Is the Mandaue reclamation illegal?

Mr. Bert Emphasis of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) wrote belatedly a violent reaction to our Aug.23rd column entitled, "Mandaue and Norkis row: A breach of contract!" Bert says and let me quote his letter, "If Bobit really considers me a friend then he could have called me so I can enlighten him and save him the embarrassment. If thoroughness and resourcefulness are measures of a real journalist, I think Bobit failed miserably." Sorry, Bert, I did try to call you.

However let me emphasize to Mr. Emphasis that the last time I knew of his whereabouts was when he was an undersecretary under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). That he is already a Commissioner under the PRA is new to me. If he also considered me as one of his friends, he should have notified me about his new post and his new cellphone numbers, but he didn't. I did try to call him in his old cell and the constant reply was, "The subscriber cannot be reached!"

The letter of Mr. Emphasis only reveals his true loyalty and unfortunately, it is not with the government that pays his salary, but to Mr. Quisumbing Jr. where from his own words he says, "In the course of my readings from newspaper reports on the controversy over a property occupied by Norkis in Looc, Mandaue City, I discovered that said property is a reclaimed property. Upon inquiry from head office, I was told that the property is not registered with the PRA, the only government agency authorized under existing laws over reclamation nationwide.

Hence a letter was sent to Mr. Norberto Quisumbing Jr. urging him to avail of the social registration for illegal reclamation before it expires on February 27, 2007. This act on my part should not be construed as being ungrateful to my former employer. It is in line with the performance of duty as member of the Board of Director of PRA, nothing personal."

Nothing personal, Mr. Emphasis? You already knew that NQJR did not own this property that he rents for a pittance of P1,000 a year. Why then did you inform the lessee and not Mandaue City, the lessor, of this property? If you ask me, your duty should have been to inform Mandaue City. More importantly, I'm just wondering why you have already decided or declared that the Mandaue reclamation is an illegal reclamation? Are you therefore saying that the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) which is being constructed at the Mandaue Reclamation is being built within an illegal reclamation? I pray for an answer to this.

Mr. Emphasis also maliciously imputes on my person as one who was "privileged to have traveled the world at the expense of the Quisumbings." Why doesn't he mention the whole truth that this was in the early 90s when I worked for as an employee of Transfarm and Company to help Luis B. Quisumbing (LBQ) set up his car program? Because the Quisumbings are demanding employers, where we were able to bag a memorandum of agreement with the world's largest car company, General Motors Corp. (GMC) that was then under the People's Car Program. No sir, Mr. Emphasis, the Quisumbings never gave me any paid vacations abroad if that is what you are trying to imply. These were business trips, the Quisumbings sent me!

But before the GMC program collapsed, I already quit working with them. However, since I had friends with Daewoo Motors, Mr. LBQ and Mr. Estanislao Balbona asked me to go to Seoul, Korea to convince then Daewoo Corp. Chairman and Chaebol Kim Woo Choong to invest in a car plant in Cebu. This blossomed into a car manufacturing program selling brand new cars for Transfarm and Co., a subsidiary of Norkis Trading.

For our friends and readers who know who I am, I'm sure you know that I never applied to work for Norkis! I was requested by Mr. LBQ to help him find a car company and we did our job to his satisfaction. After we clinched the deal with Daewoo Corp. he gratefully wrote me a note saying, "We have a job for life!" Mind you, I kept that note with me for posterity. Alas, LBQ or Norkis could not hold on to that company and selling brand new cars. All this went under, including our short stint selling Chrysler Cars. Now Norkis is content selling only "chop-chop" vehicles like they have been doing in the past.

Truth to tell, I never wanted to write about my short stint in the corporate world since that's in the past. But since Mr. Emphasis made malicious insinuations against my person, I have to tell it as it happened, that the Quisumbings used me for their own purposes, knowing fully well that I didn't apply for a job. This is the thanks I get for helping their company!

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit's columns can also be accessed at www.shootinginsidecebu.blogspot.com