No stink in Century Park deal BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 03/07/2010

No stink in Century Park deal BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 03/07/2010 At first glance, the graft charges filed recently before the Office of the Ombudsman against Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Vice Mayor Isko Moreno as well as several other City Hall officials for the alleged questionable sale of the Century Park Hotel for a cool P1 billion to mega-tycoon Lucio Tan appear to be quite serious, since reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment is the prescribed punishment in the Revised Penal Code for those who may be found guilty of the crime of plunder (for amounts in excess of P50 million). According to the information, the impleaded officials had violated the law by selling the hotel and the 4.5-hectare property on which it stands for a measly P1 billion when it could have easily gone for P3 billion, meaning the city government had been shortchanged. The city councilors were included in the complaint for approving a resolution which allowed the Mayor’s Office to sell the disputed property to Maranaw Hotels and Restaurant Corp. owned by Tan.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100307com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Estrada finds momentum FRONTLINE Ensuring fraud and poll failure ENQUIRY ‘Gusto ko happy ka!’ BLURBAL THRUSTS No stink in Century Park deal ANALYSIS Rogue waves, towering terror on the high seas FEATURE Cyprus Maronites battle to preserve rare ancestral language VIEWPOINTS Assumptions for May 2010 polls