One Big Fight. For good governance, the Loyola Heights community rally in protest of the zoning exemptions granted to SM Development Corporation (SMDC). Photo by Kat A. Mallillin.
AFTER MONTHS of fruitless negotiations, the Loyola Heights community (LHC) took to the streets last August 12 in a show of mass protest against the continuing construction of Shoemart Development Corporation (SMDC)’s Blue Residences.
Despite a light rain shower, Ateneo Gate 2.5 saw more than a hundred representatives from the community stakeholders, including Ateneo and Miriam College, holding banners and streamers questioning the 17th City Council’s issuance of Resolution no. 866 last March 8, 2010.
The resolution allows SMDC to construct its 42-storey residential and commercial condominium in a zoning area, which limits buildings to only 24 stories.
In a speech delivered by Ateneo Sanggunian President Drew Copuyoc, he stressed the community’s insistence on good governance that should be practiced by the Quezon City government.
“We stand by the laws that safeguard the welfare of the Loyola Heights community…we call on the 18th city council to revoke the resolution and to undo what should be undone,” he said.
He clarified that the group is not opposed to the project itself, but to the exemption granted “without due process and due deliberations.”
Copuyoc also challenged the developer to participate in a “genuine dialogue” with the community, as it has only consistently sent engineers and marketing executives to attend the meetings since February.
The rally, which lasted for around an hour, included a 20-minute noise barrage as a clamor for good governance.
Not damaging SMDC’s reputation
The community clarified that they do not intend to put SMDC in a bad light, but rather, they wanted to know why the company had gotten its legal documents so quickly and without prior consultation with the stakeholders.
“A lot of people think that we don’t like SM. That’s not true. They also think that we don’t want development. That’s also not true. Rather, our community is against the zoning exemptions given by the city council to SM Blue in the absence of due process,” said Ateneo School of Humanities Dean Dr. Ma. Luz Vilches in her opening speech.
“It neglected the welfare of our community. We are challenging them to [practice] good governance,” she added.
La Vista resident Evelyn Nazareno said the rally was meant for people to know that these undue processes should not happen. “Nobody’s above the law,” she said.
Exerting more effort
The August 12 rally is the latest in a string of efforts to muster support against the continuing construction of the Blue Residences project. Last June, around 30 Ateneans went to the Quezon City hall to lobby for support among the councilors. The effort, however, failed, as most officials were reportedly not present at the time.
Loyola Heights representatives have also been trying to convince minority member councilor Allan Reyes to put the issue on the council’s agenda since July. Reyes, Councilors Alfred Vargas and Precious Castelo are the proponents of Resolution 10-223, which seeks to revoke the zoning exemptions granted to SMDC under suspended rules. The 18th city council opened on August 15.
In a meeting held last August 17, the representatives discussed their next moves, including the possibility of filing a cease and desist order against the project. The problem, however, is that it is an expensive move, as they would have to pay 5% of the loss that SMDC incurs for every day that its operations are halted.
SMDC: ‘Blue’ is compliant
In the days leading to the rally, SMDC released full-page advertisements on major dailies to clarify points raised against their project.
The company wrote that they had obtained all the necessary documents legally, and that the City Council had approved and confirmed the project on second reading, contrary to claims of it being introduced and confirmed within the same session.
Furthermore, they maintained that “the Loyola Heights community was not denied a ‘genuine opportunity to voice out the concerns’,” adding that public hearings were held various times from February to April. The company had also met with community representatives even outside of the public hearings.
Stopping the construction, the company wrote, would compromise their buyers who are expecting the timely completion of the project. “Said buyers…are also stakeholders whose interests must also be protected,” they wrote.
Unwillingness to change positions
Last July 4, city council majority floor leader Atty. Jesus Manuel Suntay spoke with Copuyoc, Ateneo Sanggunian Secretary-General Ian Agatep and former Financial Officer Reg Guevara about the LHC’s continuing protest against SMDC.
In Sanggunian’s report about the meeting, Suntay said that the 17th City Council was supporting former Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte’s vision of “welcoming more investors into the city.”
He added that the council does not want to risk being sued by the company, as it had already made contracts with various suppliers, contractors and engineers.
[…] Noise Barrage was the third noise barrage to be conducted this school year. The first was the SMDC Blue Rally followed by the two-series barrage demanding for Gloria Arroyo to be put on trial. — […]