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By Angelo S. Samonte, Reporter
President Gloria Arroyo is satisfied with the
report of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
that absolved Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. from alleged bribery,
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said.
Ermita said the President met with local
officials of Misamis Oriental reportedly after Hanjin sent a letter
to the local leadership expressing the company’s desire to
withdraw from the project.
The DILG had “cleared” Hanjin from
allegations that it offered P400 million worth of contracts to local
officials in exchange for securing permits for its operations, he
said.
“What is important here is that there will be
no more finger pointing and the mayors have lifted the issuance of
permit,” he said, adding he believes there’s no need for a
Senate investigation, although he hasn’t seen the affidavit of the
mayors involved.
Asked if the President’s initiative averted
the crisis, Ermita said, “The President had averted something that
could have been messy if this was not looked into immediately.”
“We’re attracting foreign investors and if
we have this kind of trouble they will think the Philippines is a
bad place to invest that’s why the President ordered a quick
investigation,” he said.
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