PGKM Chair Ruperto Cruz said Pamintuan’s silence on issues affecting the city is a clear indication of the betrayal of the trust that the people gave him.
Cruz cited the may or’s “deafening silence” on the Capilion Corp. Pte. Ltd. project and Honda Cars Phils. (HCP) showroom and service center now undergoing construction at the main entrance to the Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ) which are widely seen to contribute dramatically to the already congested traffic situation in the area.
The PGKM has argued that the construction of the said buildings would hamper the development of the Clark International Airport (CIA) because of the heavy traffic projected in the area.
The advocacy group had earlier said the Clark Development Corp. (CDC), which oversees the CFZ, should instead start widening the roads leading to the CIA in anticipation of the projected hike in the volume of airline passengers using it.
Congestion
Peter Wallace, chairman and CEO of the Wallace Business Forum who is also a vocal critic of presidential administrations and known for his socio-civic advocacies in urban planning as well as business formulation, has strongly criticized policy makers of the CFZ for building without planning.
“If you want this place to develop, it’s gonna have to be controlled, it’s gonna have to be done in the proper way,” Wallace said in his speech before the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (PamCham) here recently.
Jess Nicdao, PamCham president, said: “Without proper planning and clever resource management, progress can be a double-edge sword.”
Nicdao said “congestion can just as easily be our undoing if we do not plan and prepare for it.”
Rene Romero, PamCham vice chairman, said: “If the CDC allows the Capilion project at the main gate, it will block the entrance to the Clark International Airport especially now with the approval of the P15 billion new terminal building. There are other areas in Clark suitable for big commercial facilities.”
The businessman said “roads leading to the Clark airport should be free from obstructions. We should learn our lessons from the horrible traffic jams in Manila leading to NAIA.”
Cruz said even the religious groups are crying foul because their places of worship overlooking the CFZ will be blocked by the buildings at its main entrance all the way to the Clark cemetery.
“Is Pamintuan deaf to all these noise?” asked Cruz.
Cemetery
The PGKM chair also cited Pamintuan’s alleged insensitivity for acquiring another loan to fund the public cemetery which is now undergoing construction.
“The city is still burdened by the loan acquired by former Mayor Francis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno for his sports arena project and now Pamintuan has burdened the people with another loan for the public cemetery that is too far and inaccessible,” Cruz said. “He should have used the sports arena area which is nearer and already acquired through a loan by the city government,” he reasoned.
“Where is the public consultation in all these? Pamintuan betrayed our trust,” he added.
Ghosts
In another front, Cruz said the city government has long been ISO-certified but its employees are still using the old style of giving out wages.
“Why is the city government not using ATM (automated teller machine) cards? The cashpay envelope system that is being used by the city government is known to have engendered ghost employees in public offices,” Cruz said.
“If [Pamintuan] really wants to come clean that no ghost employees obtain at city hall, he should immediately and without delay institute the ATM system of giving out wages,” Cruz said.
“While Pamintuan prides himself as worldclass mayor, the mode of payment of salaries under his administration is clearly Third World,” rued Cruz.
Snub
Cruz also cited a case filed by a group of businessmen from the city against CDC at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) here. The group sued CDC after it demolished their stalls located along the perimeter fence of the CFZ for which they each paid P40,000 to the CDC.
Before that, the stall owners were treated with apathy by the city government, Cruz said. When they tried to get business permits from the city government, they were allegedly refused and pointed to CDC. But when they tried to go to the CDC, they were turned down and had their stalls demolished.
“There is a clear conspiracy against them,” he said.
“Mayor Pamintuan should have fought for the rights of his constituents,” Cruz said. “But sadly, the mayor has done nothing to protect their interests. If that is not betrayal of the trust they invested in Pamintuan, I don’t know what is.”
