Now it can be told. In the Philippines there is too much freedom of expression. Imagine foreign coaches and teams, and even Filipino athletes participating in the just started South East Asian Games openly lambasting what they see and feel as shortcomings in the reception, the facilities, and in the food that the athletes are being fed.
And they are doing it by holding press conferences with local and international media! Where in the world can the foreign – and sadly, some local sports discipline teams can take issue with the very country that serves as their host for the next two weeks. Only in the Philippines.
Personally we feel that the open complaints are kind of showing too much disrespect to the country and to the Filipino people. The foreign delegations have with them their own media groups to cover the biennial games. They can report whatever they want and how they would want it appear in their respective countries.
The athletes from other participating nations should have raised their concerns to their own sports officials and their towed media so that these can be reported back to their own countries the way they want it.
But what they are doing now is they are making themselves the direct sources of the news seemingly ignoring their own delegation officials who should have been the ones who should raise the issues with the games organizing committee.
Worst, the Philippine media appear just too happy to become the vehicle to all the tirades that are made more embarrassing by the ride-on comments and reactions of politicians.
Thus we agree with Partylist congressman and performing athlete in the SEA Games that members of the foreign delegations should have exercised some restraint. According to Partylist congressman Mikee Romero this was what the Philippine teams that included him did when they represented the country in the previous staging of the biennial sporting tournament hosted by other SEA nations.
He said they showed high degree of decorum and respect to their host even as they suffered frustrations due to unmet expectations.
And they did that even as everything that transpired during the games were reported back to the Philippines and commented on by the Philippine media as it saw them fit.
What is happening in the current SEA Games is that the Philippines is fair game to everyone in the foreign delegations with the support of the country’s politicians and Philippine media giving them the boost.
Poor Philippines.
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The prognosis on the ailing high rise property development business in Davao City is that it will take time to recover as an aftermath of the three successive earthquakes recently.
But as far as the leading home builder, Vista Land is concerned it seems it had no effect on its aggressiveness in expanding to areas where it feels there is a growing market.
Yes, we learned that even after the three strong temblors hit some parts of Mindanao including Davao City, the Villar family-led property development firm did not hesitate to proceed with its projects in Maa, Mandug, Communal and Lanang.
In other words, despite the potential setbacks on the condominium construction business, Vista land feels it could only be temporary. Moreover, the company seems certain that as far as structural integrity is concerned it can very well be addressed by the company through its engineering design and materials quality.
Besides, there is enough reason for the firm to refer to its existing projects as proof of the trustworthiness of its finished products. After all, none of its existing high rise structures is included in the list of edifices that are either condemned as unfit for occupation or required to be refitted.
In other words, no one can question the level of safety that its projects have even if earthquakes of the same magnitude as those that hit Davao City recently strike again.
So, the city need not really fear that the slack in the influx of investments on property development will linger for a long time.
Nonetheless, the collapse of a mid-rise condo structure in the city and the cracks found in some of the city’s tall residential buildings should serve as lesson to some of the more profit greedy property developers.
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