CLUP NOW STATEMENT
May 31, 2018
Villar questioned Baladad for targeting her family’s
business, stating “Bakit ba lahat ng projects ng Vista Land? Ang dami-daming
nagtayo ng bahay sa Pilipinas, dami-daming nagtayo ng industries sa Pilipinas,
dami-daming nagtayo ng commercial buildings sa Pilipinas, bakit ba binabanggit
mo puro Vista Land? Galit ka ba sa akin? Is this a political issue or a
legitimate issue?”
(Why are you singling out Vista Land? There are other
developers which have built houses in the Philippines, set up industries in the
Philippines, and constructed commercial buildings in the Philippines, why are
you citing just Vista Land? Are you mad at me? Is this a political issue or a
legitimate issue?)
To this, the Campaign
for Land Use Policy Now (CLUP Now) network says: WHY NOT.
As a senator of the Philippines, you, Senator Villar, should
not have conflicts of interest within your work as public official. According
to the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees
(RA 6713), "conflict of interest" occurs when a public official or
employee is a member of a board, an officer, or a substantial stockholder of a
private corporation or owner or has a substantial interest in a business, and
the interest of such corporation or business, or his rights or duties therein,
may be opposed to or affected by the faithful performance of official duty.”
The RA also states that public officials “shall avoid conflicts of interest AT
ALL TIMES.”
When you, Sen. Villar, confronted Ka Elvie, you reveal to
the public what we knew all along – that you were more keen to preserve your
family’s business interest above all else. Your attempts at deflecting a
legitimate issue by stating that there are other developers doing the same
thing prove futile.
The Filipino people
are on to you, Senator Cynthia Villar.
You imply that we’re singling you out of the multitude of
developers in the country, as if you’re a political target. Lest you forget,
while you hold a position that gives you the power to protect the environment
and prime agricultural lands, it also gives you the power to withhold such
protection. No other developer in the country has that power. No other
developer has publicly sworn to prioritize the interest of the Filipinos above
all else. So yes, why not Vista Land?
As the current chairperson of the Senate Committees on
Agriculture and Food, Agrarian Reform, and Environment and Natural Resources, you
are mandated to protect the environment and prime agricultural lands from the
impacts of developments including that of Vista Land projects.
This is not the first time that Vista Land was accused of
converting prime agricultural lands into real estate projects. A previous case
in 2014, in Plaridel, Bulacan, farmers were protesting Vista Land’s development
of Lumina Homes. In this case, irrigated rice lands were converted into a
subdivision. Farmers protested that the irrigation system they depended on was blocked
by Lumina Homes and will deplete other farms of water supply.
In the senate, your refusal to hear key legislations like
the National Land Use Act shows that you value your family’s business interests
over your duty as a legislator.
The proposed National Land Use Act aims to rationalize holistic,
just allocation, and use of the country’s land and water resources, including
real estate developments for human settlements, by institutionalizing land use
and physical planning for proper management of resources. Your business won’t
be deprived of space, Senator Villar. They will only be placed where they can
best operate without compromising the use of lands more fit for agriculture and
environmental conservation.
This important piece of legislation has been under the
auspices of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources since July 2016.
The House of Representatives already passed House Bill No. 5240 on May 2, 2017
and was transmitted to the senate a week after. No less than the Chief
Executive of our country, President Rodrigo Duterte, has called for its passage
in his State of the Nation Address in July 2017 and it has consistently been in
the priority legislative agenda of the Legislative-Executive Development
Advisory Council (LEDAC). Despite these, you, Senator Villar has made no concrete
action to convene the Committee on Environment and Natural Resource to discuss
the bill.
We call on you, Senator Cynthia Aguilar Villar, to do your
sworn duty to legislate meaningful and important laws like the NLUA. If you
can’t, please make way for someone who can.
(By Caryl Pillora)
