South Road Properties (SRP) - Articles

Tom: Nothing shady about South Road Properties deal

2009-08-11T19:03:00.000+08:00

(The Freeman) Updated August 11, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he is always prepared to explain to the public all about the financial transactions entered into by the city regarding the construction and the sale of lots at the South Road Properties, formerly the South Reclamation Project.

According to the mayor all the documents about the SRP are still intact, including the financial records that are being kept by the city treasurer’s office whose personnel are very active in the payment of the loan to Japan.
It was city south district Rep. Antonio Cuenco who asked the mayor to render a full accounting of all transactions about the SRP.
Osmeña has encouraged the City Hall reporters to obtain copies of the documents saying there is nothing confidential about it.
The 295-hectare SRP was funded from a P3-billion loan in Japan that is payable within 25 years, but because of the peso devaluation the amount went up to more than P6 billion.
However, the mayor said he is not worried of the escalating amount of the city loan because while the city has a huge debt from Japan, the lots —once completely sold— will also make the city the richest local government unit of the country.
Although Osmeña refused to reveal any information of the possible investors who want to buy the 28-hectare lots at the SRP which is located in barangay Mambaling some of his subordinates said some investors really wish to purchase the lots.
One of the possible investors is planning to build a giant mall at SRP, much bigger to the present SM City Hall in North Reclamation Area.
Osmeña said a mall will trigger the increase of the amount of the nearby lots.
At present, the rates of the lots at the SRP that was already approved by the Commission on Audit is P15,000 per square meters for those in the beachfront, P10,000 per square-meter for those located beside the main roads and P8,000 for those in the interior portions.
The Filinvest Land Inc. has entered a joint venture agreement with the city for a 40-hectare lot, 10 hectares of the property has been purchased at P1.5 billion. — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP (THE FREEMAN)

Filinvest Land pre-qualifies to bid for CCP asset development (South Road Properties)

2009-08-09T18:55:00.001+08:00

By Zinnia B. Dela Peña (The Philippine Star) Updated August 09, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), the property development firm owned by the Gotianun family, has pre-qualified to participate in the bidding for the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) asset development program.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FLI vice president and corporate information officer Apollo Escarez said the program involves the “redevelopment of CCP’s 62-hectare property into a center for business and economic activity with arts and culture as a focal point.”

The CCP was created in 1966 through Executive Order 30 with the purpose of promoting and preserving Filipino arts and culture.
Last February, the Court of Appeals prohibited the Pasay City government and Republic Real Estate Corp. from selling lots within the CCP complex after the government allegedly failed to pay reclamation costs.
CCP president Nestor O. Jardin said the CCP complex business and master plan was completed in November 2003 after the Supreme Court ruled that the CCP is the owner of the land in 2000.
Aside from the CCP, FLI was also tapped by the Cebu City government as its partner for the development of a 50.6-hectare lot at the South Road Properties.
Its joint venture proposal includes the purchase of a 13-hectare lot for about P2 billion and the development of 35-hectare lot across the prime property into a mixed-use commercial project which will have recreational facilities, residential condominium buildings and IT buildings.
FLI has set aside P5.3 billion for its capital expenditures this year or an increase of 29 percent from the previous year’s P4.1 billion. The money will be used to develop five to six mid-rise buildings, two BPO buildings, the first phase of the P25 billion township on a reclaimed land in Cebu City, and its first high-rise residential project called The Linear.
These projects will be funded using internally-generated cash and bank borrowings. The company has available bank lines of P3 billion.
The company is launching 29 new projects and phases this year, estimated to generate around P7.4 billion in sales across all market segments.
FLI plans to launch more phases in its ongoing mid-rise projects in Ortigas Extension and Marcos Highway in Pasig City, as well as in Davao and Cebu. It will also launch a similar project in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
For its socialized housing projects, the company is readying new projects within Ciudad de Calamba as well as new phases in existing projects in Batangas, Cavite, Tarlac and Pampanga.

Osmeña says cancer center at South Road Properties goes beyond politics

2009-08-04T18:51:00.000+08:00

(The Freeman) Updated August 04, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas Osmeña welcomes opposition leader and businessman Jonathan Guardo’s support to his plan to have a cancer center at the South Road Properties (SRP). here

Osmeña, in an interview during the turn over of 22 buses to the city’s northern barangays, said the proposed project “such as this goes beyond politics.”
“The MD Anderson is a project that goes beyond politics, but whether he endorsed it or not, I know what’s good for us,” Osmeña said.
Guardo earlier said that cancer has been a growing menace, causing the death of important people, including his own father.
This is the reason why Osmeña deserves all the support in making possible the setting up of MD Anderson Cancer Center at the SRP, he added.
He said he is sure that there are hospitals capable of dealing with cancer but Cebu needs world class expertise.
MD Anderson, Guardo said, has treated the mayor’s urinary bladder cancer and there will be a huge demand for that kind of treatment.
“Sure, I know. That’s what I’m saying. Anyone that has an experience with cancer can actually relate and will feel the need. I mean, one would want to get the best treatment,” Osmeña said in response to Guardo’s statement.
The mayor denied insinuations that only those who have money can avail of the treatment at the proposed cancer center at the SRP, saying there are a lot of programs that can be availed even if there is little or no cash at all.
“MD Anderson has programs that do not require money like cancer prevention, early detection, life lengthening and all those stuffs you know,” Osmeña said. In this manner, he said Cebuanos will no longer rely on bogus medicines that have superficial or fake claims.
The Cebuanos will also rely on MD Anderson standard of practicing medicine and not to stand with the bad culture among Filipino doctors who are not afraid of medical malpractice.
“Here doctors get offended when you get a second opinion; they diagnose dengue for tonsillitis, what? In there, doctors consult each other,” Osmeña said.
Aside from the treatment that can be availed by Cebuanos, the MD Anderson will also open a venue for medical tourism since people as far as the Middle East will come to Cebu City.
Osmeña recently met with the Department of Health (DOH) to discuss plans and legalities of the project.
The building is planned to be built by Filinvest Land Inc. in the 50.6-hectare area that is part of the joint venture agreement it has signed with the city government.
Business tycoon Manuel Pangilinan is also being considered to invest in the project in terms of hospital supplies and equipment. — Ferliza C. Contratista/WAB (THE FREEMAN)

Osmeña meets with DOH on cancer center project (South Road Properties)

2009-07-27T18:48:00.000+08:00

(The Freeman) Updated July 27, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas Osmeña has met with the staff of Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque in Manila last week to discuss issues surrounding the planned branching out of the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the South Road Properties.

Osmeña said among the major issues discussed was the possibility of bringing foreign doctors to practice in the Philippines but how to go out about the plan is something that he would prefer to keep under wraps for now.
“The discussion came out fairly long and we talked about certain legal issues to be threshed out. I don’t like to discuss my strategy, there are people who don’t like what I’m doing…I might be saying things to their advantage…but I am pushing through with this,” the mayor said.
He said opposition to the project may come from both the national and local scene because of the so-called “crab mentality”.
Osmeña earlier said that having MD Anderson at SRP has the Middle East, Australia and the whole Asia as a market since it is nearer than their hospital in Houston.
The hospital in Texas earns around $1,000 a day for the stay alone, exclusive of the chemotherapy and other treatment fees. He said there was also a day in which the center earned $6.5 million for chemotherapy.
The mayor said he would prefer to build the center within the 50.6 hectare area of the development project of Filinvest Land, Inc. considering that the patients will have to rent apartments and condominiums.
The city earlier presented a proposal to business mogul Manuel Pangilinan for a possible investment at the cancer center. Pangilinan is the president of SMART and Philippine Long Distance Company, heads Metro Pacific Investment Corporation, and owns leading hospitals such as Makati Medical Center.
Osmeña was treated of his cancer of the urinary bladder at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the University of Texas in Houston.
After nine months in the United States, he returned home last May after he was declared cancer free. — Ferliza C. Contratista/JMO (THE FREEMAN)

City's BRT to be patterned after Bogota's (South Road Properties)

2009-07-15T18:46:00.000+08:00

(The Freeman) Updated July 15, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Now that he has seen the real deal, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said Cebu City will have a localized version of Bogota’s Bus Rapid Transit System.
Osmeña, in an interview at the VIP Lounge of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport yesterday, said his three-day trip to Colombia was very successful.Tomas:

“It was very nice, Bogota’s BRT is more sophisticated and modern than in Curitiba (Brazil), there are variations,” Osmeña said.
Osmeña spent three days in Colombia upon the invitation of former Bogota mayor Enrique Peñalosa, prior to his checkup at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
He observed Bogota’s TransMilenio and then Pereira City’s Megabus BRT. Pereira City is as big as Cebu City.
“Ours will be localized, we will have some adjustments here,” Osmeña said.
The World Bank had already expressed willingness to fund the entire project. It initially released $235,000 under the Private Public Infrastructure Advisory Facility for an initial study which is set to start next month.
The BRT will cut through the heart of the South Road Properties and include Lapu-Lapu City, Talisay City and Mandaue City.
But only Mandaue City had signified interest to join the said project by issuing a resolution choosing the BRT as their public transportation mode.
Talisay City is supporting the thrust of Cebu City 1st District Rep. Eduardo Gullas which is for a Light Rail Transit similar to Manila.
A BRT is like a train station but buses ply the route instead of trains. – Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)

SM Prime beefs up presence in Cebu (South Road Properties)

2009-07-07T18:44:00.000+08:00

By Zinnia B. Dela Peña (The Philippine Star) Updated July 07, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines – SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s largest shopping mall operator, is beefing up its presence in Cebu with plans to acquire three properties to take advantage of the city’s booming tourism industry.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), SM Prime said the group is in talks with several parties for the purchase of new properties in Cebu and expects to conclude negotiations with one of them in the third quarter this year.
SM Prime is hoping to put in place its second mall in Cebu by 2011.
One of the properties the company is eyeing is located within the 295-hectare South Road Properties (SRP), which is envisioned to become the single biggest growth driver in Cebu.
The SRP is registered as a special economic zone and was designed for mixed land use that can accommodate light manufacturing, commercial, tourism, information technology and other service enterprises.
Cebu is the Philippines’ main domestic shipping port, and is home to more than 80 percent of the country’s domestic shipping companies. It also holds the second largest international flights in the Philippine Islands, and is a significant center of commerce, trade, and industry in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
In May, SM Prime opened a mall in Naga City, its first in the Bicol region and 34th nationwide.
Naga City is considered as the nerve center of the Bicol region due to its proximity to large business establishments, universities, hotels, and regional government offices. It is also a transportation hub with the Naga Transport Exchange servicing almost all of the region’s inter-municipality transportation.
For the rest of the year, SM Prime is slated to open SM City Rosario in Cavite, SM City Pamplona in Las Piñas as well as the expansion phase of SM City Rosales in Pangasinan. By year end, the company’s branch network is expected to reach 36 with an estimated total gross floor area of 4.9 million square meters.
SM Prime is also looking at building a mall in Tarlac, San Pablo, Laguna, Calamba; and Commonwealth.
SM Prime has earmarked P12 billion in capital expenditures this year, P6.5 billion of which will be used to expand its operations domestically while the balance of P5.5 billion will go to its expansion in China.
Three new malls in China – Chonggqing, Suzhou, and Zibo – are targeted for opening between 2010 and 2012.
This will add to its three existing malls – SM Xiamen, Jinjiang, and Chengdu.
Suzhou, with a gross floor area of 73,000 sq.m., is under construction and is expected to open early 2010.
While Zibo and Chongqing, which has the biggest population in China) are scheduled to open in 2011 and 2012.

SM Prime Holdings eyes three more malls in Cebu (South Road Properties)

2009-07-06T18:42:00.000+08:00

By Rhia de Pablo (The Freeman) Updated July 06, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - SM Prime Holdings Inc., the conglomerate that owns and manages SM shopping malls in the country is currently negotiating with three properties here in Cebu for possible sites of three new malls.

