2 has. turned over to FLI in March (South Road Properties)
Blessing of South Road Properties' Sr. Sto Niño Last 01/23/2009
CEBU City Hall has started the legwork for the joint venture project with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), and has asked the Bureau of Lands and the Registry of Deeds to break up the titles of the 302-hectare South Road Properties (SRP).
Titles of the mortgaged SRP lots that the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) will release to the City Government anytime will have to be broken into several titles so the City can turn over a two-hectare portion to FLI next month.
City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said that a team of lawyers and technical experts has been formed to assist the SRP Management Office (SRP-MO) in seeing to it that both the City and the FLI meet their obligations on time.
This, as the City Council passed a resolution amending the joint venture agreement between the City and FLI, less than 24 hours after the contract was signed.
Acting Mayor Michael Rama wrote the council yesterday to inform the body that he has inserted a provision in the contract, which he believes “would best serve and protect the interest of both our city and FLI.”
The added provision states that if the City is the innocent party in any incident that will keep the joint venture activity from progressing, “it should have the right to continue with the agreement…or alternatively, withdraw from or cancel the
agreement with full right of compensation against (FLI)…”
Rama told a news conference that he will ask for a timetable and a list of all the City’s and FLI’s obligations in the contract, so he can monitor the compliance to make sure there are no delays in the project.
“We have certain responsibilities in the contract, so I want to have a checklist because there are things that need to be addressed, including the sewage treatment and other related utilities, the payments and who will be monitoring these things.
I will check it from time to time so I can easily give an answer when I am asked about it,” he said.
Deal
Rama and FLI vice chairman Andrew Gotia-nun Jr. signed Tuesday afternoon the agreement for the joint venture development of the 40-hectare area of the SRP and the outright sale of the 10.6-hectare Pond F.
FLI committed to invest P25 billion to build high-rise condominiums, office buildings and a hotel in the 10.6-hectare area, and a cluster of five-story residential buildings in the 40-hectare area.
The deal is the first sale at the SRP, which came four years after the City started paying for its multi-billion loan used to undertake the reclamation project.
In an interview yesterday, Fernandez said the SRP-MO was tasked to work on the setting up of the water and power supply, sewage treatment and other utilities, as well as the re-titling of the properties.
It will be assisted by other lawyers and technical experts who will make sure that everything is implemented on time.
“The SRP-MO will be mobilized now so it can work with (FLI), but they will be augmented. The team will review the contract and check what needs to be done by the City,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
As of yesterday, the Bureau of Lands has already approved the technical description of the 10.6-hectare portion purchased by FLI, which will be forwarded to the Registry of Deeds so the titles can be broken into five separate titles, with two hectares each.
The title of a two-hectare portion will be turned over to FLI as soon as it pays the P348 million down payment next month, while the other titles will be released after the payment of some P250 million every year for the next three years.
The title for the 40-hectare joint development properties will also be broken down so the City can have four titles covering 10 hectares each, which will also be turned over to FLI as soon as it can pay for the properties over a 20-year period.
Since the SRP titles are still mortgaged with the Land Bank of the Philippines, the conduit bank for the SRP loan,
Fernandez said the titles will continue to be in the custody of the bank. (LCR)