8 Councilors Say NO To PALC For Shrine Hills Developer

The eight “conscience votes” from Davao City councilors failed to stop the approval of the Preliminary Application and Location Clearance or PALC for the Crown Communities and DM Consunji development project in Shrine Hills.

Among those who voted NO to the PALC application are Councilors Rachel Zozobrado, Pilar Braga, Karlo Bello, Teresita Marañon, Angela LIbrado, Susabel Reta, Louie Villafuerte and Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz. Councilors Danny Dayanghirang and Halila Sudagar abstained while 13 voted yes for the PALC.

“The issues raised have gone beyond mere legalities and zoning,” Councilor Rachel Zozobrado said. “I am not convinced by what was presented and I still have doubts as to its safety considering that Datu Luho creek is already stretched to its maximum capacity and they did not present any alternative,” she added.

Councilor Pilar Braga said it has always been her position that Shrine Hills should be a protected area. “It should not be pressured with development to preserve it as the emerald jewel of Davao City.” Instead of a housing development, why not make it a nature park, she said.

“The safety of the Maa residents should also be top priority and I believe that no mitigating measure in the future could give the assurance of safety to the people living downhill,” Braga said.

The approval of the PALC for the DM Consunji development project has been delayed for weeks already due to the ongoing debate in the Council as to the safety of the project.

Maa residents, who cited the Cherry Hill incident, have also expressed their opposition to the project for fear that it will result to more flooding and landslides in the area. Maa is located just below the Shrine Hills and any earth movement will affect the various subdivisions located downhill.

The residents however said they are not against the development per se provided an independent study of the stability of the slope is conducted. They are also asking the developer to present a drainage alternative considering that the Datu Luho creek is already congested resulting to flooding in the area whenever it rains.

Councilor Danny Dayanghirang said the Zoning Ordinance classifies the area as residential so he sees no problem with the PALC approval.

“The applicants have already complied with the requirements,” councilor Peter Laviña said. Laviña, who voted yes, said “I believe that all the engineering measures are available to address the concerns about the project.”

Just like Laviña, Councilor Victorio Advincula also said all the issues taken during the sessions are best discussed during the application for a development permit.

DCWD Get's Ire Of Councilors For Delay In Bago Oshiro Water Project

Councilor Rachel Zozobrado expressed her disappointment and irritation over Davao City Water District’s failure to inform the concerned government offices about the P11,839.70 disinfection fee which caused a one year delay in the implementation of a water project in Sitio Cebuda, Bago Oshiro this city.

Both Zozobrado and councilor Bonifacio Militar of the Committee on Rules (who presided over the committee hearing) criticized DCWD for prejudicing the right of the people to have potable water.

It can be recalled that Zozobrado lashed against the Bureau of Plant and Industry during her privilege speech at the city council last week for causing the delay in the last and final stages of the project just because of its contention that installing a main water line in the barangay will only encourage more squatters in the area.

The project, which would have provided water to at least 120 residents in the area, was funded through the Annual Development Fund of former councilor Jesus Zozobrado. However, it suffered a setback in 2007 when DCWF refused to conduct hydrotesting for the project (which was already 90% completed at that time) until the problem with BPI has been resolved.

The hydrotesting kink has been resolved but a year after that, not even one drop of water has come out from that main water line. And this time, it is because of the disinfection fee being demanded by DCWD.

Engineer Rosendo Almonte, chief of DCWD’s Planning and Design Division, said they cannot process the work order until the P11,839.70 disinfection fee is paid. He said the contractor has been informed about it during the hydrotesting but admitted that such requirement was not included in the project design which DCWD prepared and was therefore not included in the contract price.

“Ngano wala man naapil ang disinfection fee sa project design na gigamit pag compute sa project cost, na naapil man gain ang hydrotesting fee,” Zozobrado said.

Almonte admitted that DCWD did not ask payment for the disinfection before but due to the high cost of materials, it has started asking the fee after the project was designed. He added “siguro naa mi mali kay wala man ni naapil sa estimate sa project cost.”

Zozobrado said she is willing to pay the cost of the disinfection fee provided DCWD commits to completing the project as soon as possible so the people would not suffer from lack of water connection in the area.

Taxing Text Messages For White Elephant Projects Like The Artica Sports Dome?

People from foreign countries use their mobile phones to call each other even for non important reasons. Filipinos however text each other endlessly, making the country the world's texting capital with over 1.39 billion sent by only 50 million SMS subscribers. This makes the proposed text messaging tax unpalatable even to Davao City councilors.

Councilor Rachel Zozobrado is against the proposal saying it is an unreasonable and additional burden to the Filipinos. The same sentiment was raised by councilor Pilar Braga. Councilor Peter Laviña is however against the proposal not only because of the government's promise not to impose new taxes but because the government should tax the rich people and big corporation.

With the proposed P0.50 tax per text message, the government is expected to raise P36 billion in specific excise taxes plus P41 billion in VAT collections---all to be used for projects including the Artica Sports Dome in Langub (worth billions but never benefited the Dabawenyos) which according to Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is a "monument of corruption."

Considering this, a person who normally sends out 10 messages a day will pay an additional P5 tax-wise. How many text messages do you send per day? You might just be a future investors in another one of the government's white elephant projects when that tax proposal is approved.