Tomas eyes building mosque and lighthouse at South Road Properties

The Freeman
Sunday, February 3, 2008

Mayor Tomas Osmeña plans to build a mosque cum lighthouse at the South Road Properties for the Muslim community in the city.

Osmeña, who is an honorary sultan, said he intends the structure to be designed after an ancient lighthouse in Egypt and is eyeing it to be an icon for Cebu and a tourist attraction as well that "even the Sultan of Brunei will come to the SRP."

"I'm going to build a mosque combination of a lighthouse at the SRP. It will look very old Filipino.... pre-Spanish and it's going to be very beautiful and classic and will create an icon for Cebu," he said.

Osmeña said he intends to do a little reclamation for the tower and have a sandbar and causeway leading to the mosque/lighthouse. The construction of the sandbar and causeway leading to the tower alone would already cost around P50 million.

The mayor collects pictures of lighthouses from different parts of the world and has books about lighthouses too. He said the design from Egypt was the best he had seen so far. "I'm very satisfied and it looks very Cebuano. It's perfect for a Muslim tower and it will serve as lighthouse also."

He said that the city will contribute funds for the project but said that most of the funds should come from the Muslim community because the structure’s primary purpose is a place of worship for them.

"The Muslims love me so they made me their Sultan. I love them also so I'm helping them build their mosque," Osmeña said.

The mayor, however, does not know yet when the project will be implemented because it will depend on the investments of the city and the sale of the SRP. - Wenna A. Berondo/QSB