Stephen Monsanto’s article, “Torre de Manila case: Operative fact may come into play” (Talk of the Town, 7/5/15), may be spot on insofar only as good faith may be presumed on the part of DMCI in its construction of the Torre de Manila. But we have plenty of reservations.
There are strong indications that “millions of considerations” may have also “come into play” in the somersault the city council of Manila executed. First, the aldermen were said to be very much against the proposed despoiler of the Rizal Park; and heeding the public outrage, they passed resolutions to nip it in the bud. Then, for some mysterious reasons, they turned around 180 degrees and allowed the construction to go full steam ahead! Limitations on building structures in that area under existing city ordinances and park guidelines were inexplicably set aside!
We were not born yesterday. Things like that don’t just happen without any reason. Does anyone really believe that the city councilors changed their minds out of the abundance of goodness in their hearts? That they simply had an epiphany and suddenly saw the light?
So DMCI “vigorously asserted,” too, that it never “bribed” anyone; that pure luck was on its side when it asked the aldermen to reconsider their earlier trashing of the project. Does DMCI expect us to believe that nonsense? We see, out of the abundance of our own common sense, mala fide written all over the construction of that eyesore!
—CHIN CHIN KATIGBAK, cckatigbak@yahoo.com.ph