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Sunday, April 24, 2005
Talisay exec claims no formal notice on recla project
By Gingging A. Campaña
CEBU CITY -- Talisay City has told the Department of Justice (DOJ) that they were kept in the dark about the South Reclamation Project (SRP).
Talisay City Attorney Aurora Econg, also city administrator, said they could not find any document or any record proving that Cebu City told Talisay officials about a 12-billion yen sub-loan agreement between Land Bank of the Philippines and the Cebu City Government.
The agreement provides that Cebu City may enter into another sub-loan agreement with Talisay for the reclamation of a 20-hectare portion.
"There was no formal information or notice to the then municipality of Talisay. If ever there was a communication between the former mayor and Cebu City, it was not binding because the municipal council did not authorize then mayor Dehlia Tiu to negotiate with Cebu City," Econg told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview.
But SRP manager Nigel Paul Villarete said Tiu and incumbent Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez knew about the loan agreement.
"Don't make the people of Talisay stupid. Tiu and Fernandez knew about the project so well. Is she (Econg) saying that the mayor misrepresented the City? Who is the mayor then? They belong to the same building, she could have always verified that," said Villarete in a separate interview.
Villarete said the Talisay Municipal Council was supposed to authorize the mayor to enter into a sub-loan agreement with Cebu City.
"Don't tell me now that they're saying they don't know about the project?" he said.
Shut out?
Cebu City and Talisay are in a fierce fight over 53.44 hectares of the SRP that Talisay is claiming fall under its territorial jurisdiction.
Econg saw the need to inform Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, who is set to issue his legal opinion on the ownership of the SRP next week.
Gonzalez's opinion will determine whether or not Malacañang approves a draft proclamation authorizing the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to issue special patents for the entire 295-hectare project to Cebu City.
Representative Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district) the first Talisay City mayor, wants DENR to leave out the uncontested portion and have this resolved in another forum, such as the court.
"We wanted to emphasize that we were not told. It was not even discussed by the council. We have all the minutes of the sessions. There was only a discussion about the Cebu South Coastal Road, but nothing about the SRP," Econg said.
Villarete recalls a different version.
Inquiries
The SRP manager said Mayor Fernandez, using the official stationery of Talisay, even recommended hiring job applicants from Talisay by the firms that will open businesses in the SRP.
Another letter dated Sept. 22, 1998 was signed and sent by Fernandez to Samuel Darza, then Metro Cebu Development Project (MCDP) 3 project director. MCDP 3 used to oversee operations of the SRP.
Fernandez, Tiu's successor, wrote about the proposed inclusion of the Talisay portion of the SRP and asked for "the specific documentation requirements needed at our end to ensure inclusion of the Talisay portion in the existing loan agreement."
Fernandez also sought the estimated costs needed for the implementation of the project.
Mayor Osmeña presented documents to reporters last month proving that Gullas knew about the loan for the SRP as early as 1993.
Osmeña downplayed the congressman's claim that Talisay City, then a municipality, was not consulted when the National Government entered into a loan with Japan for the construction of the SRP.
Minutes
Gullas was present during the Regional Development Council (RDC) held on Sept. 17, 1993 at the Baseline Restaurant, Cebu City when the body approved RDC Resolution 47.
Resolution 47 approved and endorsed the MCDP 3 for funding assistance under the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF, now the Japan Bank for International Cooperation) 19th yen credit package.
MCDP 3 includes the Cebu South Coastal Road, Cebu Urban Circumferential Road, plus five distributor roads and the Cebu South Reclamation.
Osmeña was then the RDC chairman and presided over the RDC full council meeting that day.
According to an excerpt from the minutes of the meeting, Gullas discussed his query with the Department of Trade and Industry about the criteria in the selection of regional industrial centers.
Since the minutes did not state any objection from the congressman during the meeting, this suggested that he endorsed the provisions of Resolution 47.
(April 24, 2005 issue)
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