Judge rules city owns SRP

The Freeman
Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge Soliver Peras has ruled that Presidential Proclamation Order No. 843 transferring the ownership of the South Reclamation Project to Cebu City even without a congressional authority is within the bounds of the law.

This means the city legally owns the SRP and the court dismissed the civil case filed by former Tinago barangay captain Joel Garganera, who wanted that Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña and other City Hall officials be prohibited from selling or even leasing to anybody any part of the 295-hectare reclaimed area that was funded through a loan from Japan.

Garganera and his lawyers are planning to file a motion for reconsideration on the order of the court and would take it as far as the Supreme Court if necessary.

Peras ruled that President Arroyo has the power to issue Proclamation 843, which transferred ownership of the SRP from the national government to the Cebu City government and declared such lands as alienable and disposable even without the concurrence of the Congress.

Garganera has argued that the land at the SRP is classified as public domain, which means that it is owned by the state.

He cited the Supreme Court decision in Laurel vs. Garcia, which declared that “it is not for the President to convey real property of the government on his or her own sole will.”

Judge Peras said the Supreme Court clearly stated in its ruling in the case of Francisco Chavez vs. Public Estates Authority that the President has the authority to classify inalienable lands of the public domain, pursuant to section 6 of Commonwealth Act 141.

Garganera, an ally of Osmena’s political rival and former mayor Alvin Garcia and opposition leader Lahug barangay captain Mary Ann delos Santos, argued that granting that the President Arroyo’s proclamation is legal, the City of Cebu is still not authorized by the law to dispose the reclaimed properties without a go signal from Congress.

But Peras said the Supreme Court has already stated in several of its rulings that “to validly classify reclaimed lands as alienable and disposable, there must either be a law passed by Congress declaring it or a presidential proclamation.

“As such, the local government of the City of Cebu, being a corporation vested with the power to acquire real properties, can dispose of the same either through lease or sale. Being the owner, therefore, of the said property, the Cebu City government has the prerogative to do whatever is necessary to develop the SRP,” Judge Peras ruled.

The judge added that “it may not be amiss to consider the fact that it is the local government of the City of Cebu that is paying the loan used in the development of the SRP, as well as the interest thereof.”

When Osmena was informed about Garganera’s next move to bring the issue before the Supreme Court, the mayor said, “Garganera and Mary Ann de los Santos will do anything in their power to destroy the SRP. They should have their heads examined. Since they have nothing better to offer the Cebuanos, they want to demolish Cebu so they can emerge from the ruins and blame it on me.”

The mayor added that “we will never let that to happen. Its clear that they have no talent in building, I thank God they have no talent in destroying.”

According to Osmena the bad publicity made by Garganera for the SRP can turn off investors who may have been or are interested to purchase portions of the SRP, thereby causing losses in projected income for the city.

At present, only Bigfoot Entertainment Inc. had entered a business deal with City Hall by leasing two-hectare of SRP lot for 25 years at P5 million a year.

De los Santos said, “regarding SRP as business venture, it is a very lucrative and good business venture (sic). But one thing that hounds SRP is the legal issue, RTC has made its decision so be it, at least once and for all there is no cloud of doubt as to the legal issue. I personally is (sic) not anti-SRP or anti-progress.”

During the campaign period of the elections last May, de los Santos said that if she would win as mayor, she would return the SRP to the national government.

She said that it had to be done to unburden the city of the huge debt it incurred with the project.—(/NLQ)

Read more...

City to close deal with 3 South Road Properties investors

The Freeman
Tuesday, December 4, 2007

The Cebu City government is optimistic it can close with three investors of the South Road Properties a deal that can take care of the city’s financial woes.

And while the city remains tight-lipped on the names of the investors, Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday hinted the three are prime developers that can implement internal development within their area of investment at the SRP.

“They are equivalent to wholesalers...I don’t deal with retailers,” said Osmeña, who added they are keeping the names of the investors confidential as of the moment “to avoid misinterpretation”.

Osmeña explained that the city is very selective with investors in the SRP because the city wants the SRP to be sold and developed not by lots but by complexes just like in Makati where structures are virtually connected.

Likewise, Osmeña said the city plans to put up a central transport terminal at the SRP so that people will not have difficulty going to the companies that invest there.

The Resource Recovery Facility at the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill is seen to produce electricity for locators at the SRP.

With an estimated cost of P500 million, the project will generate 10 megawatts of power, which is equivalent to 10 percent of the projected power requirement of future locators at the SRP. The power that will be produced by the landfill will be sold to SRP at 20 percent lower that the rates offered by the National Power Corporation.

Osmeña earlier said that the marketability of the SRP will allow the employment of 150 people per shift for every hectare in the site. March last year, the city paid the P250-million amortization of the SRP and subsequently secured the official title for the project. — Joeberth M. Ocao/BRP

Read more...

City in ‘most critical stage’ of South Road Properties lot talks

Sun.Star
Tuesday, December 04, 2007

NEGOTIATIONS for the sale of three lots at the South Road Properties (SRP) have reached its “most critical” stage, but Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña remains tight-lipped about it.

Osmeña said they are now discussing the price of the lots with three big investors and he is optimistic they will be able to finalize the sale before the year ends.

If all goes well, the City may even close the three deals at the same time, he said.

“We’re getting into the stage of pricing the lots that is why it’s very sensitive. It’s supposed to be done this year. I’d rather not say anything about it because it can create a misunderstanding. This is a very critical point,” he told reporters yesterday.

The mayor assured Cebuanos, though, that he will give the details of the sale once everything is finalized.

Request

In a news conference, he said he gave in to requests of the investors not to divulge their names and details of the transaction at this point so as not to jeopardize what would be the City’s first sale at the multi-billion peso SRP.

