It’s not every day that a person is so willing to take on the rich and powerful. As president of Loyola Grand Villas (LGV) Homeowners Association, Inc., Milagros Arnaldo did just that.
Arnaldo took on the task of challenging SM properties when it asked for zoning exemptions in a designated residential area. Not only did she challenge them, she won.
Appeal to a son
Surprising, assuming such a responsibility is something new to Arnaldo. Arnaldo first joined the board as vice president in 2003; over the next three years (2004-2006), she was further elected as president.
Due to bylaws, and a personal desire to rest and take care of her ailing husband, she no longer accepted the presidential position for the following two years (2007-2008). She did however, remain as administrator. It was only last November that she was again elected as president of the association.
In Arnaldo’s eyes, SM Development Corporation (SMDC) had completely overlooked the Loyola Grand Villas society as a potential threat in the battle for the zoning exemption. When La Vista Subdivision’s homeowner’s association asked help from her, she responded immediately by backing up then La Vista’s homeowner association’s president Renato Romero against the corporate giant.
As one body, Loyola Grand Villas wholeheartedly gave its support in the battle.
As the subdivision’s leader, Arnaldo played a major role in the appeal for withdrawal of support for grant exemptions. She appealed to Counselor Bong Suntay, a proponent in granting the SM exemption, to withdraw his support for the grant exemption.
For her, that was the turning point. She recalls, “I do not know how it came about, I just had to appeal like a mother appealing to his son, and he gave in.”
For love of community
Outside office doors, Arnaldo is a woman who spends time with her family, friends, and church. “I have never been in the corporate world, I’ve always been a housewife,” she says.
Marivic Samson, the homeowner association’s admin office manager, says Arnaldo is a woman who values both family and work.
This side of Arnaldo taught her to grow a deep understanding of love for community.
As a child, however, Arnaldo was not mindful about her society. Instead, she was equipped with built-in leadership qualities that prepared her for her role today. “I’ve always been a leader… I don’t just sit around and watch the world go by,” she says.
Won, and lost
Half the battle is won, but the war isn’t over. Even if Counselor June Ferrer, another proponent, has assured Arnaldo that the issue is dead, there is still high suspicion that this is not so.
“Knowing SM, they haven’t spent all the money in the world to just sit it out,” says Arnaldo. “I don’t think they’ve given up on it; they’ve spent so much to buy the lot.”
Arnaldo’s foremost plan to mend this probable situation is by simply talking the matters over. For her, the issue must be addressed over a negotiating table, and through talking, see what can be done to please everyone.
“There is nothing that cannot be achieved in talking and discussing things professionally and amicably. You [must] be firm, but you [must] also be polite,” she says.
Of course, no single party can win it all, every time. She says, “Sometimes you win, most of the time [SM] wins, but there are times also that they should know how to lose—and I think [this time] they did.”
