SAYING there is no legal impediment, Cebu City mayor-elect Edgardo Labella said the P8.3 billion initial proceeds from the sale of South Road Properties (SRP) lots will be used to fund the City Government's programs and projects as well as pay off the loan used to reclaim the property.

Labella also said Filinvest Land Inc., Ayala Land Inc. and SM Prime Holdings Inc., the three developers that purchased a total of 42.5 hectares at the SRP in 2015, may pursue their development plans after the court ruled that there was nothing irregular in the sale of the lots.

The Court of Appeals (CA) recently dismissed the petition for declaratory relief filed by taxpayer Romulo Torres, which seeks to prevent the City from spending the P8.35 billion downpayment for the SRP lots in 2015.

“The court is very categorical that the case that was filed by this certain Romulo Torres asking for injunction was denied and the case was dismissed in the Regional Trial Court, that the Court of Appeals also denied their petition so there is no legal impediment,” Labella said.

Labella did not elaborate, though, on what projects and programs will be funded by the SRP proceeds.

In a SunStar Facebook live interview last May 17, Labella said that had the projects of the three developers been implemented as scheduled, the City could have already fully paid off the SRP loan.

“If it had been implemented, the loan could have been paid off already because it was really the intention of then mayor Mike Rama and us (Rama’s allies in the Council) to pay the balance of the loan, which was around P2 billion during that time,” Labella said.

One of the facilities that SM plans to construct on the lot it purchased is a world-class arena that can host international games.

There would have been an Ocean Park there too, he said.

“We could have generated revenues by way of real property taxes, business taxes and employed around 40,000 to 50,000 workers there by now,” Labella said.

The City, under outgoing Mayor Tomas Osmeña, did not touch the P8.3 billion dowpayment because the mayor claimed that the transaction was illegal. Osmeña wanted to rescind the contract of sale of the SRP lots because he believes it was undervalued.

Osmeña earlier said the City could dispose of the lots at P110,000 per square meter, but they were sold for only P38,000 per square meter to the developers in 2015.

Asked if he would sell more SRP lots in the next three years, Labella said, “Of course, if necessary. There should be revenue generation out of the SRP. I think there’s still 100 hectares left, and we’ll see to it that the purpose for which the SRP was constructed should be maximized.” (With CTL)