MANILA – Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda aired his apologies to a group of scientists from the University of the Philippines, whom he earlier tagged as “bayaran.”
In a television interview on Thursday, Antiporda said he was “carried away” due to criticisms on the department’s dolomite project in Manila Bay.
“I would like to start with an apology to the UP as a whole. It is not intended to destroy the good name of the university itself, but this is just to send the message to UP MSI that we’re partners here,” Antiporda said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
“I apologize because talagang natangay po ako ng emotions ko rin kahapon dahil masakit po eh,” added Antiporda, addressing UP Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) director Dr. Laura David.
David, for her part, said she accepted the official’s apology as it was only a “misunderstanding and miscommunication.”
“Definitely, wala naman pong bad blood between DENR and UP. From the very start I knew this was just a misunderstanding and miscommunication,” David said in the same interview.
“I’m a teacher at heart and a scientist to the core and it is part of science to actually be criticized so it’s okay with us to be criticized. The important thing is for communication to continue and we’ve had decades of work with DENR and we’d love to continue the same for years to come,” she added.
To recall, the UP-MSI, in a statement published in September, said the “white sand” project won’t resolve the problems in the area, and may even bring health risks to the environment./PN
