The consortium composed of Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) and Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) was given a Notice of Award dated January 27, 2016 by the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) for the lease, development, operation and management of the former MLE covering 201.64 hectares through a 50-year lease agreement contract.
Workers affected by recent development could not ascertain if they will still be hired by the consortium. The MLE estate, including Holiday Inn Hotel and the Mimosa Golf and country Club, was closed on May 23.
Holiday Inn has become a symbol of Clark considering its colorful history beginning as Chambers Hall, a hotel for US military personnel staying on temporary duty (TDY) in this former military base.
On the other hand, the Mimosa golf course is described as “world class” where then golf superstar Tiger Woods played an exhibition match at its championship Montainview course at the height of his popularity in 1998.
Meanwhile, ex-Mimosa workers said up to now, Filinvest has not contacted them. “All the employees want to know if they will have a job June 1, obviously the answer is no,” lamented a former employee “because they are still jobless up to now.”
She said most of them have families to support and if they are not going to be retained, they need to start looking for new employment sooner, rather than later.
She lamented that their calls and inquiries have fallen on deaf ears as emails to Alice Flores of Filinvest and a certain Guiselle Anne Zita, public relations officer, remained unanswered.
But in a text message to Punto, Zita said: “Please send inquiry to Clark Development Corp. They are the appropriate party to answer these questions.”
Golf caddies most affected
A member of the Mimosa Golf and Country Club, Inc. said some of the golf caddies are also very worried because many of them are hard-working single mothers. The caddy fees they earn at Mimosa are frequently the only source of income they have to feed their children, he added.
The closure of the club on May 23 comes at a particularly inopportune time for them, he said, because they need money to buy school uniforms and supplies for their children this coming school year. “If the golf course remains closed for a few more few days, some of their children will not be able to go to school,” he lamented.
Meanwhile, CDC communications manager Noel Tulabut said as far as CDC is concerned Mimosa “members of good standing have been endorsed to Filinvest.”
Tulabut said affected workers were “offered and have accepted separation packages.” He said the hiring of employees for Mimosa is now the decision of Filinvest.
Former Mimosa employees have also been endorsed by CDC to Filinvest, he added.
