DAVAO CITY — Mega Harbour Port and Development, Inc., the proponent of the nearly P40-billion reclamation project that Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio recently rejected, said the decision ill worsen the investment climate for the region.
In a statement released Saturday, Mega Harbour President Victor S. Songco said the company has sent a letter to Ms. Carpio telling her that the company is “deeply concerned, even seriously alarmed, by your letter dated July 19, 2017, informing us that you have ‘come to a final decision not to further proceed’ with the Davao Coastline and Port Development Project.”
The company warned that the “mysterious move” of Ms. Carpio will have an impact on “every local and foreign investor interested in investing in Davao, and global donors wanting to contribute to humanitarian efforts in Mindanao.”
The statement added that Mega Harbour was “particularly” surprised about the statement that the mayor released on July 25 announcing the termination of the joint venture agreement (JVA) between the company and the city government.
“If we are to believe the press statement released by your office, the reason for your unilateral and arbitrary decision to terminate the JVA was borne out of ‘weighing out the intentions of the project against its commercial viability, legal and social implications, and the project’s possible effects on the environment,’” Mr. Songco told the mayor in his letter.
The JVA was signed in June 2016 by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who was then mayor of the city.
Ms. Carpio, daughter of Mr. Duterte, made the public announcement of the JVA termination a day after the President’s second State of the Nation Address, which she attended.
The company pointed out that Ms. Carpio “has not been directly involved or (not been) comprehensively briefed on the project not only by Mega Harbour. (She) should have joined the briefing with the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) Regional Infrastructure Development Committee and the Davao City Council,” said Mr. Songco in his letter.
NEDA SUPPORT
Meanwhile, NEDA-Davao Region Director Ma. Lourdes D. Lim, in an interview with BusinessWorld on July 26, expressed support for Ms. Carpio’s move.
“We trust the wisdom of Mayor Sara… as the leader of the city, her vision is not only limited up to 2019, but beyond her term,” said Ms. Lim, who is also the vice-chairperson of the Davao Regional Development Council.
“We also have to look at the Comprehensive Land Use Plan of the city to understand the ramifications… what would change in the landscape, in the seascape, and the effects would not only be for Davao City. It will be shared by Davao Region as far as the municipalities along the Davao Gulf,” she added.
Ms. Lim also noted that “it’s an unsolicited proposal, to begin with.”
The project, notwithstanding the JVA, would have been subject to the approval of the NEDA Board and the Philippine Reclamation Authority.
“We hope investors will continue to consider Davao City and the Davao Region as preferred area of investment, but we also have to look at other considerations, the timing of the investment should be anchored on the prevailing and the future conditions,” Ms. Lim said.
The mayor’s office said Ms. Carpio is expected to call a news conference today, July 31, to further talk about her decision. — Carmelito Q. Francisco