“We are still in the middle of negotiations but we will come out with some good news towards the end of the third quarter because we should be closing some deals by then,” said SM Prime Holdings president Hans T. Sy in an interview.
However, Sy stressed that they could not assure that these three properties will all be clinched but he hopes that they can get all three.
He also said that the three new properties will hopefully include the South Road Properties (SRP) site.
After SM Prime Holdings close the deals for the three new sites in Cebu this third quarter, they are targeting to construct the malls simultaneously within 18 to 30 months so that it will be ready for operation by 2011.
Sy said that there are certain formulas that they are looking for in acquiring a new site for their mall operations and traditionally, the size requirement is around four to five hectares because the size that is lower than that becomes a super center, a smaller version of existing SM malls.
The three sites that SM is negotiating with measures around 80,000 to 85,000 square meters with provisions to expand to 200, 000 square meters like SM City Cebu, said Sy.
“Cebu is ready for three new SM malls and we are looking at utilizing our new operation and expansion approach. We believe that there is enough market even during the crisis because people look at shopping malls now as substitute for public parks so we will continue to develop malls into a destination center where people can go and visit,” said Sy.
Just recently, SM acquired new sites in Davao and General Santos for new malls and nationwide, they are set to open a supercenter in Las Piñas this October and in Rosario, Cavite this November.
Currently, SM has 36 malls all over the country and abroad as three of which is in China.
Sy bared plans to put up a fourth SM mall in Suzhou, China and expand its existing Xiamen operations.
“China is our growth story for the next five years. We are up against big competitors in China so our strategy is to move in to second to third tier cities which are areas that have never heard of shopping centers,” said Sy.
Aside from their plans to open another SM mall in China, the company is also looking at opening four new malls in 2010 which will include Tarlac, Antipolo and Calamba.
“Right now our main focus is in the Philippines because we still see a lot of growth here although everybody knows SM already. We will continue to strengthen our organization and we constantly tell our people to focus on Cebu which is currently the best place to be in Visayas and Mindanao. We are bullish of Cebu and we definitely have to have a second SM site here,” said Sy.

FLI assures city condo project won't flood Kasambagan (South Road Properties)

2009-06-26T18:40:00.000+08:00

(The Freeman) Updated June 26, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines – To assure barangay Kasambagan that no flooding will occur in the area, Filinvest Land Inc. will finance drainage and road repair for its One Oasis Mabolo Project, a condominium project between barangays Kasambagan and Mabolo.
FLI Vice President for Visayas and Mindanao Tristan Las Marias made the commitment to Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday.

Osmeña said the city is helping FLI carry out with their project “but it doesn’t mean we are abandoning the people of Kasambagan. I mean, fair is fair,” Osmeña said.
Councilor Augustus Pe yesterday said the technical group of FLI, as well as the city’s engineering staff and officials of barangay Kasambagan are now holding meetings to determine the necessities for drainage and road repair.
The Kasambagan barangay council recently denied FLI an endorsement for its application for an environmental compliance certificate for the One Oasis Mabolo project, saying the project is seen to cause flooding in at least six sitios in the barangay.
The project would also reportedly flood an existing subdivision because it will block the exit of rainwater coming from the Cebu Country Club.
FLI is the city’s first investor at the South Road Properties with a P25 billion project, which will be implemented through a Joint Venture Agreement. —Ferliza C. Contratista/JMO (THE FREEMAN)

Tomas invites Pangilinan to invest in cancer center (South Road Properties)

2009-06-25T18:36:00.000+08:00

(The Freeman) Updated June 25, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas Osmeña has met with PLDT and Smart Communications Chairman Manny Pangilinan to discuss the possibility for the business mogul to invest at an extension of the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the South Road Properties.
Osmeña said the meeting went “very well” but nothing was finalized, especially on how much Pangilinan would invest in the project. The city has proposed for the business mogul to provide the equipment and facilities needed by the cancer center.
Osmeña met with Pangilinan in Manila the other day. Pangilinan was ranked the 39th richest man in the Philippines last year with a net worth of US$ 39 million.
Osmeña said another meeting will be arranged with Pangilinan and officials of Filinvest Land Inc., which the city wants to provide the land and the center itself. Filinvest is the very first investor at the South Road Properties.
The mayor was also set to meet with Senator Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, but later chose to do so after he returns from the United States.
He said he would also meet with officials from the Department of Health, Philippine Medical Association, and Philippine Regulatory Commission, among others.
“I’ll meet them when I get back. I anticipate some opposition from the locals in the name of nationalism because you know, the market of this hospital is not really the Philippines,” Osmeña said.
Osmeña said he will also make an initial presentation of the project to officials of MD Anderson Cancer Center and would invite the officials to Cebu City. It was at the center where Osmeña was treated for his cancer of the urinary bladder.
Osmeña said a branch of the cancer center in Cebu will be the “biggest opportunity of the Philippines as far as medical tourism is concerned” and the city will target countries that are possible markets for the center.
So far, a prince from Brunei and a large firm in India have reportedly expressed interest to invest in the project, he said.
Aside from providing a topnotch facility to countries far from the US, Osmeña said the MD Anderson Cancer Center would also be a venue to facilitate research and development, as well as the transfer of technology to the locales.
“You know, they can validate alternative medicine like mixing of kamunggay with, you know, a potion here, lotion there, kanang mga Arthro-Arthro ba. I’m serious because they are claiming to cure these kinds of diseases,” he said.
MD Anderson has reportedly invented 17 new cancer treatments in five years and is working on six more treatments. — Ferliza C. Contratista/JMO (THE FREEMAN)

Tommy lays out plans for South Road Properties cancer center

2009-06-24T18:33:00.000+08:00

(The Freeman) Updated June 24, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña went to Manila yesterday to lay out plans to have the MD Anderson Cancer Center open a branch at the South Road Properties.
The said plans, he said, will be presented to officials of MD Anderson, University of Texas, Houston, when he will undergo a checkup next week.
Osmeña said he met with “hospital king” Manny Pangilinan for
a possible joint undertaking to realize the MD Anderson plan at the SRP.
“The meeting went on very well. It was exploratory. As suggested they will meet with Filinvest for a possible joint effort at the SRP,” Osmeña said.
In earlier interviews he said the hospital will have to be built in the 50.6-hectare area of Filinvest Land Inc. who will also build the building.
Another player needed is someone who could supply and organize the hospital which is the expertise of Pangilinan.
If things go as planned, operations and manpower will be filled in by MD Anderson.
Osmeña said, MD Anderson can’t put up a branch outside Texas as it is state-owned and so it was necessary for him to organize the players jointly.
Osmeña had his treatment and surgery for urinary bladder cancer at the said center which is considered as the best cancer center in the world.
Having MD Anderson at SRP has the Middle East, Australia and the whole Asia as a market since it is nearer than their hospital in Houston.
“Desperate people, those who wanted to live and get cured will go to MD Anderson, there was even one who will fly in and fly out from Hong Kong to Houston for treatment,” he said.
The hospital earns around $1,000 a day for the stay alone, exclusive of the chemotherapy and other treatment fees.
He said there was also a day in which the center earned $6.5 million for chemotherapy.
It is also preferable to have the center within the 50.6 hectare area of the FLI project considering that the patients will have to rent apartments and condominiums.
The patient’s relatives and friends will also be accommodated by the units that will be built soon.
Pangilinan is the president of SMART and Philippine Long Distance Company is in a hospital-buying-and-investing spree in Visayas and Mindanao.
He heads Metro Pacific Investment Corporation and owns leading hospitals such as Makati Medical Center. – Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)

To protect the South Road Properties Tom O might run for congressman

2009-06-23T18:30:00.000+08:00

By Ferliza C. Contratista (The Freeman) Updated June 23, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines – Is Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña running for congressman in 2010? He said that he will in order to protect the South Road Properties (SRP).
The mayor said that it is important that they protect the city’s interest in the SRP and wants somebody from their family to seek the congressional seat of the South District now being held by Antonio Cuenco, who is in his third and last term.
Osmeña said that it would either be him, his wife Margot or his sister Ma. Victoria ‘Minnie,’ who will be running for congress.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama, who has been touted as a very good bet for the congressional seat in the south, has already been anointed by Osmeña as the mayoralty bet of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).

The move to have an Osmeña run for congress is also meant to help stop opposition leader Jonathan Guardo, who ran and lost in 2007, but has relentlessly pursued his desire to reach out to the voters of the district.
“It’s either Minnie, Margot or me, I can’t afford just anyone to become congressman of South District, because the SRP is there,” Osmeña said.
While Minnie has already expressed intention to run for congress, Margot, the mayor’s wife, has repeatedly said that she is not running for public office. Despite that, she remains popular among the barangay captains not as congresswoman though, but as replacement of her husband at City Hall.
The mayor said that he would not force Rama to seek the congressional seat.
“If I will force Mike, it will appear that I will have my own agenda,” Osmeña said.
Majority of the barangay captains, he said, dislike Rama and have already come up with two manifestos.
The latest manifesto, which called for a Margot-Cong. Raul del Mar tandem, was delivered last week, a few days after Osmeña pleaded the barangay heads to give Rama a chance.
The manifesto was signed by 56 of the 80 barangay heads in Cebu City.
Osmeña, however, assured that the manifesto would not affect his stand of having Rama as BOPK standard bearer next year.
He said that the opposition has no candidates anyway.
“Again they are recycled losers, di ko mupusta sa bihag, Mike Rama won against Raymond Garcia by 150,000 votes, besides Mike now is getting better,” Osmeña said.
Guardo’s Comment
Guardo said that the mayor is just making the SRP as an excuse when the truth is, he doesn’t want to step down from power.
“Alibi ra na. He doesn’t want a Carillo (Gerardo) or an Abellanosa (Rodrigo) or a Rama to run for a big position. Gusto niya Osmeña tanan. It will be Margot for Mayor, Minnie for congress in north and Tomas in the south,” Guardo said.
On his spending to win over the residents, Guardo said, the mayor’s party, Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) has also been giving P2000 to senior citizens, millions of pesos in road asphalting, while Carillo is staging discos and concerts.
All these he said are already preparation for 2010.
Another opposition leader, former Mayor Alvin Garcia said the mayor should now take things easy.
“I think he should enjoy the remaining years of his life like me. He deserves it. He should avoid stress and relax more. Besides from his background, he won’t make a good legislator, it would be unfair to the city,” Garcia said.
Rama Speaks Out
Rama denied that he is not being fair in serving the barangay captains.
This after barangay captains from the north alleged that he doesn’t have any accomplishment or project in their district.
“That is of course not true, I have records of my projects and my undertakings that would show, had benefited both districts, my projects are not directly given to them,” Rama said.
These include his traffic and decongesting programs; cultural and historical events such Pasko sa Sugbo, Pasko sa Carbon, Buhing Kalbaryo and most popularly his being chairman of the Sinulog Foundation Inc.
The Sinulog Foundation, he said, earned millions in income which will translate to barangay’s share as Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) once it reaches the National Treasury.
He also listed programs on Coastal Clean up, the rehabilitation of the City Hall Legislative Building and the number of times he served as Acting Mayor.
“Nakalimot sila nga dili pa ko mayor, that’s why, make me your mayor, tagae ko og chance and dinha ninyo makita ang proyekto diretso ninyo,” Rama said
Contenders
Meanwhile Osmeña said he would be willing to take in barangay Luz captain Nida Cabrera and a social worker Alvin Dizon as candidates to replace the outgoing Councilors.
“These are strong contenders, I always believe in government based on participation, sukad na sukad nangita jud ko og agi sa mga NGOs,” Osmeña said.
The two were formally announced as candidates by the Bag-ong Katipunan Alang sa Katilingbanong Katarungan (Bag-ong Katipunan) movement last Saturday.
Outgoing councilors include Abellanosa, Carillo, Arsenio Pacaña, Sylvan Jack Jakosalem and Christopher Alix. —/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)

Filinvest to push "eco-city" project at South Road Properties amid debate

2009-06-22T18:28:00.000+08:00

By Ehda M. Dagooc (The Freeman) Updated June 22, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the unending controversies hounding the Cebu City developed South Road Properties (SRP), real estate giant Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) is bent on pursuing its P25 billion project in the area.
FLI vice president for the Visayas and Mindanao Tristan Las Marias said the company intends to break grounds for the SRP project early next year.
By year-end, FLI targets to finish the master plan for the entire 40-hectare lot that is covered by its joint venture with the Cebu City government.
The multi-residential development, he said will give Cebu City another landmark that will have an international flavor, as well as attract the local investors.
Under the contract of the FLI-Cebu City joint venture, the development master plan for the property is to be approved by the City Council within 10 to 12 months after the contract signing last February.
He said Filinvest has commissioned the services of foreign consultants and international master planners for the development design.
“We want the development to have an international flavor to sell it not just locally but also internationally,” said Las Marias.
As of this point, FLI has not committed a name for the project yet, he said adding that as per the company’s commitment to the City Council, the development will be mainly multi-residential type with medium rise buildings, condominium units.
FLI is riding on the bandwagon of developing environment-friendly buildings or “eco-cities.”

He described the FLI “eco-city” as having more pedestrian roads, central parks, its own school, church, central terminal, among others.
It will be a self-sustaining residential project,” he said.
“The deal is a good way for Cebuanos to feel proud. This is going to be the next global city in the Philippines,” he said.
The Cebu City government stands to earn from the outright sale amounting to P1.546 billion for the first three years, and from its 10-percent share in the sale of built-up units in the 40-ha area, or a minimum guaranteed return, whichever is higher.
The properties covered by the joint venture will be developed in 20 years, at 10-ha for a maximum of five years.
Las Marias said that FLI is open to talk to other developers that have plans to invest at the SRP to accommodate offices and businesses. He added that this will result in an integrated land use and a complimentary product mix at SRP.
He too assured that FLI is determined to push through its multi-billion peso residential project at the SRP as he is confident the political issues raised against the company’s investment there “have become fewer.
The Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corporation, is one of the largest developers in the Philippines, developed close to 2,000 hectares of land in the last four decades, shopping centers, it also engaged in different businesses like banking (East West Bank), and projects like shopping centers, central business districts, high-rise offices, and condominiums, recreational farms, leisure clubs, industrial estates and an information technology park.
Excluding the investments put in its leisure group in Seascapes, Filinvest Land has already spent P5 billion in real estate developments in Cebu in the last three years. Combined, the company has put up close to P10 billion in investments in the last few years.

