By George Trillo
CLARK
FREEPORT, Pampanga – Officials of the state-owned Clark Development Corp.
(CDC) were charged with graft and corruption for allegedly entering into a
$400-million joint venture project with a Korean investor that is
”patently disadvantageous to the government.”
The Parañaque City-based First Worldwide
Marketing Corp.(FWMC), a former partner of Donggwang Clark Corp. (Donggwang),
filed the complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman, saying the joint venture
agreement violates the CDC’s charter.
FWMC said the agreement was disadvantageous
to the government because the CDC had agreed that arbitration of possible
conflict be done by a Singapore-based third party, which reportedly requires an
arbitration fee of as much as $280 million, despite a mere $150,000 annual
lease the CDC could collect from Donggwang.
The 12-page complaint noted that the CDC
allowed the operation and sale of the condominium units at Donggwang Clark Ode
Country in the absence of the necessary permits and licenses.
CDC officials were accomplices in assisting
Donggwang in defrauding the public by allowing it to misrepresent that some of its stockholders are residents of the country, it added.
FWMC also cited environmental issues,
claiming that the CDC had known that the environmental clearance certificate
issued to Donggwang was for a previous plan and not the Korean firm’s current
project.
Pampanga’s first district Rep.
Carmelo Lazatin said he would file a resolution seeking an
investigation into the golf course project in a 304-hectare area inside the
freeport to determine whether it violates environmental laws.
“While a robust economy is a goal and dream
of every province through projects like this, its negative effects on the
environment should not be put in the backburner, especially when millions of
lives are at risk,” Lazatin said.
He said his inquiry “will center on why the
project was approved despite alleged violations of environmental laws and other
government policies.”
No comments:
Post a Comment