VIEWS
It seems that each time that Councilor Mabel Acosta would sit as acting
city mayor an open season of Adarna-bashing comes out from the blue. Then the replica of Michaelangelo’s David sculpture would be dragged nude into the picture.
Two years ago, the councilor, when sitting as acting mayor, started to picked on the illegal construction against Teodorico Adarna, owner of Queensland Motel, who reclaimed and developed about two hectares without government permit within the 24-hectare city government reservation in coastal barangay Matina Aplaya.
At his cost reportedly running about P40 million now, Adarna developed a marine and a landscaped baywalk where he put a replica of the nude David statue, and of course showing openly the David’s penis to Davao public. As the statue is unique, it managed to attract throngs of curious people, thanks in part to the media issue hype, and as it is now, business activities are humming in the vicinity with the increasing number of promenaders coming in to Adarna’s reclaimed area.
The caveat of Adarna, who earlier did not mind the two cease-and-desist orders from the City Hall, is for him to donate what he developed to the government in exchange for the holding off of the legal axe from falling unto him, and a concession to manage the baywalk. His appeal is now at the city council’s committee on government properties chaired by councilor Victorio Advincula
The City Hall appears to be in quandary of whether it will push for demolition of Adarna’s structures considering that when it would push so it should better fall its axe fairly to whosoever is intruding in government properties and that would include beach operators who have earlier developed the Times Beach.
From the point of view of business, it is not advisable yet for the City Engineers to sharpen its teeth in readying for demolition as Adarna’s structures have managed to spark economic and commercialization activities in the area. It’s now fact that there’s business sparking up there, compliments of Adarna’s titillating imagination, regardless that his bulging David’s replica is a poor copy of the Renaissance sculpture masterpiece of Michaelangelo as its face looks more like one of the US presidents than one of the Greeks.
But still the great phallic implication and symbolization of Adarna’s structures, to the consternation of the non-art women enthusiast like Mabel is the livelihood of the people and the spreading commercial development in the city, and next- the aura of strength and youthful human beauty the replica exudes for the public at a time when spa and wellness has become sought-after now.
When someone makes his own initiative at his own cost to develop barren lands like today’s Las Vegas, though from the legal point of view, there’s trespassing and squatting of lands owned by state ab initio, but since he perfected, occupied and waved a symbol like the uncircumcised phallus to claim for the control of the land so claimed, the government by that time has been forfeited of its time and rights. So mercy must be given to Adarna who built and prays now to operate and transfer the phallus and its surroundings to the government.
Filed under: advincula, mabel acosta, adarna, advincula, city council, davao city, mabel acosta, queensland hotel, times beach
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