CDC President Benny Ricafort 11th hour deal with Korean over Mimosa Golf raises red flag on corruption; members furious as special privileges handed over to Korean golfers on silver platter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) March 24, 2011 -- A report published by Pampanga newspaper Sun Star exposed another invidious deal with Korean companies that CDC President Benny Ricafort and his CDC Board of Directors tried to complete during their last days in office. This deal involves selling off management and operations rights to a Korean concern. Members of Mimosa Golf club were not properly advised as Ricafort and his assistant vice president Bernie Angeles tried to railroad the deal underneath the noses of members.

Already members found it extremely difficult to obtain tee-times in their Mimosa Golf Club. A full round of golf in Mimosa that normally takes 4 hours have become a 6- to 8-hour affair because the two 18-hole championship courses are frequently inundated by non-members and tourists from Korea especially during the winter months.

Although the exact details of the deal were kept secret from the members so far, members of Mimosa Golf Club already expressed resentment over the way Clark Development Corp – the government owned corporation which has been the custodian of this famous property for several years already – has sold the rights and privileges of members short. White CDC demands payment of monthly subscription fees from members of Mimosa Golf Club, they are often treated with less dignity than paying customers that include tourists from Korea.

This latest expose is but one of several incidents involving CDC President Benigno Ricafort that have attracted the attention of groups and individual observers monitoring graft and corruption in Clark, Pampanga. Some observers commented that they “noticed that Benny Ricafort has become increasingly bold and greedy with his dealings as his term of office finally approaches its overdue end”. They were relating to recent suspicions of graft and corruption reported earlier by the leading national newspaper Philippines Daily Inquirer.

For more information about an article published by Jovi T. De Leon on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 in Pampanga Sun Star newspaper, log on to

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2011/03/23/mimosa-members-still-priority-clark-development-146494

Earlier last year, Benigno Ricafort made headlines when the Philippines Daily Inquirer, Philippines leading newspaper reported a whopping Php18 Million in earnings for the year of 2009 when his salary and legitimate amounted to not more than php2 Million. Trust and confidence on his ability to manage the promising government owned corporation Clark Development Corp. rapidly diminished while Ricafort was being grilled at the Senate.

According to reporter Leila B. Salverria of Philippines Daily Inquirer's expose titled "Subic, Clark execs highest paid gov't men" (full story on http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100807-285364/Subic-Clark-execs-highest-paid-govt-men ) CDC President and CEO Ricafort got his millions through "extraordinary and miscellaneous" expenses, including but certainly not limited to these for example: Php 832,400 in per diem for sitting in the Board of Directors of Clark Development corporation and the Clark International Airport Corp CIAC, another p606,056 in Rata and php497,441 in "others" and then nearly p400,000 in bonus and incentives.

Despite all the admonishments and public criticisms, Ricafort fought hard to remain in office. Previously, it has been a tradition that top officials of Clark Development Corp. CDC would submit their courtesy resignation to path the way for the next president of The Philippines to nominate replacements. Benigno Ricafort made history in Clark by being the first President and CEO to refuse to leave office.

As things unfold, it becomes increasingly apparent why CDC President Ricafort has fought so hard to extend his tenure which should have expired when Aquino replaced Gloria Magapagal Arroyo as president of the Philippines. Many wonder how many much longer can President Aquino afford to sit and watch all these things happening in Clark when he openly declared war on graft and corruption in his presidential speeches.

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