Duterte names new member of Nayong Pilipino board
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Sun, 03 Mar 2019 06:42:30 +0000
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed a new board member of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, replacing one of the executives fired over a “grossly disadvantageous” deals.
Duterte appointed Paolo Sotero Laurel at the post, replacing Gerald Valles Medina. His term will run until June 30 of this year.
Laurel was the Executive Assistant to the President at the Lyceum of the Philippines.
Duterte fired the entire board of trustees of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation last August, over the alleged “grossly disadvantageous” 25-year, $1.5-billion lease casino contract for the Nayon Landing project.
The contract, which will build the 97,000-square meter integrated resort and casino, was between the NPFI and the Chinese company Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp. (LRPDC). It was originally intended for 70 years, but was later reduced to 50 years, then to 25 years.
On August 8 last year, Duterte said he fired the board members because he did not like gambling and no more additional casinos would be built.
“Do not give gambling licenses or franchise for 75 years. The child is born today, 75 years later he’s that old. There will still be gambling in the city [and] I will not allow it,” Duterte said in a speech during the 117th Police Service Anniversary in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
Duterte said last week that he revoked the contract and cleared house because there was no bidding done.
He said the contract was merely given to business tycoon Jack Lam.
“You know, this [is] Nayong Pilipino. Do you understand the word[s] Nayong Pilipino? Then, you will put a gambling house there? Then you did not bid it, you just went to award it,” Duterte said in a speech during the 2019 general assembly of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines last Wednesday.
“I went there and… You sons of b—hes. Nayong Pilipino, [then] you will give it to the Chinese for gambling? And there is no bidding. [I told them] to leave, all of them. This is why there are new appointees. Stupid,” he added.
Duterte also promoted Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) spokesman Jonathan Malaya to undersecretary.
Malaya was the Executive Director of the PDP-Laban Federalism Institute.
He was also assigned by Duterte as an administrator of the DILG’s Federalism and Constitutional Reform program. RALPH U. VILLANUEVA
The post Duterte names new member of Nayong Pilipino board appeared first on The Manila Times Online.