Dapecol roads are not for public use, superintendent insists

Tagum Agricultural Development Co. (Tadeco) maintains that the farm roads under the Davao Penal Colony (Dapecol) are not for public use.

During the House hearing conducted on Tuesday, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez questioned Gerardo Padilla, acting superintendent of Dapecol, about the illegal road closure within the sprawling banana plantation.

Alvarez asked Padilla if the roads were public or private. Padila said the roads were considered government property.

“Public. Ggobyerno ang may-ari hindi ba? So bakit mo isinara?” asked Alvarez.

Padilla explained that the roads were closed by virtue of a memorandum between the local agriculture office and the provincial government.

READ: BuCor exec assures reopening of roads closed by Tadeco deal

But lawyer Nicolas Bañga of Tadeco said in a statement tjat “the farm roads under Dapecol are not for public use but for a specific government purpose.”

Bañga reiterated that the agreement was above-board.

He said it had been “contributing significantly to national economic and social developments by providing jobs and religiously paying taxes to the government.”

He added that such “futile exercise [by Congress] is nothing but harassment.” /atm