THE Cebu Port Authority (CPA) condemned the Cebu City Government's issuance of several notices in relation to the contested Compania Maritima property.
But Mayor Michael Rama told SunStar Cebu Tuesday, November 15, 2022, that he had already brought the issue to the Department of Transportation during one of his trips in Manila.
Rama said there is nothing for the CPA to claim since there is no longer maritime activity in the area.
Glenn Castillo, acting deputy general manager of the CPA, said in a letter sent to Rama that they received three notices from various City Hall offices on October 21, 2022.
These were a Notice to Comply from the Office of the City Treasurer, a Notice of Illegal Construction and Work Stoppage Order from the Office of the Building Official, and a show-cause order from the Business Permit and Licensing Office.
On the same day, the CPA ordered officials of Megawide Construction Corp. to stop their fencing operations near the Compania Maritima.
The fencing operations were initiated by personnel of Cebu2World Development Inc. (C2W) on October 12, 2022, as part of their plan to construct a “Puso Village” in the area.
Castillo said the ownership of the Compania Maritima is still subject to a pending civil case between CPA and Rama in his capacity as mayor.
"To recall, this case was filed due in part to the City of Cebu's act of demolishing the fence of the Authority in 2013. By issuing the above notices, the Authority has every reason to believe that what happened in the past can happen again," said Castillo.
Castillo added that the notices issued then and now have no factual or legal basis.
"The Authority continues to oppose the calculated and concerted efforts of the City of Cebu, Megawide Construction Corporation (MCC), and some elements in the Philippine National Police to unlawfully take possession of the Compania Maritima premises," he said.
But Rama said what he did was only approving the supplemental joint venture agreement between the City and MCC for the development and modernization of the Carbon Public Market, which includes the Puso Village.
Rama also assured MCC that there is nothing to worry about since there is a contract between them and the City that justified their construction of the Puso Village, which is situated beside the Compania Maritima building. (IRT)