Political will at its best
Call it perfect timing but on the eve of our flight to Iloilo City, the Ombudsman trashed last Wednesday the graft complaint in the alleged “overpriced” construction and development of the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC).
We were flying to Iloilo city on invitation sent to us three weeks ago by the Iloilo Economic Development Foundation Inc. (ILED) headed by its president Narzalina Lim. The ILED organized a two-day media familiarization tour around the visibly booming city of Iloilo, erstwhile tagged as the Queen City of the South.
The Ombudsman dismissed the graft case against Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) chief operating officer Mark Lapid, and several other government officials.
The funny thing was Manuel Mejorada, the complainant himself announced the dismissal of this graft case he filed against Drilon and other co-accused.
In a press statement he issued to Ombudsman reporters, Mejorada disclosed the 37-page ruling was approved by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on May 13, 2015. But he questioned the speed and dispatch by which the special panel of investigators of the Ombudsman dismissed the graft complaint for his supposed failure to support with concrete evidence his allegations.
Mejorada accused Drilon of using his pork-barrel funds to bankroll the alleged anomaly-tainted construction of the ICC, a pet project of the Senate president. Before the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was declared last year by the Supreme Court (SC) as “unconstitutional,” Drilon allocated some of his PDAF for the P470-million ICC project, a decision the Senate president was proud to declare.
Mejorada also brought the same graft complaint before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, but which was subsequently trashed for the same reason: lack of hard proof.
So when Narz Lim invited Iloilo officials to give media briefings to this ILED familiarization trip to Iloilo, the Senate president was more than happy to oblige. Aside from both being Ilonggos, Drilon and Lim were former Cabinet colleagues during the administrations of the late President Corazon Aquino and former President Fidel Ramos.
Actually, Drilon flew to his home province to also join the grand forum on the P11.2 billion Jalaur Multi-Purpose dam project. About P8.9-billion of the project cost of the project will come from official development assistance of South Korea that the Senate president credited to his initiatives for his home province.
Drilon was joined in this ILED trip by his Liberal Party (LP) congressmen from Iloilo led by Rep. Jerry Treñas and Arcadio Gorriceta who all supported the Senate president in his various projects for their home province, foremost of which was the construction of ICC.
It was with much awe to see a spanking Iloilo International airport and its passenger terminal when our plane landed in the city. Drilon takes credit for the upgrade eight years ago of the airport facility. Since then, it has kept Iloilo as a choice of destination for both local and foreign tourists.
Thus, Iloilo is well positioned now also as a prime convention destination in Visayas with Ombudsman’s dismissal of Mejorada’s graft suit on the ICC, Drilon cited. It’s full steam ahead for the completion of the ICC before September this year when Iloilo hosts the ministerial meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The DPWH is working double time to complete the project on target date, Drilon was told during our ocular inspection at the ICC last Thursday.
Once completed, the two-storey ICC can accommodate 2,000 to 3,500 people in its plenary hall. Wearing hardhats, we toured the complex currently undergoing finishing touches. The ICC building facade has fins as design to represent the sails of the paraw (sailboats native to Iloilo) with Dinagyang warriors etched on its wall glass panels.
The iconic complex was built on a 1.7-hectare land within the 54-hectare property of Megaworld Corp. in Mandurriao. It was donated by Megaworld to the DOT, through the TIEZA. It stands on the old runway and airport facility of Iloilo City which has been transformed into Iloilo Business Park.
Because of Mejorada’s complaint, Drilon lamented, ICC missed to bid hosting some other international conferences slated this year. The Senate president, however, was buoyed up when informed that Megaworld, Ayala, and other major companies and business groups are stepping up investments in Iloilo City.
Alongside completion of the ICC is Megaworld’s Richmonde Hotel, also in the finishing touches, and Ayala’s Atria’s condominium towers on the rise nearby. In fact, we were told 13 more buildings will be built by Ayala from now until 2025 in the Atria business park in the city.
Drilon was more pleased when we watched a brief video presentation of Atria which featured the Esplanade as a “selling point” of their condominium business. The P70-million Esplanade is another pet project of Drilon in Iloilo City. Also funded from Drilon’s PDAF, the Esplanade is the centerpiece of Drilon’s Iloilo River rehabilitation project.
Like the ICC, the Esplanade also faced many legal battles. Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog told us he was named respondent in a total of 22 cases, 19 of which were dismissed by the courts. Mayor Mabilog jokingly complained to Drilon he alone faced the 22 cases when it was the Senate president’s Esplanade project.
For the immediate future, Drilon and Narz Lim are both busy finalizing preparations for the 117th Independence Day celebration on June 12 that would be held for the first time in their home city of Iloilo. President Aquino would lead the traditional flag-raising and vin d’
honneur at the newly restored provincial capitol, another Drilon pet project.
Dubbing himself as the “big man” at the Senate during the campaign in the May 2013 Senate election, Drilon who is up for re-election as Senator could instead very well vie for higher office as LP’s “big man” candidate for the 2016 presidential race.
Asked how Iloilo City succeeded doing these projects despite challenges thrown their way, Drilon replied: “It’s all political will!” Sadly, Aquino officials in the executive branch sadly lack such political will.
Asked how Iloilo City succeeded doing these projects despite challenges thrown their way, Drilon replied: ‘It’s all political will!’