Thursday, December 04, 2008 Wenceslao: FLI’s bid is fair game By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
NO matter which angle I view the offer of Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to invest in the South Road Properties (SRP), I could sense the political undertones as the process towards the completion of the deal rolls. The transaction is shaping up to be an important adjunct of the coming political-tug-of-war for control of the city after the 2010 elections.
In this sense, I am not surprised that Mayor Tomas Osmeña is overprotective of the deal and City Hall officials are rushing to complete the transaction in the soonest possible time. The argument that this is being done so the SRP will start earning is only partly correct. The other not-so-visible point involves a campaign strategist’s foresight.
In our kind of electoral setup, money is what keeps a political campaign running and viable. Fund-raising is thus an important consideration for would-be candidates or leaders of a political party. In the United States, candidates openly do the solicitations. In our country politicians---both incumbent and in the opposition---do it under the radar.
The fund-raising could be messy (think Joc-joc Bolante and the P728-million fertilizer fund scam and perhaps the Asean lampposts scandal). Or it could be SOP (think big businessmen budgeting millions of pesos to finance a candidate’s campaign or politicians getting commissions from projects). The effort is not visible but it is there.
The setup actually favors the incumbents because, aside from easily getting the support of some businessmen, they can also dip into public funds and implement projects that would advance a political goal. The strategy of purposely timing the release of funds for projects only in an election year is common among many local government units.
The FLI offer is in the billions of pesos, and if the transaction is completed middle or late next year that would boost city officials’ ability to hatch more projects in early 2010. In fairness to FLI, I still have to hear of talks about SOPs being promised. The magnitude of the transaction, however, is a big political boost for City Hall politicians.
I would be surprised then if those plotting to end the dominance of the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan in city politics won’t move to prevent the deal’s completion. That may not necessarily be done by the camp of Gov. Gwen Garcia, which is also busy ensuring that it will retain its dominance in the province after 2010. I mean, any taxpayer can do it. What I’m saying is that in our political setup, the FLI offer is fair game.
(khanwens@yahoo.com/ my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com)
