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Saturday, February 17, 2007
Mayor, guv face dilemma over land swap deal
By Jeanette P. Malinao and Linette C. Ramos
CEBU CITY -- Two targets are at stake: land ownership for some 5,000 Cebu City families and a commercial development project that could mean huge revenues for Cebu Province and its taxpayers.
But can City and Capitol officials settle their differences in time to hit both targets?
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Even if he feels blackmailed by the Province, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he will try to lift the moratorium on new construction in Banilad, if Capitol strikes a deal with the City on the lot swap proposals.
Osmeña said the Capitol should honor the original agreement made in 2005 and consider it "usapang lalaki" (a gentleman's agreement).
"Let's make a deal," he said, and he may reconsider the moratorium.
For her part, Cebu City's move in trying to block some P2-billion worth of investment because of the lot swap deal shows "utter disrespect and low regard" for the Province, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said Friday.
"I grieve for the constituents of the Province, which the City regards so lowly. I'm deeply hurt. As you all very well know, I will always find a unifying ground between the Province and the City of Cebu at the expense of political expediency and sometimes even against the advice of political allies," she said.
"And now you'll have to watch me as I try to get over this hurt," she added.
Good faith
Worried they'll end up losing their lots, some prospective beneficiaries of the lot swap are planning to ask President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Saturday to intervene in the dispute.
She is expected to attend the local launch of her administration's Senate ticket.
Provincial Board (PB) Member Victor Maambong filed Friday a resolution asking the Cebu City Government to reconsider its resolution to suspend development projects in Talamban and Banilad---where Capitol's Ciudad project is located---while traffic there is being studied.
"We should bargain in good faith. We discuss and argue on the strength of our position and not include matters that are completely unrelated and irrelevant," Maambong said.
"To plan for the convenience of the residents and commuters in the Banilad vicinity is perfectly within their (Cebu City's) mandate but to openly declare that it is frozen as leverage borders on blackmail," he added.
Blackmail
But blackmail is also how the Cebu City mayor described the Province's decision to change the lot swap proposal's terms.
"If we allow more construction in Banilad, it's going to cost the City a lot. It's easy to solve the problem; we can build an overpass. So let them build the overpass; it's not going to be cheap," Osmeña told reporters Friday.
Asked if he will lift the moratorium if the Province agrees to implement the original land swap agreement, Osmeña said: "I will try...They're threatening not to kick out 5,000 families in exchange for P3 billion. That's blackmail."
In a news conference, the mayor agreed with Capitol consultant Pablo John Garcia, who said the City Council's move is "un-Cebuano."
The council passed a resolution last Wednesday asking the City Planning Office to refrain from approving development plans in Barangay Banilad, until it completes a study on the effects of development projects on traffic there.
"Yes, it's not Cebuano. It's very Tagalog. Usapang lalaki ba. Saying that this is a deal made at gunpoint is very graphic, but who are the victims here? The 5,000 families occupying the provincial lots," said the mayor.
'Atrocious'
Although he wants to keep the atmosphere of cooperation between the City Government and the Province, he said it is also "atrocious" for Capitol to demand from City Hall P3 billion worth of properties in exchange for the provincial lots occupied by Cebu City constituents.
He offered to give Capitol the City's condominium along N. Bacalso Ave. and the Fuente Osmeña circle on top of the P400-million North Reclamation lot he offered, but a "value for value" exchange goes beyond the City's capability.
"We have 5,000 families there who can't sleep. What's Cebuano? Kicking them out? But the Province doesn't see it that way. For them, it's all about getting more and more out of this," he continued.
If the lot swap deal is not implemented before 2010, Osmeña fears it will be more difficult for the negotiations to prosper.
"When Mike Rama is mayor, you think it will be easier? I don't have to explain that," he said.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama drew the governor's ire last year when he and some councilors hinted that the lot swap may be disadvantageous to the City.
Traffic
For his part, Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr. called on the City to set aside pride, as Ciudad can bring in more taxes and employment for Cebu City.
"We are not elected to serve our pride, to serve our own interest, but to serve our people," Sanchez said.
Ciudad broke ground last November. It's seen to bring not just an ordinary commercial center in Cebu City in 2008, but is targeted to become a "new tourist destination."
The place will depict the "vibrant confluence of culture, entertainment, retail, dining, and architecture" and is designed to be a "city within a city."
But the City Government passed a resolution that will temporarily stop any development in the Banilad-Talamban area.
The council cited traffic problems as the reason, but Mayor Osmeña has admitted the move is part of their efforts to push for the land swap deal.
The Capitol has agreed to renew negotiations to exchange properties with Cebu City, but the Province set a new condition of exchanging only properties with the same value.
The original plan was for the City to give P415 million worth of property at the North Reclamation Area, in exchange for P3.2 billion worth of occupied Capitol lots spread in 11 barangays in Cebu City. (Sun.Star Cebu)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (February 17, 2007 issue)
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