Wednesday, December 24, 2008 City disinclined to change joint venture rules
CEBU City’s Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) is not willing to amend the joint venture ordinance at this time to accommodate the Provincial Government in the bidding for a 50.6-hectare portion of the South Road Properties (SRP).
City Administrator Francisco Fernandez, also the chairman of the JVSC, said it would be unfair to Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to change the rules of the bidding in the middle of the bid process.
The JVSC has already written Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia to inform her of the committee decision declaring the Province ineligible to challenge FLI’s unsolicited proposal to develop a 50.6-hectare SRP lot.
The committee said that City Ordinance 2154, or the “Ordinance prescribing guidelines and procedures for entering into joint venture agreements with private entities” does not cover local government units (LGUs).
When asked if the City can still amend the ordinance to include LGUs, Fernandez said it can no longer do so at this time.
“Masuko pud ang Filinvest ana. We can’t change the rules of the game when the game has already started. And in all honesty, the ordinance was made even before the Province expressed their interest to participate,” he told reporters
yesterday.
The city administrator also pointed out that the ordinance was patterned after the National Economic and Development
Authority (Neda) guidelines, which also did not include LGUs.
“Everything was patterned after the Neda guidelines and I don’t think Neda has any quarrel with the Province that it would
exclude the Provincial Government,” he continued.
In the letter sent to Garcia, Fernandez said the eligible entities do not include local governments, but they may file a motion for reconsideration within seven working days.
He said they will be reasonable and extend the period, considering that the non-working days are until Jan. 5.
“The documents, based on its face value, also failed to show that the financial statements are audited and that the Province of Cebu has the minimum amount of the required equity,” his letter read.
As stated in the eligibility requirements and the ordinance, the minimum equity for the FLI offer is P25 billion.
The Office of the Governor received the letter yesterday.
If the Province really wants to invest in the SRP through a joint venture, what it can do is to follow the joint venture procedures specified in the Local Government Code.
He said the Province and the City could form a joint venture after a public hearing is held with their respective constituencies.
But Fernandez said this is not likely to happen because of the strained relations between the two LGUs.
Acting Mayor Michael Rama said the JVSC has his full trust and confidence, so he will just rely on the committee’s
recommendations on the Capitol’s bid.
Fernandez also told the governor that the motion for reconsideration may be filed before the mayor’s office.
“I don’t want to preempt that but definitely, I am confident that the JVSC has reviewed the ordinance thoroughly and that the result is based on a judicious scrutiny of the ordinance. If this reaches my office, all I have to do is to confirm such findings, unless there is an extreme reason to do otherwise,” Rama said. (LCR)
