This first bit of roundup news is, disclaimer, a news item yet to be confirmed by the party/ies in question. Nevertheless, it is something of a good news to start things off.
Reports say that Ayala Land is currently looking at possibly acquiring the “chaka” (Filipino gay lingo for cheap, though in this case, it’s more of an extravagant waste) Makati eyesore that is the unfinished JAKA Tower along Ayala Avenue. (one cannot resist doing that “chaka” and “JAKA” wordplay, no?)
One official is quoted in the report that Ayala is currently doing some “due diligence” first on the property which may take a few months. And if (the word “if” must be emphasized here) it decides to acquire it, they would do it before the end of this year as it is envisioned to become part of a development plan Ayala Land is doing for the area around the northwestern part of the Makati CBD.
Since first writing about this eyesore last year, nothing much has been heard about any possible plans for this structure. This development therefore is welcome news that will help the city finally move forward and be rid of this longstanding eyesore, as well as the metaphors associated with this structure, especially with regards to its former owner who himself is facing “difficult times” at the moment.
========
Meanwhile, the investigation regarding the derailment incident last week at the Line 3 EDSA-Taft station has been concluded with the assessment that “human error” was the primary cause of the accident as some rules and guidelines for such train problems were not followed.
Administrative charges will be filed against the personnel who committed these “mistakes.” At the same time, protocol manuals will be revisited and institutionalized while train personnel will be given retraining twice a year.
But despite calls from different sectors, unfortunately Department of Transportation and Communication Sec. Jun Abaya will not resign.
You heard it right. Sec. Abaya is going to stick around and continue to “be of service to the country” until the President asks him to step down.
In other countries, such an accident would make someone in charge to step down out of shame and to ease the burden of the head of government who appointed him/her. But not Abaya who feels he has done nothing wrong and has acted appropriately even though he has been called out time and time again for his incompetence as transportation secretary.
Never mind that he has messed up the Common Station plans. Never mind that he has not gotten around at least starting a dozen or so transportation projects that should have been started a long time ago. Nope, he believes he is doing a good job so far.
As they say here, “sorry na lang kayo.” He’s here to stay for a while.
Acknowledgements to Manila Standard Today for the JAKA Tower piece and ABS-CBN News for the Line 3 piece.
