|
ANGELES
CITY—The president of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (Pamcham) and chairman of the Advocacy for
the Development of Central Luzon (ADCL) said on Tuesday
that the private sector shares the sentiments of the
Pampanga mayors against Gov. Eddie “Among” Panlilio of
Pampanga.
“We
share their [mayors] sentiment because Governor Panlilio
did fail the Capampangan people. He failed to deliver
what is expected of him. We believe it is safe to say
that he has no concrete agenda for Pampanga’s
development. We saw that the moment he rejected our
assistance and support upon his assumption to office. He
also has a bad relationship with business-sector
groups,” Renato Romero, a leading supporter of the
governor in last year’s election, said.
Prominent businessmen in the province financed
Panlilio’s campaign “for good governance” in 2007.
Romero
said at present, the Panlilio administration has yet to
show a clear road map for Pampanga’s full development,
particularly in trade and investment, tourism and
agriculture.
He said
before Panlilio assumed office, he asked for the private
sector’s support in drafting and completing a
well-researched and sound development agenda for the
province.
Romero
said the first thing they did was to tap friends at the
regional offices, such as the trade and interior
departments and the National Economic and Development
Authority among others, and put up a technical working
group to work on the proposed agenda called the Pampanga
Development Agenda.
“Using
our own resources, we were glad to have finished it and
presented it to him later. However, the governor just
junked the proposal in exchange for his own ‘development
agenda’ allegedly drafted for him by his ‘Ateneo
group’,” Romero lamented.
“We have
nothing against his group but we believe that a
development agenda conceived by the best people in
governance in the region with the help of those in the
trade and investment sectors is more viable because of
our experience and firsthand knowledge of Pampanga’s
real concerns and problems,” Romero stressed.
Panlilio’s rejection of the development agenda is just
one of the many disappointments of the private-sector
groups with Panlilio’s alleged aristocratic governance.
Romero
said that Pamcham has lost hope and faith in Panlilio’s
administration after it failed to include the chamber in
the Provincial Development Council (PDC).
“When we
checked why we were not included in the PDC, his
administrator gave a lame alibi, blaming the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan [SP] for their lapses. We, however, found
out that we were accredited by the SP and it was
Panlilio’s office that removed us from the official list
prior to the interior department’s meeting for PDC’s
reorganization,” he said.
The
Pamcham president and ADCL chairman also said several
prodevelopment proposals were rejected by Panlilio and
his provincial administrator, lawyer Vivian Dabu.
Romero
cited, among others, the Electronic Business Licensing
Permit System (EBPLS) project of ADCL with the trade
department and Sen. Mar Roxas II, the antioverloading
measure to put up weighing scales in quarry sites and
the archaeological works proposed by the National
Museum.
“All of
these proposals were rejected by Panlilio. The governor
is not cooperating well with business groups and other
nongovernment organizations except for the few that are
part of his team,” Romero said, adding they cannot help
the governor if he himself closes his door to the
private sector.
Romero
also revealed that several supporters of Panlilio were,
likewise, disappointed of his sudden change of course.
“Many of
those who supported him during the campaign have
withdrawn their participation or involvement in any of
the governor’s activities. We did not ask for anything
in return from him except that he listen to the people
and their concerns. With Dabu on his side, everything he
promised during the campaign suddenly vanished. Indeed,
he failed the Capampangan people,” Romero said.
The
Pamcham statement came after 19 mayors belonging to the
Pampanga Mayors’ League expressed disappointment with
the governor’s dismal performance and for allegedly
failing as a leader of the province.
Candaba
Mayor Jerry Pelayo even challenged Panlilio to resign
for allegedly failing as a leader of the province that
has given rise to issues that the mayors pointed out are
a result of the governor’s lack of a clear direction and
failure to show a master development plan for the
province. |
