By LITO RULONA
and NITZ ARANCON
Correspondents .
PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority administrator Franklin Quijano on Tuesday rejected calls made by Misamis Oriental Rep. Juliette Uy for his resignation even as he denied any wrongdoing in connection with the shipments of wastes from South Korea to the province last year.
Quijano told a news conference that what were brought in from South Korea were plastic materials for recyclyng by VNS Verde Soko Philippines Industrial Corp. and not landfill garbage.
He said the Bureau of Customs, and not the Phividec, should bear the brunt of the blame because Customs officials were the ones who allowed the Verde Soko cargo to get past the ports in Misamis Oriental. His point: if the materials were indeed lanfill garbage, then why did customs bureau officials allow these out of the ports?
Quijano said calls for his resignation or ouster were misplaced, asserting that Phividec did nothing wrong when the materials from South Korea were brought to the Verde Soko plant in Sitio Bugwak, Barangay Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan town.
Quijano said there was no basis for anyone to call for his resignation.
“Unsa ma’y unod? Unsa may rason? Wala ko kahibalo unsay ilang basis. Unsa man, atong undangon ang industrialization?” Quijano asked rhetorically.
He said he discussed the resignation calls with President Duterte and his staff.
“I told the President and his staff nga kon na-a gyuy rason nga angay kong mohawa, sultihi ko ninyo kay mohawa ko,” Quijano said.
He said he did not apply for the position of Phividec administrator but when Duterte appointed him, he accepted the task because “I want to help.”
“The Phividec is doing its best and following its mandate,” he said.
Quijano said Rep. Uy should tell him the reason and basis for her call for him to resign.
“Ingna lang ko asa ko nasayop kay mo-resign ko,” he said.
Quijano said those seeking his resignation should directly talk to him and other Phividec officials so they could reason out.
Earlier, Uy said that if Quijano and other Phividec officials refused to quit, she would push for a reduction in the Phividec budget to one peso, and file a bill that would abolish Phividec for good. If abolished, she said, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) can take over.
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