The Philippine Online Chronicles

Out with the old, in with the new.

Newly-installed chief of the Metro Manila Development Authority Oscar Inocentes seems determined to erase the imprints left by the previous administration by vowing to replace the “sore” bright pink projects of his predecessor into more “eye-friendly” shades of green.

During the long holiday, MMDA personnel lined up green flower pots along Edsa to commence the agency's “Metro Green” project. The pink MMDA structures built during the term of former chairman Bayani Fernando will also be repainted green.

The proposed female urinals will be in green as well.

“We are going to emphasize to the people the need to protect the environment and to call the attention to the issue of global warming,” Inocencio told philstar.com.

Green for Gibo?

The palace has already expressed its support for the MMDA's color preference, adding that it may even boost administration presidential bet Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro's bid in 2010.

Green is Teodoro's campaign color.

Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar, in a report, said that the MMDA choosing green as its new motif was not intended as a campaign for Teodoro.

“It's entirely possible that the new MMDA chairman likes green. In the same way that the previous chairman liked pink. The new chairman likes green, he puts his color choice in effect. Maybe that's all it is,” he said.

“Green is a not a bad color... it's easy on the eyes,” he added.

Is it possible, though, that the choice of color may not be completely as “coincidential” as Olivar claimed?

MMDA chair Inocentes was a former president of an organization called “Friends of Ramos” which is reportedly backing up Teodoro's candidacy.

'No use of force against vendors'

In order to avoid having the same clashes with sidewalk vendors as his predecessor, Inocentes also proposed the creation of “night markets” far from major thoroughfares so as not to hamper traffic flow.

What the MMDA would offer, Inocentes said, was a “win-win” solution for both the agency and the vendors.

“In these night markets, we assure them that they will be protected against syndicates demanding protection money from them. On the other hand, we will solve our problems on sidewalk vendors,” he explained.

The market stalls will be leased out to vendors at a discounted rate and will be patterned according to the famous “flea markets” of Hong Kong and Singapore, according to Inocentes.

The new MMDA chief also promised to be less hostile in its campaign against illegal settlers and vendors.

“We will not use force to drive away the vendors,” he said.

Under Fernando's administration, the agency figured in numerous, violent raids in its drive to get rid of “illegal structures and traffic obstructions” in the streets of Metro Manila.