The investors, considered as the biggest names in the commercial development business, will put up mix-use development projects that will have commercial, residential and tourism components.

“The customer is always right so if a little confidentiality is what they’re asking for, then we’ll give them consideration... We can’t survive without customers.

But I assure the public we will be more transparent once it is finalized,” said the mayor.

Price range

Joel Mari Yu, director of the Cebu Investments Promotion Center (CIPC), the marketing arm of the SRP, said they are currently at the height of negotiations on the maximum floor price for lots within the 290-hectare facility.

At this point, he said, the price being discussed ranges from P10,000 to P15,000 per square meter.

Like the mayor, he is hopeful they can finalize the sale before the year ends but if it does not happen in the next three weeks the City will surely make a sale by the first quarter next year.

What has been agreed on with the buyer so far are the amount of space each investor will buy, their business proposal and the timetable of the project implementation.

“The City has agreed on all three, on the size of the lot, what they want to do in the area and when they will start and finish. Once the floor price is established as valid, we will bid it out and the price can go higher than P15,000 depending on the winning bid,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

On the negotiation table, Yu said they will be pricing the SRP lots according to zones and three maximum floor price, with the Pond F area getting the highest price tag.

The Pond F is on the waterfront where an artificial white sand beach, swimming pool and a boardwalk are being constructed.

Pond F will command the highest price followed by properties fronting the South Coastal Road and the Mambaling access road. All other areas of the SRP will be ranked third in the pricing.

“So the price will really depend on what area you are bidding on. Even if it’s a prime space but it’s outside Pond F, it will not command the same price as Pond F,” Yu explained.

Last week, Osmeña said the sale will be of a magnitude that will relieve the City of its loan obligations on the SRP.

The first sale will also allow the City to provide new social services by next year, including cash gifts for all senior citizens in the city, which the City will give on their birthdays and on Christmas.

Twelve years after the City made the 12.292-billion yen loan (P5.958 billion as of August 2006) to fund the SRP, it has only earned P25 million from the project, which represents Bigfoot Global Solutions Inc.’s 25-year lease payment for a two- hectare lot. (LCR)

Read more...

Additional budget pays for baywalk ( South Road Properties), rice

By Doris C. Bongcac
Cebu Daily News
Last updated 09:06am (Mla time) 12/01/2007

Funds for a new baywalk at the South Road Properties (SRP) and Christmas bonuses in the form of sacks of rice were among the items that got the biggest chunk in another supplemental budget proposed by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

The latest supplemental budget, worth P27 million, is the sixth that the mayor submitted for approval to the city council.

If this proposed budget is approved, all supplemental budgets so far will have totaled P523.37 million.

This is in addition to the city’s annual budget of P2 billion.

Osmeña said that Supplemental Budget No. 6 would use unappropriated funds from the city’s share of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), excesses from the 2006 budget, and realigned surplus from the 2004 Local Development Fund.

In the city council’s Nov. 28 session, the mayor’s proposal was submitted to the committee on budget and finance. A budget hearing has been set for Dec. 11.

Allocations for the new proposed budget include P7 million for the development of a 1.2-kilometer stretch of beachfront property along the SRP into a commercial strip, P6 million for rice for barangay officials and employees that will serve as their Christmas bonuses, and P3 million for the renovation of Carbon Market’s unit 3.

Another P3 million was allocated for new furniture and equipment for some City Hall offices while P1.3 million was allocated for the purchase and installation of electric posts at the newly renovated legislative building.

The mayor also wanted to set aside P1.2 million for city-sponsored activities, P1.1 million for maintenance and other operating expenses, and P700,000 for subsidies to the Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko Foundation and the Cebu Arts Council.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said renovation of Carbon Market’s unit 3 is a priority due to the condition of the market’s roofing over the fish section and the general condition of the building’s second floor.

Read more...

Tom to add ‘cute’ features on South Road Properties welcome signage

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Mayor Tomas Osmeña has boasted that the welcome signage erected at the South Road Properties will become a model of strength for billboards and signages in the city, and a landmark that would become a tourist attraction.

The mayor disclosed the other day that he has planned “something cute” for the welcome sign at a hill of the 295-hectare SRP.

The signage, built at a cost of at least P6 million, is already almost complete, Osmeña said as he mentioned that the “cute” addendum to the structure would be statues of children climbing and playing to portray the SRP as one dedicated to the children who are the city’s future.

Osmeña said that at least four to five statues of children would be placed on the signage, or “enough to be noticed”, and they would be made to appear playing like climbing the steel bars, sitting and waving to passers-by.

Some modification on the signage would be done to accomplish this added design, said the mayor.

The welcome signage, a three-storey high structure made of aluminum pipes, would have the title “South Road Properties” spelled out similar to the famous “Hollywood” welcome sign.

This structure is not an ordinary one, Osmeña said adding that it has been built to withstand even the strongest typhoon. This is the reason why the project, which would also promote the SRP, is very expensive, he said.

The welcome sign is just part of the bigger plan, the mayor said citing another plan to build a large water tank that would appear like a tower standing beside the signage.

He said the giant water tank can hold a maximum of 10 million liters of water from the wells of the SRP. This tower will also have coffee shops and bars whose lights would become a nightly attraction from afar.

Osmeña said the entire “welcome” project would cost P20 million, an amount that he insisted is “not foolishness” but a bold promotion of the SRP.

Once the structure is finished, it would become a city landmark that would attrack local and foreign tourists, he said.

The mayor added that the city would have to wait until the first sale of SRP lots is finalized. The city will bid soon the 30-hectare block of the SRP at the Mambaling side.

Osmeña earlier said that there are at least three companies interested to buy the part of the property. — Wenna A. Berondo/RAE

Read more...