LAST May 12, still flush with victory, then Cebu City mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña said he'd "formally void" the sale of 452 has. of South Road Properties land to the Ayala-SM-Filinvest consortium for P16.7 billion.
Alleging it was "highly dubious if not downright corrupt," Tomas said he'd use initiative-referendum to strike down the sale.
Last Dec. 6, after the signing of the land swap deal with Capitol, Tomas vowed that if Team Rama councilors would block it, he'd have them recalled.
Tomas may just be talking tough again, as he did last May. He hasn't moved yet to nullify the SRP lots sale.
As we said in a Sept. 9 column, the process involves a lot of hassle. At least 1,000 registered voters must petition the City Council. If it's rejected, the process rolls, with Comelec verifying signatures and later conducting the referendum. If the vote is yes, it empowers the mayor to go to court and sue.
Voters don't decide the voiding of the contract; the court does and litigation may go all the way to the Supreme Court. The sale is already perfected and P8.35 billion has already been paid.
On the land swap with Capitol, the same obstacle in the City Council looms. Can he hurdle that by recall?
Aside from a petition and a preparatory recall assembly, here are the road humps: 25% of the registered voters shall initiate it and it can't take place within one year from the councilors' assumption of office or one year immediately preceding the election. A narrow window of one year.
Wooing 'em
And it's fraught with danger: Tomas can't be sure he can remove the councilors in a new election despite frenetic fence-mending and moves to crush further Team Rama's political infrastructure.
Tomas may prefer not to use initiative-referendum or recall. Wooing and seducing Team Rama councilors may prove to be easier.
(paseares@gmail.com)