Pampanga lawmaker wants deal on ‘Paskuhan’ junked

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. has asked the city council to junk the agreement between Premier Central Inc. (PCI) and the city government over the former’s donation of 5,000 square meters of land in the 9.3-hectare PaskuhanVillage here.

Ratifying the agreement would be disadvantageous to the people of San Fernando because they would only get “a small piece of land instead of the whole Christmas park,” Gonzales said through his lawyers.

City Administrator Atlee Viray said there were no legal issues stopping the approval of the deal, which he called a “win for city residents” since Mayor Edwin Santiago worked to preserve a part of the tourism landmark.

PCI won the bid to buy Paskuhan Village for P939 million from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority in 2014. —TONETTE OREJAS