By Nora Soriño .
ILIGAN City - By the looks of it, this city leadership under Mayor Ce!so G. Regencia want to change "was" to "is." As in, "the glory that ''is,'' NSC, or National Steel Corporation.
Everybody knows that NSÇ was once this city's pride. The burgeoning steel plant then employed over three thou people. These came from far and near this city. Plus count all those downstream industries such as the RCP, Minsteel, SATI, Iligan Rod and Bar Mill, etc. And, well, the " business " of the good girls with not so good habits…
It was hell of a good time really, the best of times. "Oh, the good life, full of fun full of joy" as a song goes.
A worker of the plant, it was said, only had to flaunt his gray jacket if he runs out of funds during a fun moment and the fun continues. For the jacket is an assurance that there will be more funds from the company of the owner of such jacket.
And many a wife of a wayward hubby working in NSC is said to nurture some "creative" ideas for herself. Such as hubby's "sudden death" which would net her more than a million moolah as a "gesture" of "condolence " which is a day worth of wages from each of the several thousand employees.
"But that was long ago, and many loves have I" so a song goes.
That was not very long ago though when the machines were silenced. That was in 1999.
The cause? Well, money management. Although analysts attributed it too to "technology." Or the lack of it. That the firm should have adapted the "Corex" technology to make it more competitive in the world market.
That is, it is said to be more cost efficient and environmentally friendly production of hot metal from iron ore and low grade metal. It does not use the blast furnace anymore like any steel plants are still using today.
So with its closing, sad songs were sang, so to speak. And of course, gigantic debts from 10 banks led by the Philippine National Bank amounting to around P 20 billion. A liquidator then came into the picture.
Not to be outdone, this city too had its claims of "unpaid real property taxes" which officials claim to be over P5 billion
To note though after it was shuttered in said year, there was a brief interval of being revived by an Indian company. The city then did not have anymore that kind of "enthusiasm" as before, as it was "suspected " that the operations were just for a "show" with the aid of some powers that be in Manila.
They were right. In due time that Indian company folded up, no down, under the weight of financial problems.
The liquidator then occupied the insides of the plant.
And then suddenly, in a decisive move, the city under Mayor Regencia occupied it, "dislodging" the liquidation team of its choice position there inside.
It is said "you cannot claim victory unless you occupy the territory." So this city is "victorious"? But the liquidation team is also occupying some territory there. Although it is outside those buildings now. They are across the street where the city folks occupy. And the three or so liquidation team members are complete with documents too for anybody interested to see. NSC, to note has more than 500 hectares.
In other words the city and the liquidation team is battling over the "ghost" that is NSC!
Recently, Atty. Voltaire Rovira, city legal officer and head of the so called NSC Technical Working Group, said that there is a
"sure" investor from Korea. This is a consortium, he said, and is offering around 4 billion euros.
But there are those "samokan" who will do some "samuksamok" and this might "affect "these negotiations. I understood his statement as maybe they had some talks too with the other "owners?" As this did not refer to them, the liquidation team but to the other "samokans" or "disturbers"?
If all goes well, the lawyer says, this rising again of NSC will materialize within "the first 6 months of 2021."
I am wondering though of these "samukan" stories that they are talking about. Because these are only through word of mouth, if really there are "disturbers." Were they bothered when the Commission on Audit wrote IN WRITING that they are "engaging in illegal transactions? " But they still continued doing these "illegal transactions." Thereby propelling a batch of concerned citizens here to really file a complaint to the Presidential Complaint Center by e-mail and reinforced by hard copies to said office.
And now they are concerned only with these "words" only by these "samokans"?
By the way, I also heard a side comment from that expose then by Atty. Leo Zaragoza on some "mysteries" regarding rice transactions then, that he knows something about this NSC deal?
I was tempted to give the city officials some benefit of the doubt. Even with what happened in the recent past and the not so recent past regarding transactions and even during this Covid-19 time. Perhaps, Atty. Z knows something about some "mystery " in this NSC deal that we, ordinary mortals in the city don' t know about?
It's better then that we hear from him, Atty. Z about this "mystery" before we give the city officials some "benefit." Of the doubt.