CIPC drafts campaign to re-package Cebu (South Road Properties)

2009-06-08T18:26:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines - After it successfully promoted Cebu as an ICT (Information Communication Technology) hub, Cebu will adopt a re-packaging campaign to lump together investments and tourism in the province.
(The Freeman) Updated June 08, 2009 12:00 AM

Cebu Investments and Promotions Center (CIPC) will soon draft an effective and unique promotional campaign for Cebu to re-package Cebu City as retirement and medical tourism hub, that will entice foreigners not just to visit here, but also make some investments in properties, such as condominiums.
Joining the program already introduced by the Department of Tourism (DOT) called as the “Live Your Dream” campaign, CIPC managing director Joel Mari S. Yu said Cebu will have a re-packaging bid as interest now especially from the foreign market, is not only considering Cebu as an investment hub, but also a good site for “vacation homes.”

This idea came about, after the CIPC noticed a drastic slowdown of ICT related investments in Cebu in the last few months, because of the continuous financial difficulties in the United States.
“We are always tied to the United States. Although the BPO [Business Process Outsourcing] is here to stay, and not at all a fad, but we also have to do something bigger and maximize our potential as attractive site for ‘vacation homes’,” Yu said in an interview.
Yu said CIPC saw a reduction of investors’ inquiries especially for BPO investments in Cebu in the last few months.
“Before, we used to entertain inquiries of investors once a week, now it will average from one to twice a month,” Yu said.
CIPC still has to finalize this re-packaging plan, Yu said adding that what will be the hottest destination for offering in this campaign is the 300-hectare South Road Properties (SRP).
Despite the ongoing controversy over the government-developed property, Yu said “everybody knows this is a political show. And there’s nothing wrong with the Filinvest investment.”
Yu said Cebu has to come up with a bigger program in terms of promotion and taking advantage of a rich pool of investors looking for vacation homes outside their respective countries, could bring in more money to Cebu.
DOT’s Live Your Dream" campaign, on the other hand, is an investment-tourism strategy to lure foreigners, such as the active retirees to invest on "vacation homes" in the Philippines.
If the campaign could attract at least 1,000 foreign buyers, and each would buy at least US$100,000 worth of vacation homes, it could easily generate US$100 million revenue to the Philippine economy.
DOT secretary Joseph Ace Durano earlier said that this concept was developed following the high satisfaction rate of the Philippines, as a destination to foreign travelers. Record shows that Philippines generated 87 percent satisfaction rate among foreign tourists. — Ehda M. Dagooc

Move to bring cancer center to Cebu City faces obstacles South Road Properties

2009-06-05T18:22:00.001+08:00

CEBU, Philippines – While a cancer center at the South Road Properties is seen to attract clients from other countries in Asia, Australia, and the Middle East, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said yesterday the city may not be able to give its final word to the MD Anderson Cancer Center by August.
The MD Anderson Cancer Center of the University of Texas in the United States has expressed intention to invest on a cancer center at the SRP but Osmeña says the same faces several obstacles, one of which is the fact that the institution is state-owned, thereby, not allowed to invest outside Texas.
“They are not even allowed to put up in California…how much more in the Philippines? So somebody else can invest for them,” Osmeña said.
(The Freeman) Updated June 05, 2009 12:00 AM

The MD Anderson Cancer Center is considered to be the best in the world.
Aside from this, Osmeña said all stakeholders must also be fully cooperative to the proposed project.
“It’s like Tiger Woods wanting to come here in the Philippines…and so I have to organize the tournament, get the players interested,” Osmeña said.
Osmeña said the city is eyeing several possible investors that may best provide the building and equipment, however, the management of the institution will solely be by MD Anderson.
“Desperate people, those who wanted to live and get cured will go to MD Anderson. There was even one who will fly in and fly out of Hongkong to Houston for treatment,” he said.
The cancer center earns around $1,000 a day for the bed alone, exclusive of the chemotherapy and other treatment fees.
There was even a time when the center earned $6.5 million for one day from chemotherapy.
“I think this is the assignment that the Sto. Niño gave me, I will let you live bring MD Anderson here,” the mayor said.
Should the project pushes through, Osmeña said it is preferable that the cancer center will be located within the 50.6-hectare area of the Filinvest Land Inc. project, considering that the patients will have to rent apartments and condominiums.
The patients, relatives and friends will also be accommodated by the units that will be built soon by Filinvest.
Meanwhile, Osmeña said the city is not interested to pursue with a Joint Venture Agreement with the Korean investor who wants to build a condominium hotel at the Kawit Island. The investor reportedly failed to show proof of its track record.
Aside from this, Osmeña said the Kawit Island is not for sale, something that the Korean investor would want to do.
The Korean investor and another American investor met with Osmeña over the weekend to express interest to engage in a project similar to that of Filinvest. But Osmeña said he does not want a “white elephant” at the SRP.
“I don’t want that. I don’t want the investors to compete and kill each other. They should be specialized so that they will earn,” Osmeña said. – Ferliza C. Contratista/JMO (THE FREEMAN)

SM Investments to build hotels near malls

2009-06-05T18:20:00.000+08:00

By Rhia de Pablo (The Freeman) Updated June 05, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines – Looking at the huge potential of the tourism industry, SM Investments Corporation’s (SMIC) hotel and entertainment segment unveiled plans to roll out a mid-end hotel brand nationwide that will maximize their properties near its existing regional malls.
With an earmarked budget of P2 billion, SMIC plans to open 15 branches of Traveller’s Hotel nationwide, which will capitalize on the flourishing domestic and foreign tourism industry in the country, said SMIC executive vice president and chief financial officer Jose T. Sio in an interview. here

Sio said the planned 15 branches will be put up by the company in a span of 10 years and among the initial locations being considered include Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, Baguio, Naga and other major cities with existing SM Mall operations.
He said that the first branch of Traveller’s Hotel will be opened in Bacolod City near the SM mall. The project is currently under its design stage and construction is targeted to kick off anytime this year.
“We want to maximize the usage of our properties near our SM Malls. We saw the potential of putting up quality hotels near our malls so we can provide a synergy of services to our guests because they can get all their needs in one location,” said Sio.
He said that the Traveller’s hotel will be a mid-level boutique hotel that will specifically cater to the growing domestic tourism in the country.
Sio said that the hotel will have around 50 to 100 rooms and the average accommodation rate per night will cost around 50 US dollars or around P2, 000 to P2, 500.
Meanwhile, in Cebu, Sio said they are looking for available space that is adequate enough for the hotel project as they are already anticipating the operations of their P2.5 billion Radisson Hotel project near SM City Cebu that is targeted to open this December.
He said that they are also allocating around P400 million for the construction of a smaller version of the SM X convention center here in Cebu near the mall. Construction is targeted to start during the latter part of 2010 and will be completed by 2011.
Sio said that SMIC is planning to acquire more land at proper reasonable prices for their banks, malls, residential and hotel operations and planned expansions.
Meanwhile, SMIC president Harley Sy said that their plans of acquiring lots in the South Road Properties (SRP) here in Cebu for their mall expansions will depend on present situations. He, however refused to give out more details about these plans.
“We believe in Cebu’s local economy. Your tourism sector has done a very good job and we can even say that now it’s even safer to be here than in Manila. We continually look out for areas in Cebu where we can expand our business and provide more service to the local public,” he said.
He said that SMIC is taking advantage of the slowdown in the property sector that resulted from the present global economic crunch as they are currently acquiring more properties near their existing mall operations, and areas near transport hubs and schools for their future expansion projects.
“We came up with our own business model to take advantage of what is selling at the moment considering the global crisis,” said Sy.

City to put on hold another sale at South Road Properties

2009-06-04T18:18:00.000+08:00

(The Freeman) Updated June 04, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday said the selling of another lots at the South Road Properties (SRP) will have to wait.
Osmeña, who met with a probable locator of the SRP yesterday, said the selling of lots of the SRP will have to be put aside after another sale or two.
“We just want to let Filinvest project kick off,” Osmeña said in a text message.
Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) entered into a joint venture agreement with the city government for the development of 50.6 hectare lot at SRP.
Osmeña said he doesn’t want businesses competing at the SRP and wanted the city to regulate the sale of other lots.
Yesterday, he did not report to the City Hall but has met with the Korean investors interested to develop the whole Kawit Island for hotel and condominium project.
“They want Kawit, I said not for sale,” Osmeña said.

He said the Korean investors also interested to invest in other areas of the SRP.
Osmeña earlier said the Korean investors may however enter into a joint venture with the city to develop Kawit.
Last Sunday, the mayor also met with American investor John Baldwin of Bridge Capital who is interested to put up projects at the SRP.
According to reports, Balwin showed the mayor actual plans for his SRP projects. Baldwin’s company developed a major tourism project in Cambodia.
Filinvest is set to begin its project in the next two months. Its investment is expected to reach P25 billion in 20 years. — Ferliza C. Contratista/LPM (THE FREEMAN)

Tom wants South Road Properties investors to follow design objectives

2009-05-28T18:16:00.000+08:00

(The Freeman) Updated May 28, 2009 12:00 AM
Locators at the South Road Properties (SRP) cannot just do whatever they wish.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants all locators at SRP to follow the city’s design objectives.
Osmeña, in a press conference yesterday, said there are certain considerations that all locators will have to bear in mind to be in consonance with what the city desires for the SRP.
The first large investor of the SRP, Filinvest Land Incorporated (FLI) is set to start construction of their housing and offices project in the next two months.
Osmeña said planners of each locator will have to make sure that their structures will be built considering the factor of an internal transport system.
“The SRPs where one will leave and not to have a need of a car,” he said.
He said the SRP will be user friendly and where one can move around without needing a car therefore traffic is not a problem.

He cited as a mini example, the system that is being used by Plantation Bay Resort in Mactan where one may take a shuttle in going to the beach, spa or gym.
Osmeña said he will make sure that in the SRP there is direct transportation to and from the airport.
“You’ll feel safe riding the shuttle system because SWAT cops are there and that they made sure that the bus arrives and leaves on time, we want to get out from the safety overkill, break out from the image that the country is suffering from Abu Sayyaf, we are safe here in Cebu,” Osmeña said.
Filinvest officials, headed by President Andrew Gotianun and Vice President for Visayas and Mindanao Tristan Las Marias, presented to Osmeña their project plan.
Osmeña said all plans will also have to be approved by City Hall considering that the city is part owner of the project.
Filinvest is pouring in a P25 billion for high end housing and office spaces. The total project cost is estimated to reach P80 billion in 20 years.
The transport system is still being studied by three agencies — World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC).
The studies are leaning towards the establishment of a Bus Rapid Transit System patterned after Bogota, Columbia. — Ferliza C. Contratista/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)

City, VECO sign MOA for power in South Road Properties

2009-04-02T18:37:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City government and the Visayan Electric Company yesterday signed a memorandum of agreement for electricity in the 300-hectare South Road Properties.

The signatories were Mayor Tomas Osmeña on behalf of the city while VECO was represented by its president Dennis Garcia, the signing was witnessed by key officials of both parties.

Osmeña said that VECO will supply electricity to the entire facility as well as fill in the demands of the locators.

The city will collect an access fee of 20 centavos for every kilowatt hour and charge a collection not higher than the usual rate outside SRP.

The mayor said that VECO was chosen as the power provider of the 300-hectare facility because it falls under its franchise area.

VECO holds a legislative franchise to construct, operate and maintain a distribution system for the conveyance of electric power to the end users in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay and Naga as well as the municipalities of Minglanilla, San Fernando, Consolacion and Liloan.

VECO will arrange for the design, engineering supply and construction of an electric power distribution system in the SRP.

The city will require each locator in the SRP to execute an agreement to purchase electricity from VECO at a rate to be authorized by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

For now the city cannot estimate the expected power demand in the SRP as more locators have yet to come in. So far, only Bigfoot Global Solutions Inc. and Filinvest Land Inc. are the locators.

Bigfoot started its project in the area in the middle of 2007 and has paid the P25 million for its 25-year lease payment for a two-hectare lot for its expansion studio.

Just recently, FLI and the city closed a P25-billion sale over a 50.6- hectare area for office and high-end residential spaces.

For water, a Joint Venture Selection Committee will already go over the proposal of Pilipinas Water Resource Inc. — Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)

Tomas wants public to scrutinize South Road Properties

2009-04-01T18:36:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants the public to further scrutinize developments at the South Road Properties (SRP).

