An administration lawmaker on Wednesday offered a solution to the Rizal Monument ‘photobomber’ controversy: Reposition the statue of Jose P. Rizal.
“Many are wondering why Jose Rizal had his back against Manila. May we know the historical basis for this?” Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing asked in Filipino at a congressional hearing.
The House special committee on Metro Manila Development, chaired by Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, conducted a probe of the construction of the 46-storey Torre de Manila condominium in Manila which has been criticized for spoiling the backdrop of the Rizal Monument.
But Bagatsing got no response from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines chair Ludovico Badoy even as some lawmakers dismissed Bagatsing’s line of questioning as a comic relief.
Also present during the hearing was former Manila mayor Alfredo Lim who blamed the incumbent Manila mayor and former president Joseph Estrada for giving real estate developer DMCI Homes, Inc. the necessary permits to construct the high-rise condominium Torre de Manila.
Lim said that DMCI Homes managed to construct 45 out of the 49 floors of the condominium during Estrada’s term.
For his part, Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said it is the city council who should be the one to blame as its members have given the go signal for the DMCI Homes to continue with the project despite opposition from the public.
Atienza said the city council “flip-flopped on its decision to stop the construction.”
The DMCI Homes, through Resolution No. 5, had been given exemption from the provisions of Ordinance No.8119 barring the real estate developer from constructing a building with a floor area of 97,000 square meters.
Under the ordinance’s floor to area ratio provision, DMCI could only construct a building with a maximum floor area of 27,000 in the 7,000 lot.
The DMCI Homes Inc. earlier said it saw no basis for the demolition of Torre de Manila.
“Our company firmly believes that cultural heritage and progress can co-exist, DMCI Homes project development manager Florence Loreto earlier said.
Last June 16, The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order halting the building’s construction.