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Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Cordova town gifted; Talisay City rapped
By Gingging A. Campaña
With Garry Cabotaje
CEBU CITY -- Mayor Tomas Osmeña will give about two hectares of prime lots at the South Reclamation Project (SRP) to Cordova, for accommodating the Badjao communities in their island and for cooperating with Cebu City.
But Osmeña said he will not reconsider the dismissal of 77 City Hall casual workers from Talisay City.
"Talisay is not a good neighbor. We were good neighbors to them. There are many applicants from Cebu City who are better qualified than those from Talisay. Why should I hire them? They should not lecture me about why we should hire Talisay residents," said the mayor.
For close to two years, Cebu and Talisay have been fighting over some 54 hectares of the SRP, which Talisay claims fall within its jurisdiction. Instead, it is Cordova that now stands to gain part of the reclamation project that Cebu City built using borrowed funds.
"It's about P300 million worth of prime land along the main highway of the SRP, as my gift to the people of Cordova," Osmeña told a news conference Tuesday.
Dismissal
Not only that, Osmeña promised to help with any infrastructure development that the municipality may enter into and with moves to make it into a city.
Over 800 Badjaos whose stilt houses in Barangay Mambaling were gutted by fire last month will be relocated to Tonggo Island, a part of Cordova town adjacent to the old Shell Island.
Osmeña said he is grateful to the people of Cordova, who unlike Talisay City are very cooperative with Cebu City.
"Even if Talisay City will succeed in collecting taxes from the two hectares it is claiming (in the SRP), it can't collect P1 million in a year," said Osmeña.
As for his dismissal of casual workers who are Talisay City residents, Osmeña explained that City Hall has a long list of cum laude graduates who are residents of Cebu City and applying for a job in the City Government.
"If the City is going to give any preference, natural, not somebody else from elsewhere. The Cebu City voters and residents are the owners of the SRP, not Tommy Osmeña," he said.
Talisay jobs
Talisay City is looking for ways to accommodate the dismissed traffic personnel and other casual employees from Cebu City.
The Talisay City Traffic Commission will recommend that Mayor Socrates Fernandez accommodate the 13 casual workers dismissed from the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom).
"I sympathize with them. We will try to see their expertise so we can accommodate them. We will discuss that in our regular meeting of the traffic commission," said Vice Mayor Aberdovey Belleza.
Included in the dismissal order is Romeo Bacaltos, father of Councilor Richel Bacaltos, chairman of the council committee on education.
Councilor Sabeniano Abatayo told reporters that the elder Bacaltos has been working at Citom "in good faith" for 17 years.
"Most of them are breadwinners who happen to work for the good of Cebu City. Their only fault is their being Talisaynons," Abatayo added.
"It's a decision born out of vengeance and not a result of the performance evaluation of these casuals," said Councilor Shirley Belleza.
77 out
In a recent pulong-pulong in Barangay Lawaan I, Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district) called on Fernandez and the councilors to find ways to help the Talisaynons kicked out by Mayor Osmeña.
At least 77 Talisay City residents have already been dismissed from Cebu City Hall on the mayor's orders.
After Osmeña drove away Talisay City fish vendors who were doing business in Cebu City's public markets, Vice Mayor Belleza said Talisay City decided to build its fish port in Barangay Tangke for local fish vendors.
The P36-million fish port project is expected to start this year.
The Talisay City Government may not be able to accommodate all the dismissed casual employees but City officials assured to work things out for them.
Osmeña downplayed insinuations that the dismissal of the casuals from Talisay will affect the future candidacy of his friend Councilor Gabriel Leyson and sister Minnie Osmeña.
Leyson plans to run for Talisay City mayor and Minnie for congresswoman in the first district in the 2007 elections.
Compromise
The mayor also reiterated his plan to enter into a compromise with private individuals who are claiming part of the SRP, if only to close the issue and avoid the damage done when Talisay claimed a portion of the property.
Because of Talisay's claim, the issuance of the special patent to the SRP has been delayed for two years and has cost Cebu City some P600 million in opportunity losses, Osmeña said.
The City is studying the possibility of compensating the Ting, Canton, Maglasang and Manguerra families with cash or another property owned by the City, to settle their claims.
The City is still dealing with the Tings, the Cantons and Vicente Go, who donated almost a hectare of his property affected by the access road in Barangay Mambaling.
They are also looking into a memorandum of agreement that former Metro Cebu Development Project project director Samuel Darza allegedly entered into with the Tings, on a property within the Cebu South Coastal Road.
"What we are beginning to see is that so far, there is no malice on the part of the claimants. If there is no malice, we'll try to come to a settlement with them. Not like Talisay City," Osmeña added.
The mayor said, however, that he will have to be careful in dealing with the private claims, as might be exposing himself to charges of irregularity.
(June 1, 2005 issue)
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