Consunji in talks with Davao officials after Duterte tirade

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Isidro Consunji said his group is in talks with housing regulators in Davao City to resolve the construction issues that emerged in a residential project built by his family.

“I just came from Davao (on Friday). We talked with building officials and homeowners representatives. It looks like agreements with both parties can be reached,” Consunji said over the weekend.

In his latest rant against big businessmen, President Duterte singled out Consunji and warned him to prioritize safety standards or face a ban on future projects in Davao.

“If you’re a builder, whether you’re Consunji or not, if I get annoyed with you, I will not grant you any permit to dig,” Duterte said in a speech last week.

The Consunjis, through Urban Property Developers Inc., built Ecoland 4000 condominium in Davao City, which sustained major cracks following the earthquake that hit the province in October.

In a statement, Urban Developers said it is “fully committed” to resolving the issue in a fair manner as soon as possible and that a settlement has already been reached with over 20 percent of Ecoland 4,000’s residents.

Consunji added that the Housing Land Use and Regulatory Board (HLURB) in Davao has scheduled meetings with various homeowners on Monday and Tuesday this week.

Duterte has been attacking big businesses relentlessly, particularly water concessionaires Ayala-led Manila Water and Maynilad Water Services Inc., which is owned by tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan and the Consunji Group.

The President said the water contracts contain onerous provisions and that the government would come up with new contracts, which the concessionaires should accept or otherwise lose their contracts.

Consunji has been vocal about the negative impact of the government’s tirades against them. He said Maynilad would not be able to pay creditors if the president pushes ahead with changes in the contract.

He was also quoted as saying that the move creates an uncertain business environment, to which an irked Duterte said Consunji should instead look at the quality of his property projects instead of speaking about Maynilad’s disputed contract with Manila.