Literally the ‘gates of hell’

“The Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown is getting hell from Catholic bishops and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino for depicting the terrible poverty and the suffocating pollution in Manila in his latest novel, “Inferno.”

A lot of people who have not yet read the book are feeling extremely annoyed – not at the author but at the MMDA chief – for the latter’s over-reaction at the allusion to the metropolis as “the gates of hell,” since it is very obvious the work of fiction depicts the condition in many parts of the city with truthful accuracy.

Just take a look at several esteros located a few minutes away from the “gateway to Manila” – the airport. These esteros are literally hellish places with the disgustingly foul stench of garbage and human refuse polluting the creek with its black, murky water. That people can live under conditions such as this – in a place worse than a pigsty – is totally mortifying. And yet we still wonder why visitors who see such squalid conditions in many parts of Manila cringe, with the images of abject poverty, the pollution, the traffic jams and the crimes imprinted? 

Where the “h” are DENR Secretary Mon Paje, the MMDA, the mayors and local government bosses in these putrid, fetid places? NGOs and people like Gina Lopez can’t be left to do the rehabilitation and clean up of our polluted waters like what she spearheaded with Estero de Paco which took massive, years-long rehabilitation work involving the cleaning and dredging of waterways, the relocation of squatters and very recently, the installation of solar lamps for the benefit of the surrounding community. 

In fact, no less than President Aquino himself recognizes the need for a massive cleanup of the metropolis in light of the 2015 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit which the Philippines will be hosting. P-Noy has tasked the DENR to “crack the whip” on metro mayors who are non-compliant with the Solid Waste Management Act and are neglecting the garbage and pollution in their backyards. And let’s not forget, the country will also be hosting the World Economic Forum in East Asia in 2014. 

Fortunately, the President has yet to decide on the city or province that would host the 2015 APEC Summit. If we don’t want our visitors to remember Manila as the “gates of hell” that Brown depicted, it would be much wiser to hold these international events in places that will prove that the Philippines is paradise here on earth. 

Restless in Pacific Plaza

In April last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas closed down the Export and Industry Bank (ExportBank) and placed it under receivership due to the latter’s inability to meet its liabilities and obligations to depositors and creditors. According to sources, the planned liquidation of the bank could prove to be difficult, with snags expected due to resistance from some creditors and depositors. Banco de Oro had wanted to buy the shuttered bank, but apparently BDO did not want to get caught in messy legal issues involving ExportBank. Two previous auctions for rehab were also declared failures after no offer was received from pre-qualified banks that initially expressed interest. 

Among those hit badly by the bank closure are members of the Pacific Plaza Condominium unit owners, with P50 million of the association’s savings including advanced payments for dues reportedly plunked into ExportBank by the former Pacific Plaza chairman and president Virginia Christine “Butch” Lopez who is also said to be assistant vice president and marketing officer of ExportBank’s treasury group. 

According to new Pacific Plaza association president Alexandra “Deeda” Garcia, the Board is looking at a potential conflict of interest issue against Lopez and also mulling the possibility of filing a case against the former Pacific Plaza official. Many are still shocked and are asking if the funds were misplaced or if there was misjudgment in putting the association money in ExportBank. 

Crazy mix-up and conflict at the Senate

A senator who refuses to be identified admitted that he would have wanted to see some United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) candidates get into the “Magic 12” to make the 16th Congress more energetic and lively with the presence of “conflicting” legislators. For instance, it would be fascinating to see Migz Zubiri take on an adversarial position against Koko Pimentel, or watch Jack Enrile engage in a “conflict” with Alan Peter Cayetano. Of course, there is still that impending possibility of a (verbal) skirmish between half brothers Jinggoy Estrada and JV Ejercito – which should be quite interesting to watch. “Labo-labo,” was how the naughty senator put it.

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