After being blamed for the flooding in four subdivisions in Parañaque City, a resort owner is contemplating filing court complaints against agencies and the local government of Parañaque City for their "failure" to act on the Baloc-Baloc Creek diversion.

"I have no choice but to file a case in January," businessman Selwyn Lao, who owns the one-hectare Wing-An Garden Resort inside Multinational Village in Barangay Moonwalk, told Daily Tribune.

"We will have to study what charges can be filed against them," Lao said.

He said the creek problem could be easily solved if the people involved and the government agencies concerned would cooperate.

"First of all, the Villars and Mayor [Eric] Olivares must make their presence felt," he said.

Former Senate president Manny Villar's company owns Camella Classic Homes, the developer being blamed for the reclamation of the creek that has resulted in extensive flooding in the area based on Lao's narration.

"Mayor Olivares must know the real reason why is it flooding there, and not just accuse us. I only hold a legal document (on the ownership of the lot)," he added.

Lao likewise asked Mayor Olivares to convince the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to address the matter, particularly the illegal structures sitting on top of the original creek.

"It's a serious crime that they titled a creek. If that's the case, then we can also title the Pasig River," he said, adding that four houses were built along the creek.

Shadow lurks in creek tussle

Lao claimed somebody was behind the harassment against him for the complaints he has been raising but he did not identify the person.

"It turns out that there is somebody behind it. The problem is that, you know, (the person) is like a shadow," Lao said.

He said he would be very careful about naming names to avoid a libel suit.

"But what happened was a concerted effort. They did not coordinate well and they attacked me separately," he said, referring to the Camella Classic Homes Homeowners Association, the city government of Parañaque, and the barangays.

"The documents will prevail wherever we go. But no one reads them," he added.

Lao, a civil engineer who owns a Pasig City-based construction firm, said Camella Homes must finish the creek project which is decades old. "They started it, why don't they want to finish it?" he asked.

Lao said he sent Mayor Olivares the documents for him to read and use to solve the problem.

"As long as the Villars fail to show up, it will not be solved," he said.

"The DENR, the mayor's office, and the camp of the Villars are silent, but some people from the barangay are pressuring and harassing me," he claimed.

Police operation

Sought for comment, the Southern Police District was mum on the Parañaque police operation in Lao's compound last Saturday. The police claimed there was a hostage-taking incident involving a Chinese national and a POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) operation at the resort.

Police verification of the alleged incident turned up negative.