By Joel M. Sy Egco
[ manilastandardtoday.com ] March 7-8, 2009
THE public hearing on the proposed construction of a high-rise condominium in Quezon City turned into a shouting match between Quezon City councilors and those against the project, including Senator Jamby Madrigal and former Senator Francisco Tatad.
Madrigal and Tatad took the side of residents who oppose the plan of SM Development Corp. to build the 31-floor mixed-use Stanford Residences on Kati-punan Avenue and slammed the councilors backing the project.
Madrigal also scolded her nephew, city councilor Jesus Suntay, who was among the aldermen supporting SM’s request to be exempted from the city’s zoning ordinance.
“I am ashamed that I am related to you,” Madrigal told Suntay to loud applause from the residents of Pansol village, which includes the posh La Vista Subdivision where Tatad lives.
Madrigal said the plan was “horrific” and “irregular” because “it was done surreptitiously through the imprimatur of some council members.”
“This project will only make the situation worse. This project goes against the very provision of our Constitution, which safeguards every Filipino’s right to a healthful ecology,” said Madrigal, who heads the Senate environment committee and lives in the city’s New Manila district.
Tatad said the measure was anomalous because it was filed on the same day SM asked the city council for an exemption from the traffic and building height provisions of the city’s zoning ordinance,.
“SMDC vice president for special projects Jose Gabionza sent a letter request to majority leader [Ariel] Inton on Feb. 16, 2008,” Tatad said.
“On same date, the proposed resolution was filed by [councilors Suntay, Winston Castelo and Jun Ferrer]. There is serious question of motives. Something’s changed hands. They must withdraw this measure because the request for exemption was not justified.”
Madrigal was particularly piqued at Suntay: “He is my nephew, [but] when I saw his signature on the [proposed] resolution, I knew right away that there may be an anomaly,” she said of the councilor, who is the son of her cousin.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Suntay said on learning Madrigal’s remarks.
“She’s passing judgment on the integrity of the authors. The issue has become personal.”
Castelo complained that an official city council hearing had turned into a lecture from the senator and Tatad on legislative proceedings.
“While we respect them as good senators, they must understand that local legislative proceedings are quite different,” Castelo said.
Councilor Ricardo Belmonte Jr., chairman of the committee on city planning, building and zoning, was forced to adjourn the hearing as Madrigal, Tatad and village residents took turns lambasting the authors of the proposed resolution.
The residents claimed that SM’s move to seek exemptions from the city’s zoning ordinance “reflects corporate insensitivity to the potential negative impact of its action on existing communities and parishes in the Katipunan area.”
But SM maintained that the project was sound, and that it would submit all the clearances required by the council.
“This was just preliminary. We have not filed anything yet except for a request for the council to consider an exemption,” SM lawyer Epitacio Borcelis said.
“We will submit all the documents that are required from us because this is just the beginning. We are not giving up.
“Nothing is final. Everything will be up for the council to decide. What they’re doing is they’re only trying to hear all sides, the applicant and stakeholders,” Borcelis said.
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