A day before returning to the United States to undergo operation in his gall bladder the mayor said he welcomes the public, specially the city residents, to be aware of the SRP project and other developments in the city.

“I want the people of Cebu to scrutinize. Sure, because number one, we have nothing to hide and two, this is your project,” Osmeña emphasized.

According to him, he would welcome all questions and will answer them one by one because the residents deserve to know more about the SRP.

He added that he doesn’t mind repeating answers and explanations over the joint venture contract the city recently signed with Filinvest Land Inc. for a P25 billion project.

“To check for graft and corruption, it’s whether we got the right price for it or not,” he said.

Filinvest, according to him, was worried since they had never been insulted so much in their entire existence when their aim was merely to help the city.

In effect, Osmeña wanted also to reiterate that he welcomes any legal move that would be undertaken by the Cebu provincial government should it see any irregularity with the contract.

“Go ahead, file a case in court, not a congressional inquiry. Since when did the legislation become a court? So that is plain harassment,” he said in reference to the plan of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s younger brother, Cebu third district Rep. Pablo John Garcia, to seek a congressional inquiry into the joint venture of the city and Filinvest.

Osmeña said he remains positive that the transactions of other locators wanting to invest in the SRP will be smooth.

The mayor also said that he is sure that the ordinance pending at the City Council that seeks to prohibit the development of lots in the city that are owned by the Capitol will be passed.

“The City Council is not a rubber stamp of the mayor. If the vice mayor was a rubber stamp of the mayor, then we would all be happy at this time. We would have no problem, but since he had proven he is not, then 5,000 families could not sleep well at night,” Osmeña said.

He said the councilors are now well briefed on the situation and trusts them to make a good decision. — Ferliza C. Contratista/WAB (THE FREEMAN)

Tomas, Veco sign power supply accord for South Road Properties

2009-03-31T18:29:00.000+08:00

By Marian Z. Codilla, Reporter

A DAY before leaving for the United States, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña signed a memorandum of agreement with the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) to distribute power in the South Road Properties (SRP).

The mayor is scheduled to board a 12:45 p.m Cathay Pacific flight direct to Los Angeles together with wife Margot and only son Miguel.

Osmena said he will return to Cebu City on the first week of May after his surgery for the removal of his urinary bladder.

Osmeña, who has stage 4 cancer, attended to his City Hall duties with a full schedule yesterday.

He showed no sign of fatigue and told some reporters it was all right to remove their hospital face masks because he was feeling okay.

Veco agreed to provide electric power to the SRP and charge the businesses in the area the same rate as customers in the rest of Metro Cebu.

The agreement also stated that Veco will pay the city an access fee of P0.20 per kilowatt hour to be charged to the businesses and reflected in their monthly statement of accounts.

Cebu City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the SRP is considered part of Veco's franchise area so the no public bidding was needed.

Cebu City Hall, Veco sign deal on supply to South Road Properties power users

2009-03-30T18:27:00.000+08:00

THE Cebu City Government and the Visayas Electric Company (Veco) yesterday signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the utility firm to supply power to locators of the South Road Properties (SRP).

Mayor Tomas Osmeña said Veco will just charge the rate it collects throughout its franchise area while giving the city a P0.20 share per kilowatt hour.

Panagbenga 2009 blog

Osmeña, however, failed to mention that the MOA contained a provision where Veco can actually apply for an additional P0.20 as “access fee” from locators, which would be collected once approved by the “regulatory authority.”

It is the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) that approves all applications for rate adjustments and other charges by distribution utilities like Veco.

“The Access Fee shall appear as separate line item in the monthly statements accounts from the Distributor (Veco) to the Locators. Distributor shall exert reasonable efforts to obtain the approval from the relevant Regulatory Authority, when
applicable and necessary, for such application,” read Section 3.2, Article 3 (Rates and Billings) of the agreement.

And when open access and retail competition are implemented, Veco will continue collecting the access fee for the City, which “shall first cause each locator to execute an agreement for such continued charging and collection of the access fee.”

The same section also stated that if the “regulatory authority” orders Veco to stop collecting the access fee and return what was collected, the City Government should immediately return the total access fee it received.

Veco president Dennis Garcia and senior vice president and chief operating officer Jaime Jose Aboitiz signed the MOA for the utility company.

Section 3.1 also stated that Veco will charge its existing ERC-approved rates “in the meantime when electrical load of the
Ecozone (SRP) is not yet established.”

“When the electrical load of the Ecozone stabilizes, the Distributor shall apply with the Regulatory Authority, when applicable
and necessary, new rates specific for the Ecozone, and implement the same upon its approval,” it said.

The same portion of the agreement stipulates that an annual review of the electrical load of the SRP will be conducted to determine if there is a need for power rate adjustment, which the Veco should again apply for approval with the ERC.

The mayor said awarding Veco the right to provide power to SRP locators did not go through a bidding because they agreed that the property, though declared as an economic zone, is still covered by the utility company’s franchise.

Yesterday’s signing of the agreement signaled the availability of reliable power source for investors of the SRP, which became the topic of Osmeña and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s renewed word war.

Yesterday, Osmeña again told the Capitol to just file a case if it saw something anomalous in the deal between the City and the Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI).

He said FLI officials felt insulted for being threatened with a congressional inquiry for entering into a joint venture agreement with the City.

“They have never felt being insulted like this. They asked what have they done on the SRP (to merit the criticism). I said nothing, just the vindictiveness of the governor. If they (Capitol officials) saw something illegal, why don’t they just file a case?” Osmeña told a press conference.

He, however, said enticing other investors to the SRP will not be as hard as that with FLI, which took him “four Sinulogs.”

The Sinulog is an annual event held every third Sunday of January in Cebu City.

Rep. Pablo John Garcia (Cebu, third district) has threatened to call a congressional inquiry on the FLI transaction, which involved the outright sale of 10 hectares and a joint venture with the City for 40 hectares.

Rep. Garcia said the deal is anomalous and disadvantageous to Cebuanos. Osmeña denied the accusation.

“I’m very proud of what I have done,” he said, reiterating that the Capitol is welcome to get a copy of the agreement and scrutinize it. (RHM)

Osmeña South Road Prpoerties pact can stand House scrutiny

2009-03-29T18:30:00.000+08:00

By Marian Z. Codilla and Doris C. Bongcac, Reporters

LEGALLY defensible.

So said Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña of plans for a congressional inquiry into the joint venture contract between the Cebu City government and Filinvest Land Inc. on 50 hectares of South Road Properties (SRP).

Osmeña said that while he was unhappy with the call by Rep. Pablo John Garcia for a congressional inquiry, the Capitol's accusations of irregularities were “pure harassment.”

“It's just pure harassment...(the province has) nothing else to do. They can make panglawgaw (a mockery of) the contract but it is very defensible and I am very proud of it,” Osmeña said.

He said he and other officials were ready to face the congressional inquiry.

Osmeña said that while he didn't sign the deal, he constantly negotiated with Filinvest for several years.

The deal between the city and the province is a mixture of outright sale and a joint venture (JV).

The Filinvest will enter into a joint venture with the city if it will allow them to purchase a 10.6-hectare portion in Pond F of the SRP.

Filinvest is also required to enter into a profit-sharing arrangement with the city on the 40-hectare property.

Garcia said he received text messages from several lawmakers who supported the inquiry, excluding his father Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia of Cebu's second district.

“They (the lawmakers) said they are ready to sign the resolution and it encourages me because without asking them, they volunteered to help. But I need to get their signatures first,” Garcia said.

He said the inquiry will determine if the city complied with all the laws in its dealings with Filinvest.

“If there is something anomalous, the guilty party will not only be public officials who signed the deal but also private people who pushed for the deal. The inquiry is needed so that future investors will avoid entering into agreements that are anomalous,” Garcia said.

The inquiry, he said, would also guide future investors “on what can be done and what can't be done to avoid any criminal liability.”

Garcia said he will push for the inquiry on the Filinvest deal when Congress resumes session on April 13.

He said that he may later request the Senate to also look into the deal.

Garcia said he would not name the Cebuano legislators who sent him text messages, saying Osmeña also has as an ally in Congress Rep. Raul del Mar of Cebu City's north district.

Rep. Ramon “Red” Durano VI of Cebu's fifth district said he needs to familiarize himself with the issue first before making a decision.

Rep. Antonio Cuenco of Cebu City's south district said he also wanted to know the purpose behind the inquiry.

Rep. Garcia said a congressional inquiry was because the Capitol was not getting “straight answers” from Cebu City Hall.

He suspects that a city lawyer was not involved in the drafting of the JV agreement, the reason why it favors Filinvest's interests.

“Maybe if they are under oath they will tell us what really happened,” Garcia said.

He said plunder charges would be filed against certain persons if the results of the inquiry showed there were anomalies in the billion peso Filinvest deal.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said she wanted to know the conditions behind Filinvest's acquisition of the 10.6 hectares.

She also wanted to know why the Capitol was not allowed to challenge Filinvest's unsolicited proposal despite being financially capable.

Cebu City Hall, UP seal partnership in South Road Properties

2009-03-28T18:27:00.000+08:00

By Jully Venus Cuizon, Correspondent

A well-paying job in a call center and a chance to earn a master's degree in the same work site is a “strategy” that may pay off for Cebu City and the University of the Philippines.

If this attracts the “brightest workers” in the region, business is sure to follow.

Five hectares of reclaimed land in the South Road Properties (SRP) were donated to the state university, which will build a graduate school within the next three years.

As a condition, UP Visayas Cebu Campus will offer a master's degree in business administration (MBA) evening program and continuing education in the English language.

UP President Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman and Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmena signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the donation of 51,372 square meters of land yesterday.

“We are firmly establishing our right and competitiveness of Cebu in the future,” said Osmeña during the signing ceremony at the Social Hall of the Cebu City Legislative Building.

“I would like to see the day when Cebu will be producing 3,000 MBA graduates a year and all employees of call centers. These services will be offered to regional headquarters in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia whose workers will come to Cebu for their master's degrees.”

Roman said UP would move quickly to build the school and will likely offer the MBA program this June, starting with classes in the existing UP Cebu campus in Lahug.

She said she and other UP officials were impressed with the mayor's dream “to make Cebu the first city of choice in the country and not just an alternative to Manila” and that UP has a role here in human resources development.

Before the signing, Mayor Osmeña sat down with the UP officials and suggested ways to partner with the private sector to get the facilities and programs up and running.

Present in the signing were Councilor Hilario Davide III and other city councilors, UPVCC Dean Enrique Avila, members of the Board of Regents, visiting UP officials from Diliman, businessman Manuel Go, SRP Marketing Director Joel Mari Yu.

Another condition of the deed of donation is that UP shall consider the project as its flagship Centennial project to offer programs in the fields of computational science product design and packaging, communications design, management, sciences, mathematics and the arts and humanities for the Visayas and ASEAN regions.

UP shall not convey in whole or in part the property to any third party. The deed of donation was approved by the City Council on March 4, 2009.

In his speech, Mayor Osmena said the partnership is a bold step for Cebu City and UP to make Cebu more “competitive” in a globalized economy and improve the workforce in Cebu and was an initiative being taken “without waiting for the central government” to act.

The mayor said he would like to see “educational courses geared to the lifestyle” of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) workers. For example, an employee who gets off a graveyard shift could just go downstairs from his office to attend an MBA class because the schedule fits his reporting time.

He said BPOs abroad would favor having their employees get an affordable MBA degree in Cebu where workers have good people skills and a desire “for a better life.”

“The city government is not using SRP simply as a business of real estate. We want to do something extra with it and as I promised, we are looking for ways and means to help develop the economy of Cebu.”

Wenceslao: Killing South Road Properties' potentials

2009-03-27T18:25:00.000+08:00

Bong O. Wenceslao

THE controversy over the Cebu City Government’s deal with Filinvest Land Inc. to develop a portion of the South Road Properties (SRP) has just gotten interesting, what with Capitol firing questions at will from the trenches. The biggest offensive would definitely be the House inquiry that Rep. Pablo John Garcia is preparing.

Let us see how a City Hall with “only” Acting Mayor Michael Rama (Mayor Tomas Osmeña is set to go back to the United States for surgery) at the helm would counter that assault. Will Reps. Raul del Mar and Antonio Cuenco man the ramparts in Osmeña’s defense by blocking the initiative at the House of Representatives?

I won’t dwell on who got the commission from the transaction. I would leave that to Bobby Nalzaro who has been harping on the issue in his columns and commentaries for days now. Commissions, even if they run to millions of pesos, are difficult to expose simply because those involved have the ability of cats.

The past days, there has been this odor emanating from somewhere in our kitchen. Which reminded me of my lola, Nanay Bunding (may her soul rest in peace), who used to punish our cat each time it leaves its excreta inside our house. Nay Bunding it was who told us city-bred kids about the special talent of cats: hiding the evidence of the crime.

