German snobbery

Members of the honorary consuls of the Philippines were reportedly peeved and disgusted when their annual ball this Saturday was thrown in disarray after the last-minute cancellation by the new German Ambassador to the Philippines Joachim Heidorn – who was to be the special guest of honor for the event. All the consuls and other members of the diplomatic circle were certainly aghast but a number of those beginning to be quite familiar with the German envoy said it was not the first time this has happened.

Apparently, Herr Heidorn has developed a nasty reputation for snubbing events – which in Philippine diplomatic society is totally unacceptable and undiplomatic. The new guy is far removed from his predecessor, Ambassador Christian Ludwig Weber-Lortsch who with his blond hair and blue eyes looked the quintessential Aryan but without the cold snobbish air. Ambassador Weber-Lortsch was very well liked by many Filipinos, but he has been posted to Myanmar which is just so “schade,” as the Germans would say. If the new Botschafter keeps making last minute cancellations, he may end up having German beer and bratwurst all by himself at the “Fraport-Piatco built” international airport for his last minute flight back to Germany.

A disaster waiting to happen

Spy Bits received disturbing information involving a 2.17-hectare property in Tondo (a few meters away from Divisoria) owned by the estate of the late prewar lumber-sawmill tycoon Dy Pac. According to our sources, a long-time barangay official in the area has allegedly been making a killing over the years by filling the property with informal settlers who are charged with rental fees plus additional payments for illegal water and electrical connections.

Informants told us the initial residents in the property were former employees of Dy Pac Sawmill who were supposed to leave the property should the heirs of the estate ask them. However, the number of occupants kept ballooning over the years, no doubt encouraged by the official who allegedly collects as much as P300,000 a month from the “tenants.”

Aside from the dilapidated wooden apartments dotting a portion of J. Luna St. which comprises part of the Dy Pac estate, an unfinished building with a rundown parking area is also another lucrative source of income for the said barangay official who collects parking fees from trucks and vehicles delivering goods to Divisoria. Aside from being eyesores, the rundown, dilapidated structures are also fire hazards. Several fires have already hit the area, the latest of which was in December last year. Fortunately, no one has been killed – yet. Unseen by passersby are hundreds of illegal one-storey structures inside the property, and Manila City engineers who inspected the buildings have condemned them as structural and fire hazards. 

In August last year, a Condemnation Order with notice to vacate was issued by the City of Manila. Last February, the Office of the Building Official of Manila finally issued the demolition order and the Dy family even gave financial assistance to the 62 families who would voluntarily leave. Last June, the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor and the Commission on Human Rights informed the residents about a relocation site in Bulacan – but the settlers totally refused, insisting to be relocated in Manila and even demanding to get a portion of the Dy property. No doubt their refusal was encouraged by the barangay official unwilling to give up such a lucrative source of income, not to mention votes during barangay elections.

Meantime, the heirs of Dy Pac continue to pay real estate taxes of P4 million a year while deriving no income from a property that should rightfully be theirs. We were informed that the heirs have been asking the Department of Public Works and Highways to endorse the demolition order via the signature of the DPWH Secretary. But I’m surprised that my tocayo Babes Singson has not acted on this issue. Things like these reinforce the impression of people that this administration is slow to act. We’re definitely not “babes in the woods” not to see that this problem involving the informal settlers in the Dy Pac compound is a disaster waiting to happen which could result in the loss of lives of the stubborn settlers that have illegally taken over a private property.

Spy tidbit

Lloyd’s List, a highly respected international institution, bestowed the Seafarer of the Year award to Filipino ship captain Gilbert Cabrera who displayed exceptional bravery at the height of the tsunami and magnitude nine earthquake that struck off the coast of Sendai, Japan in March. Cabrera is shipmaster in charge of the Eukor cargo ship M/V Morning Cedar whose manning agent happens to be Philippine Transmarine Corp. (through the Swedish Crewing Management) founded by Philippine Ambassador to Spain Carlos Salinas.

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