Politics big business

Politics big business | Daily Tribune

Local governments credit Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas for his pursuit of a Supreme Court ruling that gave them a financial windfall through an increase in their share of national taxes.

Now, however, Mandanas is under scrutiny for a conflict of interest.

A report by an American news wire agency raised ethical questions about Mandanas’s real estate interests and his tireless promotion of imported fuel terminals.

Mandanas owned the largest share in real estate firm AbaCore Capital Holdings Inc., which soared in value as energy companies moved in. AbaCore also launched its natural gas project.

AbaCore’s huge land stock that will gain from the infrastructure buildup is what’s driving company shares to stratospheric levels.

Abacore has recently been on a profit run as a result of land sales as the cost of real estate in the province has skyrocketed.

Based on company data, AbaCore has a land bank of 330 hectares solely in Batangas.

Since the removal of community restrictions as a result of the pandemic, AbaCore has been on a selling binge betting on the economy bouncing back strong.

Its latest property transaction was the sale of a 30,117-square-meter property in Mabini, Batangas, that yielded a clean profit of P227.5 million.

Last year, AbaCore sold properties in Pagkilatan, Calingatan, Mataas na Kahoy, San Salvador, Lipa, and Inosloban in Batangas which the company said earned it “hundreds of millions of pesos in net profit.”

Mandanas led a takeover of AbaCore in the 1980s when it was engaged in mining and gaming.

After being elected governor in 2016, he stepped down as chief executive officer, letting his wife, Regina, take over.

Associated Press (AP), however, obtained company documents that showed Mandanas still owned almost 30 percent of the company.

Land prices in Batangas are soaring mainly due to the buildup of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities that would allow imported gas to be supplied to several power plants in the province.

The five gas plants can supply more than 30 percent of Luzon’s electricity needs which are surging due to the rapid and sustained economic growth in the country.

The buildup is also raising concerns among environmental groups who recall the February 2023 oil spill that created a 75-mile slick that spanned more than 20 marine protected areas and affected more than 20,000 families.

An AbaCore affiliate and three Chinese firms are also building a $3-billion LNG complex in Simlong, a fishing village. Four properties owned by the group were revalued at five times as much after news of the investment was reported.

The AP report cited legal experts who raised the possible violation of a law setting ethical standards on public office and possibly the nation’s law on local governments.

The experts said elected officials are not allowed to own controlling stakes in companies with interests contrary to their official duties to prevent a conflict of interest.

AP quoted Michael Henry Yusingco, a lawyer and fellow at the Philippine Institute for Autonomy and Governance, as describing the Mandanas situation as a clear conflict of interest that could merit Mandanas’ suspension or removal from office.

AP also consulted an international expert on public official standards at the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, England, who indicated that the business involvement of Mandanas amounted to a conflict of interest and an “abuse of entrusted power for private gain which harms the public interest.”

The reality in Philippine politics is that the case of Mandanas is not isolated and conflicting business associations are repeated even in the highest elected positions.

Such unethical practices are so brazen and too frequent that ordinary Filipinos have come to ignore them.