ACTING Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia debunked the allegations of suspended Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama over the proposed development in the disputed Compania Maritima and its vicinity.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, Garcia said the City Government has not received a formal proposal for a casino or gambling facility to be constructed in the Compania Maritima, near the Plaza Independencia and the National Museum of the Philippines Cebu.
Rama, in an audio-visual presentation on Monday, Aug. 12, revealed that among the reasons he disputed the ownership of the Compania Maritima was due to the proposed Cebu Port Authority (CPA) Mega Terminal Maritima Development that might “destroy” the heritage value of the area.
There was a proposal for a casino development near the area, Rama added.
He said that he feared the “diplomatic approach” of the acting mayor with the CPA would advance this proposed development into reality.
Garcia and Rama’s relationship has been in turmoil in recent months after the elected mayor was preventively suspended last May.
No proposal
Garcia clarified that all casino development or any form of gambling facility to be constructed has to seek a “Notice of No Objection” from the City Council.
However, he stressed that neither the City Government nor the City Council have received any formal proposals for the casino development.
“I think it’s just all talk, and besides, it would be difficult considering that when you see how huge the Nustar Casino is, which has a 10-hectare area, where would you build a casino in the area, in the sea or on the shore?” Garcia told SunStar Cebu.
Garcia also made a comparison of the area of the Compania Maritima and its vicinity against the casino hub in Metro Manila, which has an area of at least nine to 10 hectares.
He said the Compania Maritima and its vicinity only have at least a hectare, or less than 5,000 square meters, in area dimension.
“I think it is not a feasible project... and I think it is difficult considering that they will have to ask permission of the City of Cebu because Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.) is strict in issuing licenses to casinos or any forms of gambling,” Garcia said.
On the proposed Mega Terminal Maritima Development, Garcia said he heard about a proposal before that the Megawide Construction Corp. eyed to construct a port terminal along the CPA premises.
This port terminal will be used to ferry passengers from the downtown area or Carbon Public Market to a wharf or port in Lapu-Lapu City near the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
However, Garcia clarified that it is no longer a feasible project as Megawide is no longer the operator of the MCIA after it sold the majority of its shares to Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. (AIC).
In a chat messenger on Tuesday, CPA information officer Maryknoll Bolasa told SunStar Cebu that there was no truth to the proposed development of a Mega Terminal with Megawide or to the casino development.
However, Bolasa recalled the statement of the CPA in October 2023 denying all development in the Compania Maritima and its premises, such as the alleged plan to construct a 20-story building in the area.
Dispute
Rama has been involved in several disputes with the CPA over the ownership of Compania Maritima and its vicinity.
It started when CPA received a favorable preliminary injunction from the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 10 in December 2022 prohibiting the Cebu City Government from occupying the area, and thus affecting the ongoing Carbon Market redevelopment project of Cebu2World Development Inc. (C2W), a subsidiary of Megawide Construction Corp.
Rama remained firm in his position that the Compania Maritima premises belong to the Cebu City Government.
In March 2024, the Cebu City Government filed criminal and administrative cases against the CPA due to the construction of several buildings inside CPA premises and a wharf extension project in front of the Compania Maritima premises without a building permit.
On April 1, the City entered CPA premises without permission and installed rail fences to block the entrance to the latter’s port extension project located across the Compania Maritima.
The incident led the CPA to file an administrative complaint against Rama before the Office of the President on April 29.