I heard from a very reliable source that Arnel Casanova was already relieved as president of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). The replacement is Vince Dizon, whose late father – whom I call Cong Esting – was from Porac town, if I am not mistaken.
One of the most challenging jobs in the government today is to become president of BCDA. It is far bigger in responsibilities than any of the agencies of government today. With apologies to my friends from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), BCDA performs better than the DPWH. I am biased. I used to be director of BCDA.
BCDA finished the SCTEX , a 93-kilometer road without spending a single centavo, and after it was finished, it was grabbed by the MVP group and came up with an upfront cash of several billions that made the government’s treasury richer. Billions of pesos are being poured to finance many government expenditures, the biggest of which goes to the Armed Forces of the Philippies modernization… courtesy of BCDA.
All former US military installations are now titled to BCDA, the likes of Clark, John Hay, Poro Point and other areas considered as estates. The disposition of the more than 300-hectare Fort Bonifacio can’t avoid problems. And here comes another one, the planned 9,000-hectare Clark Green City in Capas, Tarlac. It was in Casanova’s lap, and now in Dizon’s, and he shouldn’t fail. If I know the Dizons, whose roots are from my hometown, then like his father and many kin who are not used to failures, (Francisco S. Dizon of Dizon Farms in Davao City and Celestino Dizon of Dizon Mines are two examples), then BCDA is in the doorstep of its glorious years with Vince at the helm.