Both the giver and the receiver of commissions (or in the terminology of the corrupt, SOP) are legally liable for the act, thus the tendency to clam up. In the end, what is left for the public to pick up from the crime scene are rumors and hearsay evidence, which is akin to the smell emanating from well-hidden cat excreta.

What caught my interest in Capitol’s tirade against the City Hall-Filinvest “joint venture” is the project’s development thrust, the same point I raised when the agreement was not yet signed. (The phrase joint venture is in quotation mark because there is logic in the contention that the agreement sounds more like a sale, with Filinvest given the sole authority to decide on what to do with the lots.)

Section 1 (b) of the agreement partly states that, “Filinvest and Cebu City shall jointly develop the Joint Development Properties into an integrated and well-planned clusters of medium rise residential buildings and retirement and congregate care complexes with adequate and necessary public infrastructure that includes roads, public utility networks and sewage system.”

After all the hassles the city and its residents have gone through in constructing this prime piece of property, including the diversion of money intended for basic services to the payment of the SRP loan, and we get only this: another subdivision area? No wonder a Japanese consultant chided the Filinvest project as having “low potentials for job generation.”

Why the haste in inking the deal with Filinvest when the city could have put the SRP to a better use (as an industrial or commercial site) had it waited for better deals later? Selling the SRP to the SM group, for example, would have been much better considering its expertise in developing sites for commerce. Turning a big chunk of the SRP into a subdivision is to kill the land’s potentials, making the area moribund.

Mayor Osmeña boasted often that the SRP is his baby. It now looks like the welfare of this baby is of lesser concern to the father than his own interest.

It’s harassment: Tom on threat of House inquiry on FLI deal (South Road Properties)

2009-03-26T18:23:00.000+08:00

HARASSMENT. That’s how Mayor Tomas Osmeña described Rep. Pablo John Garcia’s vow to initiate a House inquiry into the Cebu City Government’s agreement with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) on the sale and development of South Road Properties (SRP) lots.

He, however, was unconcerned, saying the Capitol can keep and scrutinize its copy of the joint venture agreement with FLI.

“I’m not happy with harassment. But let me tell you that Congress is not a court. They want to use Congress as a court because maybe they can influence the congressmen, but Congress is not a court,” Osmeña said.

Several Cebuano lawmakers support the proposal to conduct a House inquiry on alleged anomalies in the joint venture, Garcia (Cebu Province, 3rd district) said.

“They said they’re ready to sign any resolution to that effect. It encourages me because without my asking them, they volunteered to help,” Garcia said in a press conference yesterday.

He said the House inquiry will become a venue for the public to check whether the multi-billion-peso deal conforms with the law. If the sale and joint venture agreement are proven to be irregular, City Hall officials might even be held liable for plunder, he added.

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, the congressman’s sister, has also asked Mayor Osmena to furnish the Provincial Government with a copy of the signed agreement.

Terms

Osmeña reiterated there are safeguards in the agreement, particularly on the need for FLI to construct buildings instead of merely selling lots.

The City stands to earn from the outright sale amounting to P1.546 billion for the first three years, and from its 10-percent share in the sale of built-up units in the 40-hectare area, or a minimum guaranteed return, whichever is higher.

The properties covered by the joint venture are supposed to be developed in 20 years, at 10 hectares for a maximum of five years.

Last March 6, FLI turned over to the City a P348-million down payment for the SRP lots it will develop.

“The Filinvest deal is a very unique joint venture that is designed to improve our economy,” Osmeña said, explaining that unlike other transactions, that with FLI prevents the company from merely selling lots.

“They cannot earn money selling land. So to make money, they have to build,” Osmeña said.

Bad mood

This way, he said, jobs are created since construction workers, security guards and maintenance personnel would be needed.

He also questioned the Capitol for criticizing the arrangement—10 hectares in outright sale and 40 hectares in joint venture with Filinvest—saying it was the offer the City received.

“Are we going to go kill a 50-hectare transaction because the Province is in a bad mood, that we have to separate them (10-hectare sale and joint venture) as if they (Capitol officials) own the property? We were interested in the joint venture because that joint venture is the one that will really start to create livelihood for the City of Cebu,” he said.

City Hall earlier declared the Province ineligible when it participated in the pre-qualification to challenge Filinvest’s offer.

Reached for comment, Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (Cebu Province, 6th district) promised to support Garcia’s proposal for a House inquiry “for transparency’s sake.”

Rep. Ramon Durano VI (Cebu Province, 5th district), however, said he will reserve his comment until he gets the details of the agreement.

Guide

Congressman Garcia said a House inquiry will guide future investors to steer clear of anomalous government deals or irregular provisions.

He criticized the mayor for saying that the Commission on Audit (COA) is studying the joint venture contract as part of the post-audit process before it approves the transaction.

“What is he talking about? If they don’t have the approval (of COA), how can they peg the price at P15,000 per square meter? COA needs to approve it,” the congressman said.

Whenever government disposes of property, the congressman explained, among the requirements is an assessment by state auditors of the property’s value.

“If the mayor says the COA does not approve it, then they have no business entering into this deal. That’s another strange revelation,” said the congressman. (RHM/GMD)

Garcias threaten to elevate South Road Properties pact to Congress inquiry

2009-03-25T21:24:00.000+08:00

By Marian Z. Codilla and Doris C. Bongcac, Reporters

The joint venture agreement between the Cebu City government and Filinvest Land Inc. may undergo congressional scrutiny if City Hall refuses to give a copy to the Capitol.

Rep. Pablo John Garcia of Cebu's 3rd district said he will ask help from his father, Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia and other allies to call for an inquiry into the agreement in aid of legislation when Congress resumes session on April 13.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia sent a letter to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña at his office about 2 p.m yesterday, asking for a copy of the signed agreement with Filinvest.

The agreement covers 50.6 hectares within the South Road Properties (SRP).

She said she wanted to know the grounds behind the Capitol's disqualification from challenging Filinvest's unsolicited proposal as well as the document's signatories.

Capitol consultant Rory John Sepulveda showed the media the provincial government's analysis of the joint venture agreement.

Governor Garcia questioned why the 10.6 hectare prime lot of SRP was disposed of without public bidding.

A copy of the draft JV agreement obtained by the governor's office mentioned that Filinvest will submit their development master plan to the city within one year from the agreement's effectivity.

Sepulveda said a portion of the draft agreement mentioned that “Filinvest can alter the master plan by issuing a 90-day notice to the city.

A 20-year period was also issued to Filinvest to develop infrastructure facilities in the SRP.

“Is an integrated and well-planned cluster of medium rise residential buildings and retirement and care complexes consistent with a Central Business District type of development?” Sepulveda asked.

Congressman Garcia said the planned review of the JV agreement should not be interpreted as retaliation for Osmeña's move to stop commercial development of province-owned lots.

“Would anybody else have cared?... You should thank the province for taking the cudgels in the interest of public good,” the governor said.

The mayor questioned why Governor Garcia made allegations about anomalies in the SRP agreement.

“Maybe I have too much chemicals in my brain but I don't know what she (Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia) is saying,” Osmeña said.

He said the Land Bank of the Philippines will not release the titles of the SRP property unless it receives the proceeds paid for by the city to them.

The LBP, he said, will issue the sold titles to the buyer.

The mayor said Vice Mayor Michael Rama signed the agreement since he was acting mayor at the time while Osmeña was undergoing chemotherapy sessions in the United States.

“I didn't work out the details. I didn't have the copy because I didn't signed it,” Osmeña said.

In the meantime, the Cebu City government will sign a memorandum of agreement with the University of the Philippines Visayas Cebu College for the use of the 5.1 hectare donated lot in the SRP at the mayor's office.

The lot is intended to house a graduate school for call center employees working at the SRP area.

Mayor Osmeña said under the setup, call center employees will earn a masteral degree while working through their schedule.

“They don’t have to go home because the classes will be timed to the work schedule,” he said.

Osmeña said the investor for the building will lease to the call centers and build the classrooms but will not pay the land.

“The city's tagline will be 'if you want an MBA, work at SRP,” Osmeña said.

He said Cebu will be able to produce several thousand of MBA graduates a year.

Osmeña said they will compete with Singapore and Hong Kong in building a regional headquarters for outsourcing businesses.

Amid the proposed new UP graduate building at SRP, UP alumni and students will hold a black T shirt rally to protest the closure of the UP High School to be discussed by the UP Board of Regents on March 26.

The Cebu City Council passed a resolution last year opposing the closure.

The UP Cebu High School is a laboratory and training ground for Education students in UP College.

But UP Cebu College said it is unable to subsidize the high school’s budget.
“The UP Administration should heed that clamor of the alumna's opposition and to continue the operation of the UP High School,” Councilor Hilario Davide III told .

School to make South Road Properties attractive to workers: Tom

2009-03-24T21:22:00.000+08:00

AN EDUCATIONAL facility planned for the South Road Properties (SRP) will help attract locators to the Cebu City project, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said yesterday.

Cebu City will donate five hectares of SRP land to the University of the Philippines Visayas College-Cebu for putting up a facility that will offer information technology and masteral degree courses.

Osmeña is scheduled to sign the deed of donation today.

Master’s degree

Once the facility is set up at the SRP, call center agents of companies in the SRP will be given the opportunity to finish a masters degree at a convenient location and schedule.

“If the call center agent will finish work at three o’ clock in the morning, then classes can start at 3:15 a.m. downstairs. They don’t have to go home to change,” Osmeña said.

The mayor said this will attract “bright employees” who are qualified to work in call centers but refuse to do so because they see it as a “dead-end job.”

“This is designed not to attract the call center locators but designed to get the good people to work there because, where good people are willing to work, we know the call center operators will follow,” Osmena said.

Osmeña said the City aims to create an environment where call center employees will not want to work anywhere else except in the SRP.

The mayor sees Cebu City producing at least 3,000 holders of masters degrees yearly.

He said he feels very strongly for the project since it will appeal to “many bright young minds.”

“In this phenomenon of globalization we have to be the first to adjust, we have to be the first to react,” he said.

Last night, Osmena hosted a cocktail party at the Casino Espanol for the business process outsour-cing (BPO) industry. It was attended by at least 70 representatives from BPOs and Cebu business groups.

Listening

The mayor assured investors he is listening to their concerns, like the need to improve the educational system through better ties with the industry.

Osmeña said that in order to address concerns on the small number of graduates equipped with minimum requirements to work in a call center, BPO companies should identify and quantify the problem.

He said they should tell the city what to do. (DME)

Tom back with riches in mind (South Road Properties)

2009-03-12T09:16:00.000+08:00

By Ferliza C. Contratista Andrene U. Borromeo Updated March 11, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - “To create Cebu City’s economic future, through the SRP, is my priority.”

Thus, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said, will be his priority during the welcome gathering late afternoon yesterday attended by close to 3,000 city hall employees, barangay officials and workers, who waited despite the rain.

Osmeña, dressed in a floral printed polo, appeared jolly and proud of his head he intentionally shaved due to excessive hair loss brought by seven rounds of chemotherapy treatment for his cancer of the urinary bladder.

He said his top priority for his two-week return to Cebu City is the finalization of developments at the 302-hectare South Road Properties (SRP), a project he initiated in 1994.

“There is this recession that is heating up not only in the US but in other parts of the world, it is my dream to make Cebu more and more self reliant, to be one of the richest, if not the richest city in the entire Philippines,” Osmeña said.

Osmeña said the first time he sat as Mayor in 1988, he sensed that Cebu City was short of cash and had to look for other sources of income, that was why, he worked and fought for the SRP.

“It will be very competitive in the next two to three years, but I can say we are well positioned despite dark clouds in the horizons, we cannot rely on America, we must not rely on the national government,” he said.

Osmeña said he wants Cebu to be able to adjust to a changing world and to develop a new kind of economic culture.

He said an economic milestone had occurred while he was away in Houston, Texas, with the signing of the P25 billion-joint venture contract with Filinvest Land Incorporated, the SRP’s first sale.

Osmeña said he will work on the policy direction of the SRP and make a follow through with other clients and locators.

The signing of the contract to him is not success in itself, but a beginning of more work especially with the looming recession.

Osmeña explained to the crowd that the city loaned P3 billion in 1998 for the SRP, but the amount had ballooned to P6 billion due to inflation.

Each square meter of land at the SRP, Osmeña said, now costs the city around P2,000.

With FLI buying the first 10 hectares at P1 billion or P15,000 for every square meter, the City earned for itself around P13,000 per square meter. That is why, Osmeña said, he wants the senior citizens to be the first to receive the fruits of the SRP sale.

“Para sad sila makatilaw, we are giving them a lump sum of P2,000 their birthday and Christmas gifts,” he said.

He said there were many who offered, but he rejected these as these were not favorable to the city.

“We have to help FLI make a lot of money because it would shoot up the value of the rest of the SRP,” he said.

He said he will be in Manila tomorrow to talk with officers of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to discuss the foreshore lease applications and to meet with the next in line locators.

