CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has asked Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III to allow the City Government to develop and operate a parking area in a property near the Cebu IT Park.
The unused lot, which is located across the Cebu IT Park, is owned by the Cebu Provincial Government.
In a letter to Davide, Osmeña said that by allowing the City to use the property, it will provide a lower rate for parking to the public, particularly the call center agents working at the IT Park.
Benefit
At present, IT Park is collecting P50 parking fee for every vehicle per hour.
“I am willing to discuss the terms, in such a way that the Province will benefit from its income, and at the same time, we will be able to help our BPO (business processing outsourcing) employees who will utilize the parking area,” said Osmeña.
Francisco Fernandez, the mayor’s executive assistant, said that the City Government is willing to develop the area at their expense.
While doing it, Fernandez said that the City is also willing to give all revenues that will be collected from the cheaper parking fees to the province.
“The mayor believes that the P50 parking charged by IT Park is too much. The P50 is a disincentive rather than an incentive. That’s why, the mayor was looking for means to reduce it,” he told reporters.
Fernandez said the City is willing to sit down with the Province to discuss the proposal.
Alternative
On his Facebook page, Osmeña said he wants to give the workers at the IT Park an alternative, especially since two parking spaces there charge vehicle owners P50 per hour.
If allowed by the Province to operate a parking space, Osmeña plans to collect only P20 for the first 12 hours from business process outsourcing workers at the IT Park.
The mayor said he is even willing to remit the proceeds to the Capitol.
At the Capitol, Davide said he is amenable to Osmeña’s proposal to use a Province-owned property at the IT Park as a parking space for call center workers.
But the governor said he still has to submit Osmeña’s proposal to the Provincial Board for approval.
In a press conference, Davide said that before he left for Korea last week, Osmeña spoke to him about the proposal to allow the City Government to open a parking facility on the provincial lot. (RVC/JKV)