03/05/2009 [ tribune.net.ph ]
At least 366 centuries-old and endangered trees in Subic were saved from being cut after a South Korean developer planning to put up a casino hotel and golf course agreed to alter its development plan to incorporate the trees into the structures it would put up.
This even as Felino Palafox Jr., the architect who exposed that the developer was planning to cut the trees to the pave way for the hotel and golf course with the consent of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), disproved the accusation of Buhay party-list Rep. Carissa Coscolluela that his motive behind his expos? is to try to cash in on the real-estate project.
At the resumption of the hearing of the House committee on bases conversion, Eric Park, manager of Gran Utopia Corp., categorically said their company would be amenable to the proposal of Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga to incorporate the 366 endangered trees in its development plan rather than cut them.
This was after Palafox bared the idea was highly feasible, possible and doable as his architectural firm had designed in several of its projects.
“Yes, your Honor, we could alter the the development plan as long as we are allowed to pursue this project,” Park told the panel.
But Coscolluela tried to pin down Palafox, accusing the architect of grand profiteering for trying to lure Gran Utopia to relocate its project to Moonbay Marina in which Palafox is a stockholder.
According to Coscolluela, Subic Coastal Development Corp. (SCDC), operator of Moonbay Marina, stands to earn no less than $40 million should Gran Utopia relocate to its site with ten percent or $4 million of the amount going to SBMA.
Palafox, however, told the panel his shares in Moonbay was payment for his professional fee for the project as attested in a letter written by SCDC president Marianito Fernandez.-Charlie V. Manalo
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