Nestor agonistes
CAVEAT EMPTOR. The old Roman admonition for the buyer to be fully aware of what he buys may as well be appended to all collaterals of The Lakeshore.
The July 12 order of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board for the premium estate to “CEASE and DESIST from further selling of subdivision lots” beclouded the brilliance of Nestor Mangio’s prized jewel. As it did altogether rock his solid reputation founded on his skills and popularity as an architect, and maculated his haloed religiosity as elder of a Canaesque ministry and perennial kisser of the pontifical ring of the soon-to-be-sainted John Paul II.
In effect, Mangio, who some years back soared to the firmament of spirituality after an epiphany in the crossfire of an Army-insurgent encounter in the hills of Porac, was suddenly pulled down to earth and reincarnated in a wheeler-dealer akin to the never-to-be-trusted double-dealing used-car salesman of legend, if not to Tricky Dick himself.
For that is implicit in the HLURB order, to wit: “…selling of lots without the required License to Sell, Development Permit, clearance from the Department of Agrarian Reform, Environmental Compliance Certificate from the DENR and water permit from NWRB.” The last agency I guess referred to the National Water Regulatory Board.
Selling without the necessary permit is fraud and trickery, plain and simple. An ingenious way to dupe or cheat an unsuspecting victim. Mangio a trickster? The Pope a sinner? God forbid!
Ah, what agony must it have been for Mangio!
That on July 17, the same HLURB regional officer – one Editha Barrameda – had a sudden epiphany too, and reversed her order provided little balm to ease Mangio’s pains. It was a Pyrrhic victory. So the order was suspended. So more questions were raised.
Wrote Barrameda: “After examining the supporting documents submitted by Central Country Estate, Inc. relative to the requirements for The Lakeshore project, this Office hereby suspend (sic) the implementation of the earlier temporary cease and desist order pending the result of the July 19, 2006 hearing.”
There the HLURB outdid itself, nay, the whole Philippine bureaucracy even, with the speed with which it rendered the order. The order was dated July 17. The supporting documents referred to were contained in a letter of Mangio dated July 17 too. Government offices open at 8:00 in the morning. The suspension of the cease and desist order was announced by Mangio in a well-attended press conference past 3:00 in the afternoon. Wow, that was really fast. I hope Barrameda will be amply rewarded for it.
Still the clouds of doubt bestirred by the “same old issues…invented by Mr. Luisito Hipolito and which we (Mangio, et al) have appropriately addressed before” remain hovering at The Lakeshore. Clouds that – if we are to believe some people other than Hipolito – are fast gathering into a thunderstorm that may not just soak but totally inundate Mangio’s life and leisure showcase when unleashed.
But back to the issue at hand. A restoration of the corporate integrity of The Lakeshore is in order. The onus of obligation is upon Mangio’s shoulders. That he owes to the thousands who so believe(d) in his project that they entrusted their life savings and their retirement funds in his hands. (Pampanga News, July 20-26, 2006)
The July 12 order of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board for the premium estate to “CEASE and DESIST from further selling of subdivision lots” beclouded the brilliance of Nestor Mangio’s prized jewel. As it did altogether rock his solid reputation founded on his skills and popularity as an architect, and maculated his haloed religiosity as elder of a Canaesque ministry and perennial kisser of the pontifical ring of the soon-to-be-sainted John Paul II.
In effect, Mangio, who some years back soared to the firmament of spirituality after an epiphany in the crossfire of an Army-insurgent encounter in the hills of Porac, was suddenly pulled down to earth and reincarnated in a wheeler-dealer akin to the never-to-be-trusted double-dealing used-car salesman of legend, if not to Tricky Dick himself.
For that is implicit in the HLURB order, to wit: “…selling of lots without the required License to Sell, Development Permit, clearance from the Department of Agrarian Reform, Environmental Compliance Certificate from the DENR and water permit from NWRB.” The last agency I guess referred to the National Water Regulatory Board.
Selling without the necessary permit is fraud and trickery, plain and simple. An ingenious way to dupe or cheat an unsuspecting victim. Mangio a trickster? The Pope a sinner? God forbid!
Ah, what agony must it have been for Mangio!
That on July 17, the same HLURB regional officer – one Editha Barrameda – had a sudden epiphany too, and reversed her order provided little balm to ease Mangio’s pains. It was a Pyrrhic victory. So the order was suspended. So more questions were raised.
Wrote Barrameda: “After examining the supporting documents submitted by Central Country Estate, Inc. relative to the requirements for The Lakeshore project, this Office hereby suspend (sic) the implementation of the earlier temporary cease and desist order pending the result of the July 19, 2006 hearing.”
There the HLURB outdid itself, nay, the whole Philippine bureaucracy even, with the speed with which it rendered the order. The order was dated July 17. The supporting documents referred to were contained in a letter of Mangio dated July 17 too. Government offices open at 8:00 in the morning. The suspension of the cease and desist order was announced by Mangio in a well-attended press conference past 3:00 in the afternoon. Wow, that was really fast. I hope Barrameda will be amply rewarded for it.
Still the clouds of doubt bestirred by the “same old issues…invented by Mr. Luisito Hipolito and which we (Mangio, et al) have appropriately addressed before” remain hovering at The Lakeshore. Clouds that – if we are to believe some people other than Hipolito – are fast gathering into a thunderstorm that may not just soak but totally inundate Mangio’s life and leisure showcase when unleashed.
But back to the issue at hand. A restoration of the corporate integrity of The Lakeshore is in order. The onus of obligation is upon Mangio’s shoulders. That he owes to the thousands who so believe(d) in his project that they entrusted their life savings and their retirement funds in his hands. (Pampanga News, July 20-26, 2006)
posted by A.Caesar Z. Lacson at 1:24 AM
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