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Thursday, March 30, 2006
Some mayors, like PB, oppose land exchange
While Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña remains hopeful that the Capitol will reconsider, Cebu’s mayors expressed relief over the Provincial Government’s decision to scrap the proposed land swap deal.
“Murag naka menos man ng taga ciudad namo (The city folks seem to underestimate us),” said Ronda Mayor Mariano Blanco III, saying that the “affront” against the Capitol also hurt them, being part of the province.
Blanco added that they believe it is also disadvantageous to the Province because of the disparity in the value of the properties, so they hope that Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia will be firm in her decision.
Before it rejected the proposal, Cebu Province was willing to swap over 43 hectares of occupied land, spread across 11 barangays, for less than four hectares in the North Reclamation Area.
Questions
Osmeña had proposed to swap properties with the Capitol to help more than 5,000 Cebu City residents, who became squatters when their deadline to pay for Province-owned lots lapsed in 2004.
The Cebu City mayor offered a 3.3-hectare city property at the North Reclamation Area worth more than P400 million, in exchange for the Capitol properties worth at least P1 billion.
However, Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama pointed out that the City would just inherit the collection problems of the Province, and suggested exploring other options.
Rama and City Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera also pointed out that the City may be placed at a disadvantage, since the proposal, among others, includes lots that have already been fully paid.
The statements angered the Provincial Government, which dropped the deal “to protect the name and integrity” of the Capitol.
While he and other town mayors are friends with Rama, Blanco said City officials should have kept their differences among themselves and not drag the Province into it.
Balamban Mayor Alex Binghay, for his part, said they support whatever decision the governor will take on the matter.
Osmeña had announced that he will repackage the deal to make it more attractive to the Capitol. Garcia, however, said she has made up her mind about scrapping it.
If the new proposal would seem advantageous to the Capitol, then maybe it’s worth looking into, said Binghay.
Dalaguete Mayor Ronald Allan Cesante, in an interview with Sun.Star Superbalita, said they support the governor’s order for an independent company to appraise the current market value of the provincial properties.
Cesante expects long discussions over the matter, saying that some of the illegal occupants may also be their own constituents. (JPM)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (March 30, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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