It seemed, oddly enough, just another battle between big business and government, and a cultural and heritage institution that has the last of the few remaining green spaces in the metro. We’ve seen many of these throughout Duterte’s leadership, and often enough these stories die down quickly and the next thing we know big business has destroyed biodiversity and risked the lives of communities in the name of say, an unnecessary monstrosity of an airport in the middle of Bulacan (hello San Miguel Aerotropolis).
But this one wasn’t going to go away because unlike all the other stories, there was pushback of the government office concerned. And it is this kind of pushback that we haven’t had the past five years, when even the grapevine has been shut down, just like mainstream media.
And with elections so close and so many projects getting railroaded, it’s important to look at instances like this one and realize how the propaganda war is being waged by Duterte allies in big business in exactly the same way that government has waged it. The same strategies of soundbites and bullying, confusion and distraction, containment and damage control. All dependent on mainstream media complicity, of course, and a majority’s decision to not ask the difficult questions, or evade the parts that might actually give us answers.
After all, it only takes the next trending issue to erase this from our semi-conscious state, which makes it easy for projects to be railroaded. The next thing we know Duterte has unilaterally approved the project and threatened anyone who gets in its way.
Soundbites and bullying. When we first came out with a post on the PAGASA.ph social media accounts, it was based primarily on an interview of resigned Nayong Pilipino Director Kaye Malilong by Christian Esguerra on ANC’s Matters of Fact (May 11 2021), and Enrique Razon “lashing out” via text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer about the NP not approving the mega-vaccination facility to be built on its grounds. These are direct quotes from a May 9 news article:
“I am at a loss for words to describe [former Nayong Pilipino executive director Lucille Karen Malilong-Isberto] and others at Nayong Filipino! What planet do these idiots come from?”
“Nayong Pilipino did not plant any trees there. These are ipil-ipil trees that just grew on the empty property.”
“And they think a park is more important than vaccinating the people, so we can end this pandemic, open the economy, and end the lockdown so people can actually go to a park?!?!”
“Save the ipil-ipil, and never mind the people who are dying!”
“And those trees are ipil-ipil that grow like weeds. Those people didn’t plant a thing, and the fence [around the property] was built by Landing.”
“We are in the midst of our biggest crisis ever with people dying, and they want a park instead of a vaccination center!!! Incomprehensible!!!”
On May 11, Atty Malilong did the interview with ANC. On the morning of May 12, we posted about the mega-vax project cutting down trees—because unlike Mr Razon, we (1) care about ipil-ipil trees, and (2) we do not think trees are weeds.
We also wanted to ask: given the fact that Razon himself admits he’s cutting down trees for this, is it even necessary to build this site? To begin with, how accessible is it to the thousands he says he is going to vaccinate there? And aren’t there enough coliseums, open spaces, schools gyms, that are currently not being used for anything, and which would undoubtedly be cheaper to just equip with refrigerators and freezers needed?
I mean of course IF the point is just to help vaccinate the populace. IF the point is just to help vaccinate the people out of the generosity of one’s billionaire heart, why sacrifice trees for it, when there are so many other areas that are easier to set-up? And no, dismissing full-grown trees as mere “weeds” just doesn’t cut it, not when the December 2020 drone shots of Nayong Pilipino show us this:
(Deliberate?) Confusion. On the PAGASA.ph instagram we were bombarded by Katrina Razon (and her friends) with alternative information that according to them were the truths about this issue.
The primary thing being, there are no trees that are going to be cut, because it is an empty lot. This image started going around of a google map capture of the purported site of the construction. It also talked about how Resorts World had already allowed for the use of this property that it was leasing, for the temporary vax facility.
This narrative was carried by many mainstream media outlets (hello Business Mirror, we can see right through you), and many others carried images of empty lots to drive home the point that no trees would be cut, and this—wherever this land is relative to the Nayong Pilipino property—is where they are building.
But here’s the deal: the narrative that Resorts World had allowed ICTSI to actually build there tells us that this is not the same Nayong Pilipino property that is even being discussed here.
Note that even the Department of Tourism itself has pointed to the Nayong Pilipino property, not the Resorts World leased land, as the site of the vaccination facility.
But being confused about where exactly this vaccination site is going to be built is one thing. Throwing in the monkey wrench of a casino deal from the Nayong Pilipino’s past?
That should level up the distraction. Razon himself had started it in the May 9 article of the Inquirer when he sought to destroy the credibility of the Nayong Pilipino leadership by pointing out that the land has previously been leased “to a questionable character from China to build a casino which would have torn down all the trees to begin with.”
And then Business Mirror went to town with another distraction story, citing a COA report that purportedly talks about a casino project to be built as well on the site where the vaccination facility is supposed to be built.
Except that of course the site Razon is talking about, the one that was about the “questionable character from China” the one that’s about the Landing group building a fence? That site is totally different from the site that the Business Mirror article is talking about. The former is talking about the 9.6-hectare property of Nayong Pilipino. The latter is talking about a Resorts World-leased property, which is what Katrina Razon also posted on her Instagram account early May 12.
So how confused are we that we do not know which site they’re actually going to build on? And who are we supposed to believe? The Business Mirror’s unnamed sources and Katrina Razon saying that they’re building on the Resort’s World site? Or the Department of Tourism and Enrique Razon—and the Nayong Pilipino itself—that they are building on the Nayong Pilipino property?
Containment and damage control. And then the voice of purported reason: the Department of Tourism, siding completely with the Razons, vaccine czar Galvez, and in effect, President Duterte (of course!). Because what else does one expect from a DOT head who I hear is eyeing a Senate seat? OF COURSE you will not bite the hand that feeds you.
And of course you will release a document that has no other paper trail but IATF Resolution 109 of April 10 2021, which states:
The IATF hereby ratifies the proposal, endorsed by the Department of Tourism, for the. construction of free and temporary public walk-in and drive-thru vaccination centers in the vacant portion of the lots located in Nayong Pilipino Foundation property in Paranaque City. (emphasis mine)
The statement also shows a purported design by Architect Jun Palafox, which the document insinuates had the approval of, because done based on the suggestions of, the Nayong Pilipino Foundation itself. It also highlights how there was a proposal for the project, but doesn’t show us the written proposal itself; it says that the Nayong Pilipino leadership was aware of all meetings related to the vaccination facility, but doesn’t show documents proving that no trees will be cut, and that in fact, she and Mr. Razon are talking about the same thing.
Because note that Mr. Razon is talking about a mega-vaccination facility that will take up 10 hectares. Does this look like 10 hectares to you?
And guess how large the Nayong Pilipino site is, yes that area with full-grown Ipil-Ipil trees, with an ecosystem of flowers, insects, birds, and other wildlife?
9.5. hectares.
Pray tell how are they not cutting down any trees. ***