Malayan boss: Cordova reclamation project is mine to start

RECENT reports of Cordova town pursuing a large-scale reclamation in its coast has revived a conflict over control of the project which dates back to the 1970s.

Pablo Villaver, president and CEO of Malayan Integrated Industries Corp., threatened to sue Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy and SM Prime Holdings Inc. if they push through with a  plan to reclaim part of the coastal waters of barangays Daya-s and Pilipog.

Villaber, in a press statement, said any authority to reclaim granted to SM by the municipality of Cordova and the Province of Cebu is “illegal, invalid and null and void.”

He  decried what he called attempts to “mislead” the public by making it appear that the reclamation permit application was new.

Villaber said his company remains the legitimate permit holder authorized by  then president Fidel Ramos on May 17, 1996 to implement a 3,500 hectare reclamation project in Cordova.

“MIIC’s corporate legal counsels in Manila are already preparing legal actions for this matter by possible filing of criminal and administrative charges of anti-graft against any officials of institutions favoring the proposals of SM Prime Holdings Inc,” said the one-page press statement.

On Jan. 10, 2015, Villaber also wrote SM president Hans Sy and senior vice president David Rafael signifying his protest.

Villaber said in his letter to Sy that their joint venture agreement with the Cordova municipal government then represented by former mayor Celedonio Sitoy remains valid from 1977 to this year.

He recalled that Mayor Sitoy entered into contract of reclamation and development with MIIC on Sept. 7, 1977.

Former president Ferdinand Marcos also issued Executive Order 525 on Feb. 14, 1979 to authorize the project.

The present Cordova mayor Adelino Sitoy said he was not threatened by cases, saying “lawyering is my business.”

He said the approval given to MIIC has long been outdated. Such approval was already junked in 2007 by the municipal council “because of lack of movement,” the mayor explained.

The Cordova municipal government passed a resolution dismissing the authorization given to MIIC because the company has not done any development project in the area.

“Mao nay giingon nga ulahi na ang tanan,” he said. (It’s too late.)

Two months ago, said the mayor, they had a meeting with Sy about the reclamation project.

Sitoy said he only allowed 1,500 hectares for reclamation because the remaining 2,000 hectares is intended for the livelihood of fisherfolk.

If SM develops he property, Cordova residents are assured of job, education and healthcare for their children, Sitoy said.