Thursday, February 01, 2007 Tom vows to deliver lot deal before polls
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña appealed to the beneficiaries of the land swap deal to remain calm as he works out its approval before the elections.
Some 30 leaders of urban poor groups residing in Province-owned lots in the city went to City Hall yesterday to follow up on the status of the lot swap proposal.
“I assured them that I will not give any excuse for not making anything happen. I told them if I can’t deliver, maybe I don’t deserve to be mayor anymore,” he told a news conference.
The beneficiaries also went to Capitol for the Provincial Board session last Monday to inquire about the land swap deal, which reportedly drew a negative reaction from the governor.
Hurt feelings
“Please realize that the Province has hurt feelings and there’s no medicine you can prescribe to ease hurt feelings. You just have to be patient and you have to give it time,” Osmeña told the beneficiaries.
The land swap agreement has been stalled for more than two years now after Capitol officials decided to abort the agreement, which some members of the City Council criticized.
To avoid the eviction of some 5,000 families occupying Province-owned lots in the city, Capitol and City Hall considered an exchange of properties.
City Hall proposed to turn over to the Province a 33,740-square meter property at the north reclamation worth P400 million, in exchange for the Province’s 435,991-square meter properties in 11 Cebu City barangays.
Osmeña said he is looking forward to settling the lots swap deal very soon, but he did not give a specific date when it will be.
“We will just let it run its course. What’s important is that no one is kicking them out. There was an earlier plan to do that but I already called the governor’s office. So, relax lang,” he told the beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, Cebu City United Vendors Association (CCUVA) Chairman Maria Pino assured Osmeña of their support in the May 14 elections.
30,000 votes
Pino said the vendors’ group in the city can deliver up to 30,000 votes for the mayor.
Although they’ve also heard good things about former congressman Jose “Dodong” Gullas, a possible contender for the mayoral seat, the vendors already tried and tested Osmeña’s leadership, she said.
“Magpaluyo lang gihapon mi ni Mayor Tom tungod sa among panagkauban ug nakita sad namo na siyang pagdumala sa syudad, in general, duna tay nakita na kausaban ug dako siya ug nahimo para sa syudad,” Pino said in a radio dyLA interview. (We will continue to support Mayor Tom as we have seen he has brought great improvements to the city.) (LCR)
