Clarification on Sunstar Article - Adelfo Briones
The Editor-in-Chief
Sunstar Pampanga
Dear Sir:
This is to clarify the statement of Mr. Rene Romero in the news item “Biz group backs Pampanga mayors' claims vs guv” published in Sunstar Pampanga on June 28, 2008. The statement says “Romero lamented that the governor, however, junked the proposal in exchange of his own ‘development agenda’ allegedly drafted for him by his ‘Ateneo group’” (emphasis mine).
As part of the “Ateneo group”, I would like to categorically state that we had nothing to do with the drafting and publication of Gov. Panlilio’s Provincial Development Agenda (PDA).
Our role was merely to help design the process or “flow” of the workshop that was held in September 2007 in Tagaytay City with department heads and key Capitol insiders as participants. (And even our suggestion was scrapped at the last minute, according to my sources.) The “Ateneo group” never had any active participation whether as facilitators or as resource persons during and after the activity. Not a single representative from Ateneo was present during that workshop, nor did anybody from Ateneo help thereafter. The PDA was crafted through the exclusive efforts of Gov. Panlilio and the workshop participants.
I am stating these facts as a disclaimer to the perception that the “Ateneo group” played a key role in the drafting of the PDA.
Adelfo V. Briones
Ateneo School of Government
Ateneo de Manila University
June 28, 2008