Although he does not want to disclose the names of these entities, but there are reports negotiations are about to be finalized with Pueblo de Oro Consortium and SM Prime Holdings Incorporated.

Osmeña will be visited by no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the evening of the 13th for a personal visit.

He said he does not have any major issue to discuss with the President except that he will again make followups on the other necessities of the SRP.

Mayor’s Health

In his close to 30-minute speech, Osmeña also briefed the people about his health condition.

He said that once he will return to Houston, Texas on March 30, he will be subjected to a surgery at the MD Anderson Cancer Center where his doctors will finally remove the portion of his urinary bladder that has cancer.

The mayor had already undergone chemotherapy sessions just to kill the virus and to prevent the cancer from affecting the other parts of his body. “Mao na nga naupaw na ko, apan mobalik ra gihapon pagtubo ang akong buhok,” he said.

One up to 10 days every after a chemotherapy session, the patient will have weaker resistance due to the strong radiation, and usually the patients will only regain their strength after 10 days.

Osmeña admitted that he was about 60 per cent weaker yesterday although he is now slowly gaining back his strength.

There was no hand shaking between the mayor and his political supporters and friends after the speech, because he was quickly escorted by the security personnel to his office at the eighth floor of the City Hall annex building.

Despite several visitors, Osmeña granted the media an interview and he admitted that his doctors haven’t assured him that he is already out of risk.

Even after the doctors will be successful in removing the portion of his urinary bladder that has cancer, Osmeña said there is no assurance yet that he is already safe.

After the removal of the cancerous portion of Osmeña’s urinary bladder, the mayor will be subjected to a general check and evaluation of his condition.

When asked how he felt now compared to those months before he was subjected to chemotherapy, Osmeña said, “Mora lang g’yod og wala ko’y problema sa lawas.”

The mayor said his doctors did not prevent him from eating any kinds of food, although he was discouraged from taking acidic food and drinks. —/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)

Cebu mayor is back (South Road Properties)

2009-03-11T09:10:00.001+08:00

CEBU CITY -- Mayor Tomas Osmeña arrived Tuesday morning, immediately took over from Acting Mayor Michael Rama, and spoke of preparing the local economy for “dark clouds on the horizon.”

In a press conference, Osmeña said resolving the manifesto of some barangay captains who pushed for a Raul del Mar-Tomas Osmeña tandem in the 2010 elections is not his priority. Rama will resume working as vice mayor for two weeks.

During these weeks, Osmeña said he would rather focus on meeting more potential investors for the South Road Properties (SRP) and help Filinvest Land Inc. earn more money.

“Whatever the problem is, it is the problem of the vice mayor. I’m not going to waste my time taking up this issue,” he told reporters immediately after addressing a crowd gathered at the Plaza Sugbu outside the Legislative Building.

He said he will not waste his energy trying to sort out the issues, as he wants to leave his mind fresh to attend to his priorities in the two weeks that he is back as mayor.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the mayor has to be back in the United States on March 28 for surgery.

His priority, Osmeña said, is “to establish a policy direction for the SRP,” and to meet with other interested investors of the SRP, whom he declined to identify.

He is also meeting with FLI officials in a dinner Wednesday night to assure them that helping the company “earn a lot of money” is foremost on his mind. He wants FLI to start development right away.

The mayor explained that if the FLI earns because of its 10-hectare purchase and 40-hectare joint venture agreement with the city, the market value of the remaining 250 lots will soar because others would be enticed to pour money in the SRP.

“If Filinvest doesn’t make money, nobody will invest (in the SRP),” Osmeña said.

That is why, he said, he “will not waste (his) time” resolving the barangay chiefs’ manifesto, signed by 40 of the 80 captains.

He, however, told the crowd during the homecoming reception Tuesday afternoon that the election is near so “intrigues are flying about.”

Choices

Without reiterating his earlier endorsement of Rama and City Hall education consultant Joy Augustus Young, he assured the Cebuanos that “whatever (his) decision will be, it is for the interest of the city.”

In a separate interview, Young, a former city councilor and party-list congressman, said disagreements in choices among party members are what have kept the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) alive through the years.

He said Osmeña encourages them to speak out, and coming up with a manifesto is one such form of expression.

In his speech, Osmeña said the city will give the P1,000 Christmas cash gift and another P1,000 as birthday gift for each senior citizen this year from the P250-million surplus last year and the P348-million FLI down payment given last week for the SRP lots Filinvest will develop.

His speech dwelt much on the SRP, which he said will secure the economic future of the city.

He again explained that while the city incurred a P6-billion debt in constructing the SRP, the return on investment is big. For the P2,000 it spent to develop each square meter, for example, the sale price is P15,000, he said.

Osmeña said while there is a recession in the United States and many other countries, the city is “very well-positioned.”

“There are dark clouds on the horizon…. My objective is not only to earn money but to create a good economy,” he said. “We cannot depend on the National Government to save us. We will be part of the solution, not the problem.” (RHM/Sun.Star Cebu)

Filinvest to pay city P338 million on Thursday (South Road Properties)

2009-03-05T20:51:00.000+08:00

Updated March 03, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines – Instead of today, Filinvest Land Inc. will hand over the P338 million first payment of its joint venture agreement for developing 50.6 hectares of the South Road Properties on Thursday.

Cebu City Hall still needs to finalize the technical description of the lots at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

One or two titles will be turned over to FLI, which will convey an initial two hectares as a result of the first payment.

The mother title of the 10-hectare outright purchase will then be taken from the Land Bank of the Philippines to be brought to the Registry of Deeds.

After that the remaining eight hectares will join the 40 hectares to be placed on an escrow account.

The 40 hectares are the first part of the contract that will be developed under a joint venture agreement.

Cebu City acting vice mayor Hilario Davide III yesterday met with city administrator Francisco Fernandez and acting mayor Michael Rama on whether a resolution is needed for the conveyance of the titles alongside the payment.

But Fernandez said a resolution is no longer needed since the contract signed last January was already all-encompassing.

“The moment the contract was signed, it was already a ‘catch all’, the mayor is already authorized to sign the Deed of Sale and others, which are consequences of the contract,” Fernandez said.

FLI is the SRP’s first sale since its reclamation was completed in 2005. In the next six months FLI will start to develop infrastructures.

The memorandum of agreement for the Visayan Electric Company for power distribution at the SRP is already set for discussion by the City Council tomorrow during its regular session.

The document for the creation of a Joint Venture Selection Committee to deal with the proposal of Pilipinas Water Resources Inc. for water supply is already with Rama awaiting his signature. — Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)

City richer by P348 million by Thursday (South Road Properties)

2009-03-04T20:48:00.000+08:00

THE Cebu City government will be receiving P348 million by Thursday as the Filinvest Land Inc. is set to make its first payment of the land it bought at the South Road Properties (SRP).

With the payment, the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), the city's escrow agent, will release to the Filinvest duplicate copies of the certificates of title for the sold property.

The title that would be released to the Filinvest today would still be under the name of the city but a deed of absolute sale would be issued so that the Filinvest could start working on transferring the titles under its name.

The city was supposed to get the first payment today, however, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) did not release the properties' technical description.

Cebu City Administrator Francisco Fernandez assured of getting the documents from the DENR before the 30 day period after the signing of the contract.

According to the Joint Venture contract between the city government and the Filinvest, the LBP has the obligation to release the duplicate copies of the land title to the possession and custody of the Filinvest upon the receipt of the payments. The city would also issue the deed of absolute sale of the property that was paid in installment basis.

The city entered into a Joint Venture contract with the Filinvest to develop a 50.6 hectare property of the SRP worth P25 billion.

The contract involves the development of the 40 hectare joint venture property as well as the purchase of the 10.6 hectare in Pond F.

“We have reviewed the documents and we are ready to sign,” said Fernandez, chairman of the Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) for the Filinvest deal.

He said the City Council need not issue a resolution authorizing acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to receive the first payment and to sign the documents pertaining to the sale and the transfer of title.

“A resolution is not needed as the contract was a catch all,” Fernandez said.

When the mayor was authorized by the City Council to sign the contract, it is already incumbent that the mayor will be signing all the documents which are the effect of the monumental signing of the JV contract last Feb. 2.

A representative of the Cebu City Hall was tasked to go to the LBP yesterday to have the title subdivided in the Registry of Deeds under an escrow arrangement.

REPORTER MARIAN Z. CODILLA

Filinvest to pay City for South Road Properties lots

2009-03-03T20:44:00.000+08:00

CEBU City Hall will not get Filinvest Land Inc.’s (FLI) P338-million down payment today as earlier expected after city officials failed to secure a document from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The document is a requirement in the joint venture contract to develop a 50.6-hectare area of the South Road Properties (SRP).

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said last night that the scheduled signing of the deed of sale and the turnover of FLI’s first payment will not push through today and is postponed to March 5.

Fernandez said they do not consider it a delay because the schedule of payment is 30 days after the awarding and signing of the joint venture contract, which falls on March 5 and not March 3.

“We lack one document from the DENR. Something was left out, the technical description of the SRP lots, but that is not a
problem because the 30th day is not March 3 but March 5, so we will get it on Thursday. It’s no big deal,” he said.

Signing

Other than the technical description of the 10.6-hectare lot purchased by FLI and the 40-hectare joint development properties, the City has prepared the other documents and requirements specified in the contract before Acting Mayor Michael Rama and FLI officials sign the deed of sale.

Fernandez said the City is also prepared to turn over the title of a two-hectare portion to FLI.

The titles of the 10.6-hectare Pond F area of the SRP that are mortgaged with the Land Bank of the Philippines were delivered to the Registry of Deeds yesterday, so they could be split into several titles covering two hectares each.

This would allow the City to turn over one title to FLI so it could comply with one of the firm’s requirements before it starts the development project.

“The title for the two-hectare portion will still be in the name of the City Government but it will be released to FLI... As for the titles of the remaining 48 hectares, it will be returned to Land Bank and will be covered by an escrow agreement until all obligations in the joint venture agreement are settled,” Fernandez said. (LCR)

New team eyed to review South Road Properties water supply proposal

2009-03-02T20:11:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu City acting Mayor Michael Rama is expected to sign this week the creation of a new Joint Venture Selection Committee which will go over the unsolicited proposal of Pilipinas Water Resources Inc. for the supply of water to the entire South Road Properties.

City administrator Francisco Fernandez said that the document creating the JVSC for PWRI is already on the table of Rama waiting for his signature.

Included in the creation of JVSC is its composition which according to Fernandez will still be composed of members of the former JVSC who dealt with the P25-billion proposal of Filinvest Land, Inc.

Fernandez was the chairman of the JVSC dealing with FLI. The latter will already render the down payment worth P338 million to the city government.

According to the unsolicited offer submitted by Antonio Tompar of PWRI, the city will be paid P10 for every cubic meter of water generated and distributed from the city’s existing desalination plant and P5 per cubic meter from any new desalination plant.

The rate of P1.50 for every cubic meter will be paid for non-potable, P5 per cubic meter for sewage treated water from existing facility and P2.50 from the new sewage facility.

Its key components include commissioning and operation of the city’s desalination plant, operation of the city’s sewage treatment plant, provision of necessary water structures, and connection and metering.

The existing desalination plant, which has not been operated commercially since its construction in 2000, has a capacity of about 650 cubic meters of potable water daily.

Its capacity is intended for the demand of the administration building and the first locator of Pond F.

The necessary water structures they assured to construct include a reservoir, additional waster supply, additional sewage treatment, additional potable water distribution system, additional non-potable water and fire hydrants.

The joint venture will cover 25 years and is renewable every 10 years.

Fernandez said that just like the FLI, after the composition of the JVSC will follow the crafting of the terms of reference followed by the publication of notice to interested parties to qualify and submit their respective competitive challenge.

Meanwhile, the Memorandum of Agreement for the electric supply to SRP by the Visayan Electric Company is already up for discussion in the City Council this Wednesday.

FLI has already scheduled first-phase developments on both the 10.6-hectare outright purchase and the 40 hectares under joint venture. — Ferliza C. Contratista/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)

Once he is back: Tomas to focus on sale of South Road Properties

2009-03-01T22:12:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu City Mayor on-leave Tomas Osmeña, who is expected to be back more than a week from now for a brief vacation, said he does not have any major project to implement when he officially takes back the reins of the City Hall on March 10.

What the mayor plans to do during his three-week stay in Cebu City is to help in the negotiation with the prospective buyers for the sale of more lots at the South Road Properties (SRP).

The barangay officials in the city also want to hold their first quarterly assembly while Osmeña is here so he could attend and possibly give them instructions on how they could be of help in making the city economically healthy.

The mayor earlier announced that there are a lot of businessmen who want to invest at the 295-hectare facility, but the city is choosy on the kind of business that investors want to put up by making sure they could generate employment for Cebuanos.

Osmeña, who is still in Houston, Texas for the treatment of the cancer in his urinary bladder, said there is an investor who wished to build a huge hospital at the SRP, and said the hospital company is accredited with the US-based insurance companies.

