A tale of two cities: Makati and Iloilo
The spectacles of two Senate hearings, one about the Makati parking building and another on the Iloilo Convention Center, are, to paraphrase Charles Dickens, the best of times and also the worst of times to showcase how two very different things could be treated very similarly. In the case of Makati, the Blue Ribbon Committee, supposedly in aid of legislation, is investigating the alleged overpricing of its construction cost. Upon the other hand, the same committee is also investigating the so-called overpricing of the Iloilo Convention Center. Is there any convergence and divergence between the two?
What is the difference between the two cities, or the two buildings? First, in the case of Makati, there is already a case filed before the court, the Sandiganbayan. In the case of Iloilo, there is no case before the Court, but allegedly a complaint before the Ombudsman. In the Makati case, a former vice mayor who claimed to have personal knowledge of many "insider" transactions about alleged shenanigans in many official functions. In the case of Iloilo, the complainant admitted that he has no evidence directly linking Drilon to the transactions. He merely relied on his reports as an investigative journalist and on his readings of wikipedia.
In the Makati case, former vice mayor Ernesto Mercado claimed to have personally witnessed many things that allegedly happened in relation to and in connection with the building in question and in many other alleged questionable transactions. In the case of Iloilo, all those who have personal knowledge like Department of Tourism secretary Ramon Jimenez, DPWH secretary Rogelio Singson and many others, including Drilon himself, as project proponent, and some technical directors and functionary have all testified that all the standards were complied with, all procedures were followed and all documents are to be submitted to the committee.
The difference between Makati and Iloilo are wide and legendary. Makati is the undisputed financial and business center of the country. Iloilo, the old queen city of the south, has already been dislodged by Cebu and is even challenged by nearby Bacolod. Vice President Jojo Binay was riding high on the inevitable progress and financial growth of Makati. Drilon, as the highest ranking political leader from Iloilo had to do a lot of things in order to redeem the glory that was the old Iloilo and the grandeur that it deserves as the home of the old rich of the whole country.
Like Binay who claims to be the builder of modern Makati, Drilon just wants to leave major legacies to Iloilo, like the world class airport, the river dredging and development project and now, the convention center. Binay, of course is a lawyer like Drilon. But Binay is a street lawyer, a human rights defender of the marginalized and the unwashed. He was a street parliamentarian and an activist. Drilon has always been a corporate lawyer, defending big corporations against workers, and unions in major labor disputes. The tale between Makati and Iloilo, is like the difference between Drilon and Binay in reverse. And so, we the "hoi polloi" should look at these two spectacles with some discernment. They are so unlike and yet, we tend to treat them with the same degree of liking and disliking. We need to know better. Knowing well, we can decide more judiciously.
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