Punchline
Putting his money where his mouth is
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
FINALLY, what we feared about the future of the seafood processing plant is being validated by no less than the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
BFAR Regional Director Nestor Domenden said the plant will be uneconomical to operate regardless of which government agency or unit operates it. He points to the unstable source of fish for processing in the plant. Simply put, with no regular supply of fish to process, it cannot generate enough revenues to support its operations even for the short term.
The plant, a brainchild of then Mayor Benjie Lim circa 2003, funded through the efforts of then Speaker Joe de V and finally constructed by the Fernandez administration, was doomed from the very beginning. Through it all, I had not seen any factor that could spell differently for the “dream” plant. So I say this again – the plant will be one ugly white elephant that will be abandoned to rot after some opportunistic operators shall have ran away with whatever short-term profits it had generated and then point to poor economy as the culprit for its “untimely” demise.
Proof of this is the fact that no business group has ever expressed optimism nor showed any interest in pursuing the establishment of such a plant as a private venture. No businessman or capitalist worth his name dared to this day to offer to have a stake in the project. Absolutely no one except Mr. Lim who insists the city government can earn profits from it. Note: He never said he would have constructed the plant in his personal capacity early on to prove its feasibility. Why kaya?
In this context, Mayor Al Fernandez and Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez was smart to pass on the responsibility of operating the plant to the Department of Agriculture instead of making the city government risk its funds to operate the plant.
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But here comes Mayor Benjie adamant about taking control of the processing plant. That should not surprise us because he plans to operate the plant without risking his own personal funds while obviously hoping to create business opportunities for his “friends” as he did in the sanitary landfill that never was.
If he truly thinks there is profit opportunity for the city if he operates it, then I say the city council should consider turning it over to him with a caveat. He should take over the plant in his personal capacity with P5 million to show as earnest money, pays P10 million (bargain rate) in advance as annual lease, and present a guaranteed P100 million bond to cover costs in the event the plant is abandoned and cannibalized at anytime.
So, I dare Mr. Lim to put his money where his mouth is. If he can’t but still insists on the city government (with him at the helm) to operate the plant, then I say his motives are suspect!
I recall Mr. Lim initially proposed that the city government secures a loan for the construction of the plant and vigorously opposed JDV’s interference with his suggestion that a grant be sought for the project instead. At that point in time, I had suspected that he wanted to make the city take all the risks and still free him from any personal accountability.
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EMPTY THREATS? I was asked last week: “Whatever happened to the touted response of the members of the majority in the Dagupan sanggunian to the dare of City Councilor Brian Lim that they file a case against his father, Mayor Benjie, after discovering the anomalies in his administration instead of constantly talking to the media about these? ”
It will be recalled that the councilors in the majority have verified that Mr. Lim distributed calamity funds ostensibly for flood victims without declaring a state of calamity. Then, during the budget deliberation early this year, the office of the city mayor was found to have purchased food items for the city’s feeding program at atrociously overpriced levels, from 100% to 300% more than retail prices.
The mayor’s son, obviously peeved by a question raised during the media forum of the Pangasinan Press Club asking him to explain the discovered anomalies, promptly dared his colleagues to file the cases with the ombudsman instead of merely tailing about them in the media.
In a subsequent forum, the councilors in attendance felt being pushed to a corner, accepted the dare and assured the same forum that charges will be filed against Councilor Brian’s mayor-father “soon”.
Well, it’s been four months and Councilor Brian must be quietly chuckling given the timid demanor of his colleagues. “Was he right in his calculation of his colleagues’ empty threats?” my nosey friend asked.
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BISHOPS’ ACCOUNTABILITY. The ongoing Blue Ribbon Senate investigation on the operations of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office has already revealed some shocking details of how former President Arroyo and her appointees dispensed public funds whimsically via the notorious “intelligence fund” route.
What was truly laughable that led some senators to tell Ms. Rosario Uriarte, GMA’s PCSO general manager, to her face that she was lying was her claim that the bulk of the P160 million intelligence fund was used to stop the illegal numbers game that undermined lotto. Was she plain naive to make that claim knowing that Bong Pineda, the alleged and reputed king of jueteng lords in Luzon, is GMA’s favorite kabaleyan?
However, I did find the earlier discussions on the donations for some bishops insinuating irregularities disturbing. Except in the case of Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos who felt he was privileged to write directly to GMA as her lackey to request specifically for a SUV, there was no indication that the other recipients of vehicles were out of line in requesting for assistance to improve mobility and capability in delivering social services for their respective flock.
It should be noted that asking government offices whether in national or local level, including offices of senators and congressmen, for donations and financial assistance is customary in public’s mind. What the public is and was never aware of is that there are rules governing financial assistance using pubic funds to religious sects.
Why fault members of the clergy for soliciting cash donations if these were asked for in good faith and for legitimate purposes? It becomes a cause for serious concern only if the soliciting bishops did so in return for political fealty. This was the case for Bishop Pueblos who unabashedly asked PNoy, he who is blaming GMA for all the government’s problems today, to resign.
In the case of the bishops who were granted donations, were the donations given to carry political favor? It would appear that it was so as in the case of certain bishops who openly endorsed the Arroyo administration in spite of scandals and anomalies reported. Some are now critical of the present administration as a sign of continued loyalty to their political benefactors.
As solicitors and recipients, the named bishops only have to answer to the Pope and to their flock, for soliciting in their name. They are not accountable to the senators or to anyone in government unless it can be proven that the bishops violated the terms of the donations or it can be shown that the beneficiaries threatened or blackmailed the agency into granting the requests for donation. Otherwise, let the communities decide whether their bishops committed any wrongdoing in the utilization of the donations, particularly if these are being used today for their personal convenience alone.
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