Ateneo to file graft charges vs QC Council for 42-story building permit

The Ateneo de Manila University and homeowners from the different villages in Barangay Loyola Heights will file a complaint against the 17th Quezon City Council before the Ombudsman on Wednesday, the university announced in a statement released Tuesday.   The complaint stems from the Council’s decision to give the SM Development Corporation (SMDC) zoning exemption that allowed them to push through with Blue Residences, a 42-story building being built in the area.   In the statement, the university noted that the City Council had granted SMDC “undue advantage and unwarranted benefits and privileges.”   The Ateneo said in the statement that the complaint is based on the City Council’s violations of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt practices act.   The Ateneo will be represented by University Vice President for Administration and Planning Dr. Edna Franco. Joining as complainants are representatives from La Vista, Varsity Hills, Villa Aurora, and Xavierville II residential subdivisions.   As of posting, SMDC and the Quezon City Council could not be reached for comment.   SMDC, however, had earlier said that they received the consent of Loyola Heights residents, making their zoning exemption valid and fair.     Students’ protests   Ateneo student council president Drew Copuyoc said in an email interview with GMA News Online that the complaint was prompted by the current Quezon City Council’s inaction on their request for the exemption to be revoked.   Several months ago, the student governments of Ateneo and nearby Miriam College protested against SMDC’s zoning exemption.   In the August protest, students asked the local City Council to revoke the exemptions it had granted SMDC in 2010.   Copuyoc said that several students will also be complainants of the case. Students will also be mobilizing on Wednesday.   According to the student leaders from Ateneo and Miriam, the area in which the building is being built is a safety hazard because of its vulnerability to earthquakes. They also said that the building would aggravate the already heavy Katipunan Avenue traffic.   The two universities, as well as the residential communities in the area, asserted that the City Council had granted SMDC zoning exempti8ons without “following required processes” such as consultations with affected groups and the submission of required documents.   “No violations”   SMDC has also denied curtailing processes in order to obtain their building permit. In a previous statement, they said that they did not bypass the residents of the barangay—adding that they participated in a public hearing where residents were allowed to voice out their concerns.   Additionally, SMDC said that the Quezon City government had already ruled that no rules had been violated by issuing SMDC permits to construct Blue Residences.   Blue Residences will be turned over to buyers by the second half of 2014, according to the official website of SMDC.   Several city councilors had been sympathetic towards the uproar over the exemption granted to SMDC. In August, Quezon City Councilors Precious Hipoloto and Alfred Vargas filed Resolution 10-223, which aimed to revoke the exemption granted to SMDC.   “However, [the resolution] didn’t progress because other councilors refused to act on it,” said Copuyoc.   Councilors Vargas and Hipolito, as well as Councilor Allan Reyes are not part of the complaint, Copuyoc also said.   “The complaint only concerns councilors of the 17th Quezon City Council,” he added. — BC/ELR/HS, GMA News