The Truth About Royal Plaza

From The Blog of Eloisa Aniceta – Behan – When Silence Breaks Itself, I Don’t Even Need To Talk

Sometime in 2005, my husband Sean bought this 145 square-meter condominium unit in Royal Plaza Twin Towers Condominium in Malate, Manila. When he bought it from Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), he thought it was great buy, offered by one of the most prestigious and credible banks in the Philippines and even the world.

A month after the unit was renovated, I was shocked to see what the building as a whole was like. Not enough lights, one elevator, two provisions for elevators were said to be under construction and will operate soon, dirty hallways, dark and smelly exits.

We moved in and after another month, the electricity went. The MERALCO was owed almost seven (7) million pesos by the developer, Philippine Asia Pacific Corporation (PAPC), chaired by Mr. Stephen Liang. MERALCO disconnected the power of the building.

For one (1) year, we lived in the building ran by GENERATOR. The owner had to buy drums of crude oil every day to supply the entire building with a 20 to 21 – hour electricity (power).

We have to provide some power supplies (UPS) for our fan and one (1) light from 2 o’clock in the morning to 5:30 in the morning, everyday… I had only one child at that time. A 10-month old son.

Then I got pregnant with our second child, and my son then was more than 1 year old. And one night, the power wnet off and lasted for 16 hours the following day. I was not able to bear the heat (as the power supply ran out) and the anxiety of wanting to get down and out of the building, but there was no elevator. I suffered hypotension and collapsed for hours and I just woke up being brought out from our unit on a stretcher. The paramedics arrived. And they have to climb the stairs up to the 23rd floor.

Finally, there was the generator running again so I was brought down using the one and only elevator. Terrible as it was, we lingered.

It’s the unit where our son had his first walk. We struggled and survived despite the lack of power and its inconvenience.

Until I gave up and we went back to my husband’s another unit in Legaspi Towers. We left Royal Plaza and the with it were the burdens and sacrifices that no one could ever imagine.

How many times did we walk up and down the stairs from our unit at the 23rd floor, I can no longer count and imagine.

I have a bad heart and an epilepsy since I was small. And so is my husband who had a coronary artery bypass graft years ago. Lucky we are enough, we survived.

Now, I am facing another big challenge and the culprit … Royal Plaza… I thought we have moved on and will no longer come back to that crappy place again.

A group of tenants wrote a letter the Manila Mayor asking for help regarding their everyday situation in the building. The elevators all broken. For a week or so they have been climbing up and down the stairs, old and young, students, workers, professionals, senior citizens, foreign and local.

The Mayor sent City Hall officials tot he building to check its state and assess how the City Government can help alleviate the residents’ problem.

Only to be greeted by a quiet and lifeless building and they have to climb up to the 31st floor where they aimed to talk to the President of the Association, Julie Taneda. Unfortunately, she didn’t come out and instead asked her receptionist at the lobby (thru text message) who was or were knocking on her door.

The City Hall officials were also informed that the elevator which didn’t have a permit was operating before they came and was just shut down when they arrived. And everytime City Hall people come to the building, they always shut the elevator down.

Everything went fast and the tenants were advised to hold a meeting which they did. I was tasked to notify the tenants that a special meeting will be held and I was helped by several other unit owners who wanted to help the building.

For all I care, I already promised myself, I will have nothing more to do with Royal Plaza. But here is the call of the majority. They need help. So they made me, the AVENUE.

A special meeting was held and the possible closure of the building was discussed. The building and fire violations were explained and the unit owners decided the present administration be changed as there is a very evident mismanagement in their part.

For three years, the problems have not been addressed despite the money coming in from the association dues being paid by the unit owners every month.

The president Julie Taneda together with the other directors, Julita Lopez, Daaniel Uy, richard Yu, Liza Gay Lim refused to attend the meeting despite the notice. Strict common sense, there is a meeting called for by the unit owners and tenants who are tired of problems and burdens of the building, shouldn’t they be the first one to attend and discuss the problems of the members? Should they not be the one to preside and pacify the angry owners and tenants rather than hide in their respective units and in the case of other directors hide in their other condos and houses outside Royal Plaza?

So the meeting went without them. they wouldn’t even answer our phone calls. On the urgency of the needs of the owners and tenants, the attendees called and moved for an election of management committee who will oversee the problems which resulted fromt he neglect and mismanagement of the Board led by Taneda and Lopez.

The members of the association also wanted Taneda’s group to show the financial reports, accounting, and financial statements from the bank of the association which has not been shown since Taneda sat as three-term president also acting as secretary, treasurer, auditor, and building administrator rolled into one.

Until six of us were elected. And the board made me the President. Contrary tot he newspaper write-ups that I forced the tenants to elect me as their President, I don’t think the unit owners needed the persuasion at the time, nor the harassment that they are accusing me of. None of them can be forced to elect me. They all wanted the change. And since most of them who own vast units already filed corporate case against Taneda’s group, they inhibited from being elected as Board of Trustees, thus we were chosen.

The libelous attacks of Taneda and Lopez in the tabloids written by the famous group of city hall reporters (can you get the relation???) are uncalled for. Shouldn’t it be one-sided? They got their side and disregarded mine? Oh, that I understand, and all of you reading this wouldn’t.

Let me get to the core of it. I was once a chief of the Manila Media Information Bureau. I replaced another chief who happens to be an adversary of that group of reporters. For some reason I became an adversary as well. I will not go deeper into details. A lot of other reporters outside that group will understand what I am saying.

To cut the story short, they found a way to harrass me int heir papers. And these two, one of which brags about being a close relative of a famous radio announcer/newsperson, got into the media to spread libelous (take note, libelous) attacks on my person.

I was called namedropper as they accused that I dropped the Mayor’s name in those times I was trying to mend the problems of the building with help of the legal officials.

From 2005 up to present, I have never mentioned nor asked help from the Mayor about what to do in Royal Plaza. Maybe in one instance in 2005 when my husband had to call for help to get me and our kid down from our unit because the power went our long again.

If it is indeed my plan or my ambition to be a president of the crappy association of that building, I would have done it long ago when we initiated it in 2006. But can you imagine that it is such a HUGE HASSLE (without exaggeration) to be inside that building alone (even just int he lobby)?

No you can’t, because you’ve not been there. YOU have not experience what we have experienced in that building.

In other condos, you will look for amenities, like gym, pool, hall, garden, etc. IN THAT BUILDING, to have just ONE elevator working, the unit owners are already JUMPING for joy.

By the way, before everyone starts sympathizing with the two little red riding hoods (in truth they are the big bad wolves), let me tell you that Taneda and Lopez had not paid their associations dues and they have been caught red-handed tampering their electric meters and making illegal tapping of electricity. DO YOU REALLY THINK IT’S FAIR FOR ALL PAYING TENANTS? Anyway, that’s why they can’t give their positions up.

And we are the ones paying for the electricity they are using. And not only that, the water as well. Because most of the water supply are tapped as well and have no water meters.

C’mon, open up your eyes and don’t be blinded. And don’t be soooo ONE-SIDED. YOU HAVE NOT LIVED there the way WE DID. You have not suffered the way we suffered. You didn’t go up and down the dark stairs. You have not experienced the elevator jumping broke while you’re in it. YOU NEVER HAD a 2 -year- old child living in fear that the elevator will stop everytime he climbs up. YOU were never there.

(To be continued…)

Advertisement