P7 million. Six months later, the city “bought” it from him for P16 million. Interestingly, friends of Mr. Cuña could not believe then that he would have that kind of money to invest in a land especially for something that he had no use for…except perhaps with the prior knowledge that it was not going to be his money and it would be a quick turnaround deal with the city. More will be known about this deal in time).
In a future trial and investigation of possibly a civil case by AMB ALC Holdings & Management Corporation against Dagupan, and the imminent case against city officials before the Ombudsman on the MC Adore sale, Mr. Uy will most likely be called in as a hostile (or state?) witness to the deal gone awry.
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CONSPIRACY THEORY. Another serious concern over the MC Adore sale is the perceived conspiratorial involvement and now accountability of some persons and groups (including prominent business persons) in the process that led to the low bid and sale of the MC Adore property that was grossly disadvantageous to the city.
It will be recalled that that Appraisal Report was endorsed not only by city officials led by Mr. Mata but by heads of local chapters of three private groups as well, namely Joel Santos of the United Architects of the Philippines, Rolando Sabado of the Chamber of Real Estate and Builder’s Association, and Leila Sy of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce. (Note: Ms. Sy was also a member of the Disposal Committee and Transparency Committee for the MC Adore sale). The group’s extremely low appraisal of P15,000 per sq. m of the hotel property was in sharp contrast to the reported high P35,000 per sq.m. sale of the real estate owned by Mayor Lim in the same area, a year prior.
The conspiracy theory will likely be probed as well and if proven, a number of people will likely be sent to jail by the Ombudsman.
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UGLY FATE. With the expected official nullity of the MC Adore sale, I would hate to be in the shoes of any of the Judas 9, namely Councilors Brian Lim, Jess Canto, Alvin Coquia, Chito Samson, Red Erfe-Mejia, Guillermo Vallejos, Chester Gonzales, Karlos Reyna and Dada Reyna.
They will likely be asked to return the “1.5 M” pieces of silver that they received as advance incentive for the anticipated sale of the hotel property while facing the prospect of being convicted by the Ombudsman for their apparent personal interests in the project as evidenced by the “indecent haste” with which their sanggunian resolution was passed to trigger the sale of the property. Note: The Ombudsman already sent to jail a number of provincial board members of Cebu province for their evident personal interests by hastily approving a resolution.
From where I sit, the only thing that any of them can do to save them from certain incarceration is to turn state witness, assuming that some of them will qualify. It’d be interesting to know who will apply for that status.
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BACK TO PPRC. Now it can be told.
Remember the Lim administration’s media lapdogs, namely Messrs. Ruel Camba, Joel Fonseca, Leu Paragas and Orly Navarro who regularly lambasted The PUNCH over radio and in their columns for our “baseless” reports on the venalities and corruption at the city hall? They were also at the forefront defending the MC Adore sale, illegal fish pens, Awai land deal, etc.
Well, wonder no more why they did what they did. Mr. Fonseca was a city hall emergency worker who received P6,500 monthly while Messrs. Camba and Paragas were each paid P10,000 monthly as technical consultants at the city hall. (Mr. Navarro is not listed but daughter is employed as a nurse at the city hall and five other relatives as emergency workers).
Now that their paltry monthly allowances have been cut, they are now leading a group (that reportedly includes Leila Sy and Alan Sison) set to retake control of the Pangasinan Press Club. I can understand why they are desperate to legitimize their continued existence through the press club. They already brag of P.5 M financial support from Mr. Cabangon-Chua! What a credential for a “respectable independent” media group.
According to incumbent prexy Gonz Duque, who has expressed no desire to have a “vulca seal” hold on the club’s reins, he welcomes their efforts and he has no doubt they will take over after him. He only regrets that with them at the helm, the club will revive in no time its past notoriety as PPRC – Pangasinan Press and Racket Club!
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