Balikbayan to block Agriculture chief's confirmation

Agriculture chief Proceso Alcala may have a difficult time when he faces the Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday. This was after a balikbayan vowed to oppose his nomination for his alleged involvement in a syndicated estafa case. In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, 54-year-old architect Marlon Tiñana said aside from involvement in syndicated estafa, Alcala has been indicted for selling lots without license to sell. "He has responsibilities as a public official. He [was] a lawmaker, he should follow the law," Tiñana said. GMANews.TV tried to reach Alcala, who was a congressman representing the second district of Quezon from 2004 to 2010, for his comment, but he was not answering the calls. Tiñana said he and his brother purchased a P2.4-million lot in Pueblo Por La Playa in Pagbilao town — through the Alcalas’ Cotta Realty — in 2007 with a promise that their property would get an unhampered view of the ocean. He said they had already spent around P12 million for the construction of a retirement house on the lot when the resort management began constructing a pavilion hotel in front of their property, which effectively blocked the view that was promised to them. "It's against the law, the alteration of the site development plan. The view is what's valuable there, they basically robbed the value of my house," he said. Tiñana said when the developers ignored their complaints, they brought the matter to the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), which found out that Cotta Realty had no certificate of registration nor an authority to sell lots in Pueblo. He likewise found out that the resort had no permit from the Pagbilao Engineering Office to build the pavilion nor any authorization to collect the P300,000 membership fees for its facilities. "Whatever transaction they have there is illegal," he said. Tiñana said the syndicated estafa case was dismissed by a Lucena court but that the selling without license to sell charge is still pending. He said he is confident that the authorities will find that his complaint has merit. "I have lots of evidence," he said. - KBK, GMANews.TV