Mayor Bautista denies graft, corruption allegations: ‘Lease’ of Athletic Bowl to Korean investor assailed

BAGUIO CITY – Residents assailed the “lease” by the city government of the Athletic Bowl here to a Korean investor saying it was done with undue haste and reeked of graft and corruption without benefit of a public hearing.

For this, the confirmation by the city council of the memorandum of agreement for the development of the Athletic bowl here must be withdrawn, said city councilor Elaine D. Sembrano to her colleagues in the city council.

Sembrano said she was preparing to file necessary legislative measures to effect the withdrawal.

In a press statement issued Thursday, Sembrano said the athletic bowl must be developed and maintained under terms of preference drawn up through a master development plan in compliance with established procedures pursuant to pertinent laws governing the disposition, including lease arrangements of government assets.

A MOA was earlier entered into by Mayor Reinaldo Bautistra Jr. and An Ho Yul, a representative of a group of Korean investors and which was later approved and confirmed by the City Council on Dec. 21, 2009.

In calling for the withdrawal of confirmation, Sembrano noted the public outcry over the decision of the city to lease the athletic bowl to a Korean group of investors.

She said there are enough competent Filipino sports facility developers and managers that can do the job if the city government is really keen on privatizing the said area. “I hope my colleagues in the council will heed the people’s clamor to save the athletic bowl from unwanted Korean intrusion.”

She said she also doubted the authority of the city government to lease the athletic bowl saying no matter how noble the intention, she has reservations as to whether the city has acquired ownership rights to lease the area for long term arrangement.

Under the MOA the Korean developers will construct a four storey hotel, a three storey sports center, function rooms and offices, and a driving range with golfing equipments and other facilities.

The agreement also provides investors shall refurbish and rehabilitate the entire Athletic Bowl facility by refitting the existing track and field oval to international standards and the rehabilitation of the bleachers into a twenty thousand capacity structure.

Also, the agreement stipulates that the athletic bowl will be leased to the Korean investors for a period of twenty five years at a rental cost of one hundred thousand pesos per month.

The planned development and rehabilitation of the athletic bowl by the Korean investors shall be undertaken at no cost to the city government, the MOA stated.

Meanwhile, Mayor Bautista denied there was graft and corruption the MOA. During the ‘Ugnayan’ press conference hosted by DZEQ ‘Radio ng Bayan’ Jan.7, Bautista dismissed pay-off rumors paving way to a MOA between city managers and the Korean investor.

Boggers assailed Bautista and the City Council on Facebook for “leasing” the Athletic Bowl saying corruption was involved in the process.

An is a businessman representing a group of Korean investors interested in the rehab of the rundown facility via a build-operate-lease scheme.

“We scared the Korean investors off with unfounded allegations that spread like wildfire over the net,” Bautista said.

He said the MOA signed between him and An was merely to generate interest in the project among other willing investors.

An and Bautista signed the MOA last December 10.

It was approved by the City Council in ‘flash resolution’ numbered 515-2009, Dec. 21, raising suspicion of graft and corruption posted in Facebook blogs.
But the mayor said, “The submission of the MOA to the Council never meant the project was already for implementation. Aside from nary an authority to proceed with the development venture, the MOA itself is unenforceable.”

A close look into the MOA revealed any mention of a commencement date for the project, although the duration of the BOT derivative sets duration of 25-years lease.

This renders the agreement unenforceable under the local civil code on contracts.
Further, under Article VII, item 7 of the agreement, the MOA likewise provided, “Any amendment or additional terms and conditions to this (MOA) must be in writing.”

This, according to Bautista, clearly suggests the parties are required to sit down on a future date if ever all impediments such as social acceptability and standard bidding government processes shall have been fulfilled.

“It does not even guarantee the Koreans will land the project,” he added.

Meantime, councilor Isabelo Cosalan, Jr., who is one of the signatories of resolution 515-2009, proposed a measure revoking council confirmation.

He in the measure said, “For a contract to be valid, the parties must be duly authorized by the entities they represent (which is absent in the present situation. Under Executive Order No. 695, ‘Devolving fully Burnham Park to the City Government of Baguio’, the (local government) ‘cannot encumber, mortgage, or alienate any portion of the park.”

“Approval of Resolution 515-2009 did not follow the rules or procedure of the City Council,” Cosalan said.. – With reports from Briccio Domondon and Isagani S. Liporada