Court-bound

Herbie Gomez

WITH his dispute with city hall over his Gusa property (where the local government built a terminal years ago) still awaiting the decision of a higher court, businessman James Giam is preparing to wage another legal battle–this time, against barangay officials of Indahag, the city hall’s building official, and possibly, Rep. Peter Unabia of the 1st District of Misamis Oriental.

Giam has complained that the actions and inactions of the Indahag barangay council and the Office of the Building Official have prevented him, legally speaking, from building a fence around his property. Reason: the barangay council declared part of his property as a public road.

He has written to Architect Ma. Concepcion Alcantara, the city building official, to ask for a permit but he was told to secure a barangay construction clearance first. Later, he said, the building official informed him that the disputed portion of his Indahag property is a “provincial road.”

Giam questions this. He said no expropriation ever took place. There was no compensation or even a sign that officials plan to pay him for the continued use of over one hectare of his five-hectare Indahag property.

He said he could not think of any other reason why officials were doing this to him aside from the interests of Carmelito Damo, a village councilor. Giam alleged that Damo was behind earth-moving operations that took place at an adjacent property. He said Damo, a former barangay chairman of Indahag, apparently pulled some strings because he allegedly engaged in quarrying activities in that property where an upland resort was subsequently developed. He said everyone is saying the resort is Rep. Unabia’s.

This means, based on Giam’s claim, that people going to that resort are passing through private property and are, therefore, trespassing. According to Giam, even the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. (Cepalco), is courting a lawsuit because it started erecting posts there.

Before things really get out of hand, it would be best for all the interested parties in the Indahag property to sit down and talk. I hope Giam would agree to talk because if not, then they are all court-bound.

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There are opinions that you simply don’t respect. Stating, for instance, that extrajudicial killings are OK is definitely not OK. That is as awful as the thought that some people are inferior or are not human by reason of color or sexual orientation. Some people should not confuse entitlement to that terrible opinion with respecting that ridiculous and morally bankrupt opinion.

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If our drug problem is similar to Colombia’s, then who is our “Pablo Escobar”? Months after waging this so-called war on drugs, the “biggest fish” that has been unmasked is Kerwin Espinosa, practically a boy from a small and poor town who, from the looks of it, merely sold but was never involved in the actual production of shabu.

Unmask the queen ant… or king. Is this really a “war” or merely shadow boxing? Pastilan.