Philippine Daily Inquirer
Letter to the Editor
I am writing in reaction to Neal H. Cruz’s Aug. 27 column.
Cruz described Gov. Ed Panlilio of Pampanga province as “incorruptible” and then likened Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim to him. With due respect, I say the parallelism is tenuous and unfair. I hold Among Ed, together with Gov. Grace Padaca of Isabela province and Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City, in the highest regard for his example of moral governance.
It is clear that Cruz was referring to the controversial takeover by the Lim administration of the city’s slaughterhouse facilities operated by Dealco. It is unfortunate that the column only presented “information,” not facts, released by the PR team of Lim. He mentioned that “the operator of the city slaughterhouse… does not want to pay the City of Manila for the lease….” Dealco’s official receipts, among other documents, show that this is a blatant lie desperately woven to hide the true motives of the mayor in ordering the extrajudicial takeover of the facility. Lim’s abuse of authority is now the subject of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Ombudsman, and so I will refrain from commenting further on it. I am confident that an impartial inquiry will ultimately reveal the truth.
With respect to the issue of conflict of interest, the contract between Dealco and the previous administration was signed in 1999. I entered politics only in 2007. As for the allegation that the slaughterhouse has “deteriorated into a pigsty,” the media coverage of the July 11 incident revealed a clean and orderly facility. Records clearly show that Dealco infused millions of pesos to rehabilitate and modernize the facility.
Cruz writes: “The councilor egged his fellow councilors to resign from their positions in the council but continue to collect their salaries.” The claim that a neophyte like me instigated them is an insult to their intelligence. I would like to clarify that my fellow councilors joined me in my cause without any instigation on my part. Councilors act on their conscience. Moreover, the Philippine Councilors’ League and other groups have also condemned the act done to me by Lim.
Dealco may one day recover the P70-P100 million in losses that it has incurred and continues to incur because of the takeover. But my name and reputation are worth much more. Any damage done here is irreparable.
I respect Cruz as a writer, but I feel that he may have allowed himself to be misled in this particular issue. I hope that Inquirer’s reporters and columnists will look into the issues of this case with more diligence next time, in the interest of truth and fairness.
DENNIS B. ALCOREZA, councilor, First District of Manila
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