A NEWLY-formed advocacy group will campaign for the setting up of a management body that will oversee the development plan of the South Reclamation Properties (SRP) and ensure transparency in all dealings concerning the project.

An SRP development authority is just one of a number of proposals presented by the Our Cebu City advocacy group in a press conference with business reporters Tuesday.

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Launched last week, Our Cebu City stands for opportunity, unity and reforms. It was formed through the leadership of businessman Jonathan Guardo and Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos.

Both are planning to run for Cebu City congressional seats during the 2010 elections.

“We are pro-development and pro-business. Our position for SRP is to have a comprehensive sustainable development plan where it would benefit the city in terms of revenue generation. (It will benefit) the ordinary Cebuanos in terms of employment and livelihood generation and the local Cebuano businessmen and investors in terms of business opportunities and growth,” the group said in a statement.

Timetable

But in an interview with reporters yesterday, Cebu Investments Promotions Center managing director Joel Mari Yu said a management corporation that is wholly-owned by the city government was one of his recommendations to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña since 2001.

He said the mayor agrees with his recommendation but there is no timetable yet as to when to start organizing the “professional group.”

“It will come but the question is when,” he added.

De los Santos said a legislative bill must also be filed to push for the creation of the monitoring body, which is going to be composed of representatives from government, businessmen, technocrats and other professionals.

“We do not claim a monopoly on knowledge and to implement the plans, there should be a participatory form of governance to achieve goals,” she said.

Guardo and de los Santos also criticized the current management setup of the SRP since only one person knows about its masterplan, referring to Osmena, their bitter political rival.

De los Santos also said that should a development authority be formed, it will not adversely affect current completed transactions of the City with investors like the Filinvest group and SM.

“Right now, the transactions are between the mayor and Filinvest and nobody can check the negotiations. The development authority will fine-tune the existing deals and address technicalities and legalities,” she said.

For his part, Guardo said that as a businessman, he sees the SRP as an investment for the future of the city.

Citing a recent informal survey he had commissioned, Guardo said ordinary Cebuanos feel that the SRP is a project that is not for them.

“For them, wala sila’y labot ana (they do not benefit from it). But SRP is supposed to provide them with employment opportunities,” he said.

He said a key focus of their advocacy is job generation from the SRP project to address unemployment in the city.