With that, Osmeña expects that many of the retirees from the United States may decide to stay in Cebu City because they would not find difficulty anymore if they need medical care.

According to him, the Cebu-based hospitals are accredited with any of the US-based insurance companies where many US-Filipino Americans are insured.

After his seventh chemotherapy session, Osmeña is required to rest for two weeks before he will undergo a complete physical check-up and then surgical operation will follow to finally remove the part of his urinary bladder that is afflicted with cancer.

The mayor has asked permission from his attending doctors to allow him to return to Cebu City during his two-week rest. — Rene U. Borromeo/WAB (THE FREEMAN)

Titling Pond A (South Road Properties)

2009-02-28T19:40:00.000+08:00

AFTER the first sale at the South Road Properties (SRP), Cebu City Hall will now work on the titling of the remaining 60-hectare unfilled Pond A, but the area will not be reclaimed.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña is scheduled to meet with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Lito Atienza on March 12 to discuss the titling and to secure a foreshore lease agreement for the entire waterfront area of the 302-hectare SRP.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the City Government will be leasing the shores of the 10.6-hectare Pond F for Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI’s) beach front development project.

Old concept

“Mayor Tom will discuss all these things with Secretary Atienza. They said it can’t be titled because it’s all water but that’s an old concept. We want to develop that area to have villas on stilts, that’s the new concept, a trend in urban waterfront development so that will be our contention when we ask for it to be titled,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

Fernandez said that Pond A will be used for a high-end development project, which will be patterned after structures of the man-made islands in Dubai, U.A.E. and the houses that stand on canals in Venice, Italy.

As for the beachfront development, FLI and the City intends to construct a promenade, baywalk and other structures along the shore of Pond F, which FLI will develop into a cluster of high-rise hotels and condominiums.

Lease agreement

Fernandez said it will be easier and faster if the City will be the one to secure the foreshore lease agreement and not FLI, which purchased the 10.6-hectare property.

“Pond A right now is all water but its titling should be allowed already because development concepts have changed.

Anyway, it’s already surrounded by land. The mayor will argue that when he talks to Secretary Atienza. He will also bring up the foreshore lease, whether it’s possible or not, that’s still subject for discussion,” he said.

In a phone interview yesterday, DENR 7 technical director for land management Diana Apistar said the regional office cannot decide if Pond A can be titled as it is, since it’s the central office that decides on such matters.

She said, however, that titling of unfilled properties may be done “on a case-to-case basis.”

“That would require a special patent and it’s the Manila office that decides on those things. Case-to-case basis kasi iyan,” Apistar said.

In September 2005, the City Government was able to secure the certificate of titles for 210 hectares of reclaimed land within the SRP.

The 60-hectare unfilled Pond A, the close to three-hectare portion claimed by the Ting family, and at least 20 hectares of roads and sidewalks are the only remaining untitled portions of the 302-hectare facility.

Also, City Hall has completed all but one of the requirements before FLI turns over on March 3 its P348-million down payment for the joint venture undertaking with the City.

Fernandez said they just have to secure the escrow agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), for the latter to take possession of the titles of all lots covered by the join venture activity. (LCR)

Filinvest to pay city P338 million next week (South Road Properties)

2009-02-28T09:26:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines - Filinvest Land Inc. will turn over the P338-million first down payment check to the Cebu City government on Tuesday.

The P338 million is part of the payment for the 10.6-hectare lot at the beach front of the South Road Properties which FLI is buying as an outright purchase after a joint venture agreement signed by both parties last month.

The down payment is pursuant to the provisions of the contract for FLI to make the first payment 30 days after the signing.

Two titles will be turned over to FLI by the city in exchange for the down payment.

The other part of the contract includes the 40 hectares under joint venture assuring the city an income share from the number of units developed and sold by FLI.

The total cost of the FLI project is P25 billion in 25 years.

The city will also create another joint venture, this time for the water utility provider for the entire 302-hectare SRP.

Acting Mayor Michael Rama is set to compose the Joint Venture Selection Committee to tackle the unsolicited proposal of Pilipinas Water Resource Inc.

Water and electricity, city administrator Francisco Fernandez said, had to be finalized the soonest since FLI is set to develop the first phases of the two areas for the next six months.

FLI will construct a cluster of high-rise buildings on the seafront, medical and retirement facilities, commercial and residential buildings and office spaces.

It is the city’s first sale of the SRP in three years. — Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)

Tomas to get back his job (South Road Properties)

2009-02-27T19:38:00.001+08:00

CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will assume full power as mayor when he comes home for a three-week vacation on March 8.

Osmeña, 60, has been on medical leave since October last year for medical treatment.

Osmeña will have a busy schedule when he arrives, with several meetings and consultations with city councilors, barangay officials, City Hall department heads, police officials and the different commissions of the City Government.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said yesterday that the mayor will stay in Cebu for at least two weeks. He will then fly back to Houston, Texas for further treatment of his urinary bladder cancer.

“I will assume as mayor. I will need to use my staff and office facilities. I will also be hosting several activities and consultations. Department heads, councilors, barangay officials, police, commissions, etcetera, they will officially report to
me,” he said in a text message sent from the Bahamas, when asked if he would still be on sick leave while in Cebu.

Osmeña, 60, has just finished his chemotherapy to help cure his stage three urinary bladder cancer. He will have a three-week break from treatment before he proceeds with the surgery to remove his bladder.

After his chemotherapy, he decided to go on a cruise in the Bahamas with Margot and son Miguel.

The Osmeñas are expected to arrive on March 8, City Information Officer Nagiel Bañacia said.

Bañacia said that among the activities the mayor is expected to attend is the awarding ceremony for the top 75 business and real estate tax payers of the City on March 15.

He is also scheduled to meet with Environment Secretary Lito Atienza on March 12 to discuss matters involving the South Road Properties (SRP).

But in a phone interview last night, City Treasurer Rene Empaces said the awarding of the top taxpayers is still a proposal of her office, and will need the approval of the Cebu City Council and the Office of the Mayor.

The City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) has a list of the top 75 taxpayers, but Empaces said it will not be released until it is approved.

“We are fine-tuning the list but we cannot provide the details yet because the proposed activity has not even been approved by the Council. It’s still a proposal, as part of our activities and it will only become official once the council approves it,” Empaces said.

Council to tackle South Road Properties power supply next week

2009-02-26T20:46:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Council has postponed the discussion on the proposed memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Visayan Electric Company (VECO) and the Cebu City government for power distribution at the South Road Properties.

The MOA was supposed to be taken up yesterday but the council has decided to cancel yesterday’s regular session to give councilors time to have a break after the celebration of the city’s 72nd Charter Day on Tuesday.

City administrator Francisco Fernandez said the MOA was submitted by Cebu Investment and Promotion Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari Yu to him only last Friday and he immediately referred it to the council for approval.

Fernandez said the council may take it up and act on it immediately or refer it to the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).

It was decided earlier by the city officials and mayor on-leave Tomas Osmeña to let the VECO supply power to the SRP considering that the facility still falls under the franchise area of the power firm.

Under the MOA, VECO will pay the city 20 centavos for every kilowatt-hour of electricity supplied to the locators of SRP.

Fernandez said that at present, the city has no choice but to tap VECO because they are not capacitated to connect directly to the National Power Corporation.

He said Napocor might set a minimum requirement which is hard to attain for now since there is no evident demand yet. The city is now fast-tracking the putting up of utilities because Filinvest Land Inc. is expected to start the development of the 50.6-hectare area in less than six months.

For the water supply, the city is also set to compose soon the Joint Venture Selection Committee that will look into the unsolicited proposal of Pilipinas Water Resources Inc. — Ferliza C. Contratista/WAB (THE FREEMAN)

FLI to pay downpayment for South Road Properties lots this March 3

2009-02-19T21:53:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines - Filinvest Land Incorporated (FLI) will be paying the P348 million down payment to the city government on March 3 for the recently-awarded P25 billion project to develop a portion of the South Road Properties (SRP).

Tristan Las Marias, FLI vice president for the Visayas and Mindanao said, the expected down payment date is on March 3, or 30 days after the signing of the joint venture contract by both parties.

The P348 million down payment is for the outright purchase of 10.6 hectares worth P1.5 billion.

The balance will be paid in a span of three years.

Lawyers of FLI are in town to represent the company on discussions pertaining to actual surveys, titling, securing of foreshore rights and other administrative and government consents for the validity and enforceability of the outright purchase.

Assistant City Treasurer Emma Villarete said, they already have a Letter of Credit amounting to P250 million which will expire on March 4, 30 days after the February 3 signing.

“By that time we can already collect the initial down payment from the bank that issued the LC,” Villarete said.

FLI will then pay the balance to complete the P348 million down payment on the same day.

The initial P250 million LC was then a placed as a guarantee fund for their unsolicited proposal covering 10 percent of the total project price.

Villarete said the down payment is already enough to cover the first semi annual payment of the P6 billion-loan of the city from Japan in 1994.

The first part of the agreement is for the 40-hectare joint venture development, which assures the city an income of 10 percent gross sales of built up units or a guaranteed premium, whichever amount is higher.

FLI is the first buyer of the SRP in three years since its completion.

The city is already finalizing the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the electricity provider, Visayan Electric Company (VECO). A Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) is also to be formed to evaluate the proposal of Pilipinas Water.

Utilities have to be in place since FLI is set to start development in six months. — Ferliza C. Contratista/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)

Council okays South Road Properties lot donation to UP

2009-02-14T19:20:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Council has approved the committee report giving authority to acting Mayor Michael Rama to pursue donating a lot of the South Road Properties to the University of the Philippines.

This after the Committee on Laws headed by councilor Edgardo Labella, reviewed the resolution and recommended its approval.

The resolution authored by councilor Jose Daluz III which authorized Rama to execute and sign the Deed of Donation in favor of UP was referred to the said committee two weeks ago

According to Labella’s committee report, the proposed resolution is within the power of the city council to enact considering that a local government can grant loans or provide grants to educational institutions as part of its duties and functions.

Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa, earlier called for the resolution’s deferment doubting the capacity of UP or the national government to start or sustain the project.

Abellanosa cited properties of UP Cebu which are in Lahug and also in Lawaan, Talisay City, which are now claimed and occupied by squatters.

He suggested other school options which can sufficiently support and start the project especially as the SRP is a prime lot.

Last Wednesday and prior to the approval of the committee report, Abellanosa then asked for specific plans of UP but Labella reasoned said it is already mention in the deed of donation.

Labella said UP is under condition to use the property as part of its flagship Centennial Project to offer programs in the fields of computational science, product design and packaging, communications design, management sciences, mathematics and the arts and humanities in the Visayan and ASEAN regions.

Labella also said the property will be taken back by the city should UP fail to construct the needed infrastructures in three years time.

With this Abellanosa agreed for the approval of the committee report.

The city intends to donate to UP, Lot 1-G-Part, situated in the SRP with an area of 51,372 square meters.

UP graduates are seen to boost manpower of locators soon to be established in SRP. — Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)

Water, power deals for South Road Properties to be finished this month

2009-02-13T19:18:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines - The negotiations for the water and power utilities for the South Road Properties will be finalized before the end of the month.

Developments at the SRP are now fast-paced with the finalizations of negotiations for the water and electricity providers, according to Joel Mari Yu, head of the Cebu Investment and Promotions Center, the marketing arm of the SRP.

For water, Yu said he may submit on Monday his evaluation on the proposal of Pilipinas Water Resources Inc. to city administrator Francisco Fernandez who will submit this to acting Mayor Michael Rama.

Rama is part of the Joint Venture Selection Committee that will look over the water proposal and also come up with the provisions for the requirement of other entities interested to bid.

The treatment of the water proposal is like the processing of the Filinvest Land Inc. proposal which is under joint venture,

Once the terms of reference of the joint venture are in place, there will be a publication of notice for interested bidders, submission of bids and awarding of the project.

On the other hand, the city government has decided to let the Visayan Electric Company supply electricity to the 306-hectare area considering that the SRP is within the jurisdiction of the franchise.

Yu said the memorandum of agreement will be finalized next week followed by a resolution authorizing Rama to sign the document.

Both utilities will be charged with distribution fee per kilowatt-hour and per cubic meter considering that the SRP is operating as a special economic zone.

The FLI legal group will be in town next week for the legalities on the initial transfer of titles of the two hectares which were conditioned to be conveyed by the city government after the payment of the P330-million down payment.

FLI was awarded recently to develop 50.6-hectare area for residential and commercial spaces at a P25-billion investment. — Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN

City to give employees long held off allowances (South Road Properties)

2009-02-10T06:16:00.000+08:00

CEBU, Philippines – As early as now, Cebu City Hall is experiencing part of the fruits of the first sale at the South Road Properties.

This as the City Hall employees will receive their Additional Compensation Allowance and Personnel Emergency Relief Allowance which was supposed to be released in 2006 yet.

