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MANILA, Philippines—Protests over the “midnight sale” of the Philippine property in Fujimi are mounting as Filipinos and Japanese alike say the Philippine government should keep it and “preserve the shared cultural and historical rights of Filipino and Japanese people.”
After the Philippine Department of Finance issued an invitation to bid on the property, Filipinos in Japan—in solidarity with Japanese organizations and individuals—have been holding a series of mass actions against the planned sale of the property which has been serving as the official residence of Philippine ambassadors to Japan.
Aside from a picket and a press conference in front of Fujimi property, members of the Save Fujimi Property International Network also launched signature campaigns in train stations around Tokyo, Saitama, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka, said Cesar Santoyo, Network coordinator, in an e-mail.
“The invitation to bid to develop the Fujimi property issued by the Department of Finance is highly suspect given the coming presidential elections in May 2010,” the statement said.
“The Arroyo government whose term will end in seven months has been implicated in various high-profile corruption cases,” it added, expressing concern over the real intent behind the move to commercialize the Fujimi ambassadorial residence.
The protesters are worried that the property from the Tokugawa era which the Philippine government bought in 1944 and which is located in one of the most upscale areas in Tokyo will be torn down to give way to a planned 21-story building.
They demand that any major decision related to this historic Philippine-owned property “be done with full public hearing, both in the Philippines and Japan, backed up by thorough studies, and with utmost transparency.”
The group met with Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who is in Japan, to ask his help regarding the property. In response, the senator said that a midnight sale of Philippine property is prohibited; he vowed to investigate the possible irregularities that attended the decision to sell the property once session in Congress resumes on November 9.
Yuko Takei, also a member of the Save Fujimi Network, warned the Arroyo administration, as well as the bidders, of the high political, legal, and constitutional costs of their actions.
