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HANJIN
Heavy Industries Inc. has assured the government it is
“still inclined” to keep its $2-billion shipyard project
in the Southern Philippines despite what Malacañang
called a “misunderstanding” with local officials, Press
Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Monday.
Bunye
said in an interview with reporters that the assurance
was relayed by Hanjin officials to Trade Secretary Peter
Favila, amid government efforts to iron out the problem
through an investigation by a Department of the Interior
and Local Government task force with the help of Misamis
Oriental Gov. Oscar Moreno.
“We are
happy to learn that Gov. Oscar Moreno is helping in the
investigation. We expect a very credible investigation,
which will bear out the root cause of these allegations
and counterallegations. In the meantime, Hanjin has sent
word through Secretary Favila that they are still
inclined to stay despite these initial problems with the
local government,” Bunye said.
He said
Favila relayed the message to him in a phone
conversation that morning.
Asked
what the government would do to keep Hanjin in the
country, since it only expressed an “inclination” to
remain, he said: “We should understand that this is not
a small investment. Hanjin belongs to the billion-dollar
club and any decision to pull out would have a huge
impact. But we’re given a ray of hope that this
misunderstanding would be resolved.”
He said
potential big-ticket investors in the Philippines are
expectedly keeping a close watch over developments on
the Hanjin issue, which is why a fair and impartial
investigation is necessary.
Bunye
appealed to the Senate, which is planning an
investigation into the alleged bribery made by Hanjin on
two town mayors in Misamis Oriental, to “first give the
investigating body a chance” to determine the veracity
of the allegations.
“So that
there would be a fair investigation, it would be best if
we could separate this from politics first. Let there be
an impartial investigation of the charges and
countercharges among the parties,” Bunye said.
Bunye
noted that Moreno would prove to be a “credible third
party,” considering he is not only a former legislator
but was also an investment banker.
“He
understands the importance of such an investment. I
think he will try to balance the interests of all
parties concerned....We believe that persons like
Governor Moreno would really try to get to the bottom of
this and come up with a solution that would benefit
everybody,” Bunye said.
Tagaloan
Mayor Paulino Emano is claiming Hanjin officials
allegedly tried to bribe him with a P400-million supply
contract to allow the shipyard project to proceed;
Hanjin officials had written Moreno to complain that
Emano and Villanueva town Mayor Juliette Uy had
allegedly tried to extort money from them for the same
reason. |
