Another ‘Never Again’ billboard now at Talisay

Another yellow billboard, this time in Talisay-SRP. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

A second “Never Again” billboard has appeared, this time in Talisay City criticizing the 2008 purchase of the “underwater Balili property” by the Province of Cebu in the previous administration.

A day after Capitol employees took down the controversial yellow streamer in front of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) to give way to a praise concert for the Jesus Reigns ministry, a similar-sized 60 feet by 40 feet tarpaulin was installed by other parties in a private lot along the south coastal road.

Instead of referring to the P820-million cost of the CICC in Mandaue City, the new yellow tarpaulin declares “NEVER AGAIN…UNDERWATER BALILI PROPERTY 100 MILLION PESOS OF PEOPLE’S MONEY”.

This time the billboard includes the name of CEBUANOS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT as the owner.

Both infrastructure projects were initiated by Rep. Gwen Garcia during her term as Cebu governor.

Witnesses yesterday said 15 men put up the billboard at 7 p.m. on Sunday and finished the set up two hours later.

The billboard is positioned on a private lot in barangay Tangke a few meters from the Taslisay Fish Port.

It’s visible to south-bound motorists from Cebu City heading to Talisay.

A major billboard operator whom Cebu Daily News called to ask about the spot, said the identity of the real lot owner in Talisay has long been in dispute due to several claimants, including the owner of the billboard scaffolding.

The source said the commercial rate for a billboard in that roadside location was at least P50,000 a month, excluding the cost of producing the giant tarpaulin.

The lot’s caretakers Naro and Caridad Estopa were preparing dinner when the installers arrived.

The Estopas live just bellow the billboard in a makeshift house with three of their grandchildren.

They told CDN the lot was owned by Virginia Inocencio, whose son Julius is a councilman of barangay Ermita in Cebu City. They said the installers didn’t identify themselves.

“Pag-abot nila, wala sila nagpaila. Niingon ra nga gaabang sila sa yuta ug manauray na gyud sila og billboard. Sila daw nagtaod sa Filinvest (When they arrived, they didn’t even introduce themselves. They said they were renting part of the lot and had been installing billboards for a long time. They said they were the ones who did a job for Filinvest),” Caridad said.

Filinvest has several real estate projects in the South Road Properties (SRP).

CGGD spokesman Renil Oliva, in a text message to Cebu Daily News, confirmed it was their billboard and that it measures “60 feet by 40 feet.”

“Anytime this week, we will issue an official statement regarding the matter,” he said, refusing to comment on other details.

He said the purchase of the Balili property in barangay Tina-an, Naga City, was anomalous.

(The P98.9 million purchase of the Balili lot is the subject of a pending case for graft case and illegal use of public funds in the Sandiganbayan with Garcia and several provincial officials as respondents).

“This is also a reminder for us, taxpayers, that we should be vigilant about the projects and transactions our government is spending for,” Oliva said.

Talisay City Mayor Johnny de los Reyes, in a separate interview, said a permit from the city is needed aside from a letter of request and fee payment, but didn’t seem familiar with the new billboard.

Applications for billboard posting is handled by the Office of the Building Offical (OBO).

Asked whether the CGGD had sought his permission for the billboard, the mayor said he couldn’t remember offhand.

“I have several documents to approve every day. I have to check,” he said over the phone.

Capitol officials said the first “Never Again” banner was put up at the CICC without prior permission and that they found out that a group called the CGGD mounted it only after a letter was sent on Oct. 26.

Gov. Hilario Davide III allowed it to remain there, saying he shared their advocacy. His suggestion to add the cost of the CICC as a “monument of corruption” materialized in a second yellow streamer announcing the P820-million cost as a “waste of people’s money.”

The dilapidated state of the CICC and the billboards prompted Gwen Garcia and lawyer Ervin Estandarte to file separate complaints for “neglect” against the governor with the Ombudsman in the Visayas.

Garcia, in a statement, said the newest billboard in Talisay was “pathetic.”

“This murky and mysterious group which nobody knows about should come forward and be transparent about where they get their funds, how much they paid for those huge banners and how much they are paying for the billboard space at the SRP,” she said, referring to the CGGD.

She said if the group is what their name suggests, they could have used the amount for projects for the development of Cebu.

“Here we go again. Wa pa mo motagam? (Haven’t you learned your lesson?) There were a lot of red, embarrassed faces about the banner at the CICC and yet, here you are with the same old tactics of the same rehashed issues which people are getting sick and tired of,” Garcia said.