Is CamSur Gov. Villafuerte taking Aquino for a fool?

With regard to the news item titled “Gov’t urged to abolish debt-saddled GOCC” (Inquirer, 11/1/11), let me just say that Camarines Sur Gov. John Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte and his provincial administrator Fermin Mabolo should check their facts lest they be accused anew of deliberately misleading the public in an effort to demonize their political nemeses in the province.

LRay has asked President Aquino to abolish the Partido Development Administration (PDA), which we all know oversees CamSur’s fourth district, which is represented in Congress by Deputy Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella.

Mabolo has been all over town parroting LRay’s line that PDA is included in a list of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) whose abolition has been proposed by House Bill 2867. The bill’s author, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, has shot down this claim, pointing out that far from calling for PDA’s abolition, he is all praises for PDA’s accomplishments.

The congressman cited in particular PDA’s water system which, since its operation in 2005, has ensured safe and affordable water for all of the 10 towns it oversees.

In an interview by Bicol radiomen Al Obana and Ed Ventura, Rodriguez clarified that he has long since removed PDA from that list precisely because its inclusion was a mistake caused by the lack of information about PDA’s accomplishments.

Aside from the foreign-funded water system, these accomplishments include the construction of the Caramoan Peninsula “all-weather” road which links the coastal towns of Presentacion, Garchitorena and Caramoan to mainland municipalities. Another “all-weather” road, the Siruma-Tinambac Road, links the two previously hard-to-reach towns with its neighboring towns in Camarines Sur. These “all-weather” roads have not only made travel more convenient, comfortable and less time-consuming, they also provide an alternative to sea transport.

The PDA has also spearheaded the construction of ports and bridges. By 2007, there were 107 national bridges and 42 provincial bridges in the district. It operates the Ro-Ro capable Nato Port in Sagnay under an agreement with the Philippine Ports Authority. It has played a key role in energizing the district: in 1995 only 187 out of the 299 barangays in the then third district benefited from electric power. PDA achieved a milestone in 2004 when it showcased the Atulayan Island as the country’s only island energized by a state-of-the-art hybrid power plant, with wind, solar and diesel-powered engine as power sources.

In asking P-Noy to abolish the PDA, LRay took him for a fool who would not see through the political agenda behind his call. Of course, P-Noy must know that in targeting the PDA, LRay really has the Fuentebellas in his crosshairs.

—NOAME M. RAGILES,

Barangay Tagbong,

Camarines Sur,

[email protected]