Privilege speech on Balili issue: Bolo sheds tears, says family is hurt

CEBU, Philippines -  Embattled Provincial Board Member Juan Bolo could not contain his tears when he delivered a privilege speech during yesterday’s board session to state his case on the controversial Balili lot deal.

 Bolo, who has been at the center of the controversy after he was tagged as the one who pushed Capitol to purchase the lot, read an eight-page speech and shed tears citing how the issue has hurt him and his family.

 He once again stressed that he did not receive a single centavo from the deal.   

 Bolo asked how come all the blame seems to have fallen upon him when the entire provincial board had a hand in the transaction having authorized Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to purchase the Balili property in Tinaan, Naga.

 The board member was cleared by lawyer Romeo Balili, executor of the estate of the late Luis Balili and his wife Amparo. The lawyer said that Bolo did not receive any share in the deal.

 The board member added that his wife has been most affected by the controversy and now suffers from heart palpitations.

 He also said that he was tried by publicity when some members of the media raised questions about properties that the Bolo couple own in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte. He said that the lot where their family has built a pension house was inherited by his wife.

 Bolo explained that they first built a vacation house in the property, which they later converted into a pension house.

 The board member, who is now on his second straight term, can still seek re-election this coming May 2010 elections. He said that this whole issue could be part of a demolition job.

 “Lately, somebody told me that someone was doing a demolition job to eradicate me from my district. Well, whether it’s true or not, only the culprit could tell,” he said.

 Bolo said his conscience is clear and is not afraid of any investigation.

 “My consolation is that there are still many who sympathize with my situation. Lastly, what I could say is that my conscience is clear and I’m not afraid of any investigation as I have done my job in accordance with the norms of good conduct and proper ethical procedure,” Bolo said.

 He told his colleagues that he executed a sworn declaration about his role and participation in the Balili transaction as required by the Balili Review Committee headed by Director Medardo de Lemos of the National Bureau of Investigation.

 “I stated that my role and participation in the Balili transaction was to negotiate, facilitate and monitor the transfer the titles of lots purchased by the Province with the authority of the governor,” he said.

 Bolo admitted that he was the one who informed Gov. Garcia in the middle of 2006, upon the request of broker Lumen Durano, to the ask the governor if the province is interested in the Balili property.

 It was in June 2007, according to Bolo, that the governor asked him to check how much the Balilis were willing to sell the property and have it appraised.

   After one-month, Bolo said the appraisal committee submitted the report, but without the vicinity map, and that it was appraised at P610 per square meter. 

 “Had I known that a portion of the property was submerged in sea water, I could have inquired about the appraisal value. I could have informed the governor and the Provincial Board,” Bolo said in his speech.

 The Balilis agreed to sell the property at P400 per square meter after series of negotiations last year, he said.

 Furthermore, it was on January 14, 2008 when he sponsored a resolution, authorizing the governor to purchase the property at P434 per square meter adding the P34 per square meter to cover taxes and other expenses related to the sale.

 He admitted that he was the one, who prepared the draft of the memorandum of agreement, which he had done in previous deals entered into by Capitol.

   When he presented the MOA, Bolo said the governor rejected it saying that she wants to pay only P400 per square meter and the taxes and other expenses have to be paid for by the vendor.

   The Balilis agreed to the price, but Bolo said that Durano requested that an untitled adjacent lot be included in the commitment to buy as they were still in the process of transferring the property back to the Balilis.

 Bolo said he drafted the revised MOA with the cost of the land at P400 per square meter since those were not included in the previous resolution.

 “In all these resolutions there was no participation of any member of the committee on provincial properties for the reason that this matter was not referred by the Board to my committee,” Bolo said.

 The board member said he was surprised how come his colleagues have raised questions on the lack of a committee report when in fact this was not even referred to his committee.

   He pointed out that there was no requirement in the House Rules to convene the committee report with all resolutions granting authorization to the Governor to sign a MOA or MOU.

 “What was the purpose in that battery of questions? Was it intentionally done to impress the public that I committed lapses or error in handling my committee? If that was an error then every member in this body committed an error,” he pointed out.

 Bolo said that he believes the Balili transaction was lawful and that the provincial government needs the property.

   The province purchased the 24.73 hectare-Balili property for P98,926,800, but the deal suddenly became controversial when it was found that several lots included in the sale were either underwater or was a mangrove area, which could not be titled.—/NLQ

   (THE FREEMAN)