In a 10-7 vote, the Cebu City Council has approved the resolution informing the city residents on the status of the sale of South Road Properties (SRP) lots to the consortium of SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Ayala Land Inc.
In the approved resolution, the City Council informs the city constituents on the major defects of the sale of SRP lots, which includes the lack of authority of former mayor Michael Rama, who then represented the City, to enter into the negotiated sales in installment dated August 7, 2015 with the SM-Ayala consortium.
The resolution was sponsored by Councilor Sisinio Andales.
Apart from it, Andales' approved resolution said that the Council, through Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) Resolution 13-3398-2015, also resolved to hold in abeyance the bidding of the parcels of land in the SRP.
Because of it, the Committee on Awards did not have the authority required by City Ordinance (CO) 2332.
CO 2332 seeks to protect the SRP and its stakeholders from “unlawful and unauthorized transactions and dealings,” with a provision that requires specific prior approval from the City Council to sell, dispose, transfer or convey any of the properties in the SRP.
Andales' resolution also said that the Council was not furnished with a copy of the sale and the contract was not approved by the legislative body, which is in violation of basic provisions of the Local Government Code.
Even if the SM-Ayala consortium was declared winning bidder, Andales' resolution said the consortium never submitted to the Committee on Awards any document showing the existence of the consortium.
The Commission on Audit (COA) also did not give any approval on the sale, which is contrary to Section 380 of the Local Government Code.
During the deliberation, Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera said the resolution seems to make a judgment on a contract entered by previous administration.
She said that the proper body that should tackle this is the court.
“Whether or not there is a valid sale, it's the court that will decide,” Pesquera said.
Mayor-elect Edgardo Labella said the Court of Appeals has already ruled on the matter saying that the sale of SRP lots was valid.
The 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 proceeds from the sale of SRP lots in 2015.