MikeLigalig.com

By Bohol Standard

Second district board member Gerardo Garcia said he was “mis-quoted” in a news item that appeared in a local newspaper last Sunday, alleging that he did not sign the committee report scrapping the Panglao Reclamation project because of his political affiliation with former governor and now second district congressman Erico Aumentado.

“That is not true and no political affiliation whatsoever can bind me not to take into foremost consideration the welfare of the Boholano people,” BM Garcia said in a brief interview after last Friday’s session.

Availing the time on other matters in last Friday’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan session, BM Garcia took the floor lamenting on the inaccurate reporting that appeared on the assailed news item.

The news item (which was printed not in this paper) insinuated Garcia refused to sign the committee report considering he was supporting the group of Aumentado in the last election.

BM Garcia is the vice chairman on the committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, the committee that jointly conducted the review of the JVA signed by Aumentado and Oasis Inc. on June 19, 2010, less than two weeks before the previous provincial administration’s term ended.

The reclamation Joint Venture Agreement was signed by then governor Aumentado and the Oasis Leisure Island Development, Inc. represented by businessman Norris Oculam. It proposed to construct a total of 450 hectares of reclaimed five islets off Panglao bay, for tourism, business and residential sites.

In clarifying the signature issue, board member Abeleon Damalerio, who rendered the committee report junking the reclamation project, said BM Garcia had his signature affixed in the final copy of the report.

“I have photo copied the final report with BM Garcia’s signature already affixed and had them readied in case any member of the media ask for it,” Damalerio said.

It was learned later that the copy which did not bear the signature of BM Garcia was earlier furnished to board members before the session and the same copy was photo copied, by request, of some members of the media.

“If they (media) had asked me for the final copy of the report, I could have given them, but after the session no one came for it,” Damalerio added.

In a text message sent yesterday, BM Garcia said: “being your elected provincial board member, the interest of the people of Bohol is always above my personal interest, much more to the interest of my friends and affiliation.” (VGO-EDCom)

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