Acting mayor Michael Rama yesterday announced during the weekly flag-raising ceremony that the over 4,000 city government employees may receive the 2006 ACA and PERA allowances in time for the 72nd Charter Day celebration.

A supplemental budget will be crafted by council committee on budget and finance which will legalize the release.

City administrator Francisco Fernandez said the giving of ACA and PERA started in 2006 but the city at that time could not afford it yet because of the payments for the SRP.

Now with a surplus of over P250 million from 2008 and with the recent closure of the first bulk sale of the SRP, the city can now extend the long-delayed allowances to the employees.

PERA and ACA was already raised to P1,000 each in 2007.

The city made its first sale recently with Filinvest Land Inc. for the development of 50.6 hectares for modern commercial and housing center.

The total contract is P25 billion, which entitled the city a down payment of P250 million. — Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)

Body to study proposed water source at South Road Properties

2009-02-09T19:07:00.000+08:00

CEBU – Following the recent signing of the joint venture agreement between the city government and the Filinvest Land Inc., the city will form another committee that will choose the company that will supply water to the South Road Properties.

Cebu City administrator Francisco Fernandez said acting mayor Michael Rama is expected to issue a memorandum soon to form a new committee to tackle the unsolicited proposal of Pilipinas Water Resources Inc.

“It may be the same composition as with the JVSC that tackled the Filinvest proposal or other persons may be appointed. It’s the mayor’s discretion,” Fernandez said.

However, there are reports that the new committee may be composed of the same persons that earlier studied the FLI’s proposal.

Joel Mari Yu, managing director of the Cebu Investment Promotions Center, the marketing arm of the SRP, said utilities such as water and electricity should already be finalized now that FLI is expected to start developing the portion covered by the deal in the next six months.

FLI will first develop the 10.6 hectares that is covered by the outright purchase for the high-end residential and commercial spaces as well as the first phase for the 40-hectare lot that is under joint venture with the city.

Yu admitted that before Mayor Tomas Osmeña left for Houston, Texas, to seek treatment of the cancer in his urinary bladder in October, the mayor had instructed him and SRP manager Nagiel Bañacia to award the contract for the water provider under a joint venture.

The city has already chosen to get electricity from the Visayan Electric Company because SRP is still under its franchise area.

Yu said all utilities will have to pay distribution fee to the city government considering that SRP is a special economic zone.

Presently, a desalination plant with a capacity to produce 800 cubic meters of potable water per day is already operational at the SRP that supplies the water needs of the Bigfoot Entertainment complex and construction activities in the next two years.

In the event the city awards the contract to PWRI, a consortium of Mactan Rock Industries Inc. and the Lhuillier Group, the city will ask it also to operate the desalination plant at the SRP and to provide all necessary water infrastructures inclusive of the pumping stations, reservoirs and pipes.

Once the new committee is formed, it will post a notice inviting other private entities to submit a challenge against the proposal of PWRI. — Ferliza C. Contratista/WAB (THE FREEMAN)

2 has. turned over to FLI in March (South Road Properties)

2009-02-05T20:08:00.013+08:00

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)

No harm in donating South Road Properties lot to UP - Yu

2009-02-05T08:16:00.001+08:00

Sugbu Buillding during Christmas Season

Updated February 05, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU - The Cebu Investment and Promotion Center, the marketing arm of the South Road Properties, is confident that the city will not be at a loss if it donates a parcel of land at the SRP to the University of the Philippines.

CIPC head Joel Mari Yu explained that there are sufficient safeguards and guarantees placed within the contract for the donation, one of which is the provision that the city can recover the property if UP fails to start a project or fail to put up the agreed number of structures therein within three years.

“If within three years, the UP administration failed to start the project, or failed to put up the minimum number of structures, then Cebu City gets back the property,” Yu said.

Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña has wanted UP to offer masters degree programs at a separate campus at the SRP. Osmeña specifically wanted the university to offer a master’s degree on accountancy to those that would be employed by locators at the SRP.

“It is the Mayor’s vision to have a portion of SRP as the center for Information Technology,” Yu said.

Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa earlier has asked to defer the approval of the resolution covering the Deed of Donation, saying the move involves a very high risk, one of which is the capacity of the national government to allocate sufficient funds to start and sustain a new project for the university.

UP itself has failed to recover its properties in barangay Lahug and a big chunk of land in barangay Lawaan in Talisay City, which are now being occupied by illegal settlers.

Abellanosa then proposed to open the donation to other universities like Ateneo and La Salle before the city arrives at a decision. — Ferliza C. Contratista/JMO (THE FREEMAN)

Water, electricity in South Road Properties in six months – exec

2009-02-05T08:10:00.003+08:00

By Jully Venus Cuizon, Correspondent

THE Cebu City government is confident of accomplishing its part of the deal with Filinvest Land Inc. to develop the 50.6 hectare of South Road Properties (SRP).
Francisco Fernandez, chairman of the Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) , said yesterday that the city will comply with the conditions of the joint venture contract worth P25 billion, not P250 million as reported yesterday.
This means that the water and electricity systems will be in place at the SRP within six months.

The joint venture contract was signed on Wednesday by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Filinvest vice chairman Andrew Gotianon Jr.
The signing seals the JV deal between the city and Filinvest.
Under the contract, the Filinvest is given six months to get the necessary permits and start developing the 40 hectares at the SRP in August.
The signing of the contract also means that Filinvest will pay the city within 30 days the P348 million in downpayment for the outright sale of another 10.6 hectares, which was part of the JV deal.
On the part of the city, the JV contract stipulates that the city government should ensure that power and the water system has been installed before Filinvest will start to operate.
But there are such utilities yet in SRP yet.
Fernandez said there is existing wiring for power connection to the Visayan Electric Company but the city government is still negotiating with Veco to supply the electricity at the SRP.
The negotiations were done with Veco because the firm is the franchisee of power for the SRP and all parts of Cebu, said Joel Mari Yu, managing director of Cebu City Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC), which is the marketing arm of SRP.
Yu said Veco, however, will have to pay the city concession if the negotiations will prosper.
Veco will have to pay SRP a concession fee per kilowatt hour because the SRP is a special economic zone, he added.
Yu cited an amount between 20 centavos and 25 centavos per kilowatt hour as power concession fee.
But he said that this figures had yet to be approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
It's a different story for the water utility.
The city government is considering an unsolicited proposal for a joint venture deal for a total concession for water operations within the SRP.
“Total Concession means that they do everything themselves. They will operate, maintain, build, collect, repair and install the pipes at no cost for the city,” Yu said.
He said that the water concessioner will have to pay for everything because they are the ones selling the water in SRP.
They will also be required to pay the concession fee for every cubic meter of water sold at the SRP.
Yu, however, said that the water deal will have to be bidded out unlike the Veco negotiations.
Fernandez said that the city government is evaluating the unsolicited proposal of Mactan Rock Industries Inc. to provide the water operations in SRP.
Fernandez said another investor interested in supplying water at the SRP is Pilipinas water.
The proposals, however, had yet to be discussed and reviewed by the JVSC. If it accepts the proposal, then it will go to the City Council.
Meanwhile, the Cebu City Council said donating a 51,000-square meter lot in the SRP to the University of the Philippines will not be a disadvantage to the city.
City Councilors earlier questioned the UP's financial capability to build a school in the lot.
Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa opposed the motion to authorize Rama to sign the deed of donation to UP on Jan. 28.
Abellanosa, who owns Asian College of Technology, cited a lot in Talisay City that was donated to UP but has remained unused.
But Yu said that UP is obliged to put up a school building in three years after the deed of the donation is signed or else the property will be taken back by the city government.
Yu said the arrangement which is within the contract between the city and the university is still pending at the City Council's committee on laws and education.
Abellanosa earlier suggested to donate the property to Ateneo University or De La Salle University, which has the capacity to develop the lot.
But Yu said that UP was the choice of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña because of the school's track record for Information Technology (IT) graduates.
Yu said UP is considered has the best IT training in the country.
Yu said the presence of the university in the SRP increases the marketability of the property.

With a report from Reporter Marian Z. Codilla

Contract signed at last: Filinvest, city ink South Road Properties venture deal

2009-02-04T08:46:00.009+08:00

Cebu City acting mayor Michael Rama (left) shakes hands with Filinvest Land Incorporated president Andrew Gotianun Jr. after the signing of the joint venture agreement. ALDO NELBERT BANAYNAL

By Ferliza C. Contratista Updated February 04, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU - Finally a sale!

The Cebu City Government and Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) yesterday signed a joint venture agreement for the development of 50.6 hectares in the South Road Properties (SRP).

“Finally, the long route of wanting to seal this agreement has come, after all the hard work, we thank everybody and the Sto. Niño for protecting the SRP,” said Acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.

Rama, after having been given authority by the City Council, signed the contract with Andrew Gotianun, president of FLI with the city councilors and members of the Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) as witnesses.

Rama made special mention and requested a warm round of applause to Cebu City Mayor on Leave Tomas Osmeña for being responsible in building the dream and realizing the SRP project.

Osmeña expressed his thanks and happiness in a text message sent to Rama over yesterday’s momentous development.

JVSC Chairman and City Administrator Francisco Fernandez along with Cebu Investment Promotion Center head Joel Mari Yu were all smiles after going through a tough negotiation for the best interest of Cebu City in the said deal.

“All’s well that ends well,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez said he is thankful that everything turned out positive for Cebu City despite certain hitches along the way, which were considered as “sweet challenges” for the forging of the agreement with FLI.

JVSC proceeded with the awarding of the P25 billion project last week after no other qualified interested party submitted its intent to challenge FLI’s unsolicited proposal.

The Provincial Government attempted to qualify, but was not able to qualify to submit a competitive challenge.

In the next 30 days, FLI will already make a down payment of P348 million, from the first part of the contract, which is the outright purchase of 10.6 hectares amounting to P1.592 billion. The balance will be payable in the next three years.

The said amount is enough to cover the first semi annual payment of the P6 billion-loan of the city.

Yu, who acted as the main negotiator of the city government panel said there will be four payments in three years, first the down payment of P348 million, followed by another payment prior to the end of the 2009, the second will be on 2010 and finally in 2011.

On the other hand, the second part of the contract covers 40 hectares to be developed under a joint venture.

He said the city is assured of an income from 10 percent gross sales of built up units or a guaranteed premium, whichever amount is higher.

After the signing, Yu said, the next step is the finalization of the putting up of utilities such as water and electricity.

It has to be done, Yu said, since FLI is expected to start constructing in the next six months.

On the other hand, Yu said, they are entertaining the unsolicited proposal of Mactan Rock International, for the provision of water in the entire SRP area, under a joint venture.

Just like FLI, the same process will be observed with Mactan Rock as it will face competitive challenges from private entities.

Since the SRP was opened for sale, lease or joint venture in 2007, the city has only leased out a three-hectare portion to Bigfoot Global Solutions.

On behalf of Gotianun, Tristan Las Marias, FLI VP for Visayas and Mindanao, said that the hard work is not over as it is yet to start.

He said they will start developing as soon as their master development plan will be finalized.

Other than the FLI offer, Yu said they are also negotiating with SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Land and Pueblo de Oro for the sale of other portions of the SRP. –/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)

Cebu City soon to get P348-M for South Road Properties land

2009-02-03T09:11:00.000+08:00

Cebu City will soon receive P348 million from the Filinvest Land Inc. as down payment for the outright purchase of a 10.6-hectare lot at the South Road Properties (SRP).

The City Council yesterday authorized the mayor to sign the contract after the Cebu City committee on laws determined that the Joint Venture (JV) contract between the Cebu City government and the Filinvest was legal.

But acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said that he would have to study the contract first before signing.

Cebu City Administrator Francisco Fernandez, who is also the chairman of the Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC), said the Council only authorized the mayor to sign the contract and does not mandate Rama to sign it.

But he said he hoped that Rama would agree with the provisions in the contract.

Rama assured his review would not take long as he would be the last person to stop the project.

Tristan Las Marias, Filinvest vice president for the Visayas and Mindanao, asked the city to transfer the title of the two hectares of the 10.6-hectare property covered in the outright purchase to Filinvest once they hand over the down payment.

Upon the signing of the contract, FLI will pay the city P348 million as down payment for the 10.6 hectares which is an “integrated and indivisible” part of the JV contract.

Fernandez said the city will release the titles after receiving payment of Filinvest.

The real estate developer will directly give their installment to the Land Bank of the Philippines being the escrow agent. The LBP will release the titles to the company.

Aside from the outright purchase of the 10.6 hectares, FLI will also develop a 40- hectare property under a profit sharing agreement.

Las Marias said they wanted to lump the two components to make sure that they can give the city P1.5 billion in three years time because it is one of the conditions of the project.

Filinvest will compensate the 10.6-hectare property of the city by annual installment of about P250 million plus 10 percent of the revenues of the developed areas, according to Joel Mari Yu, Cebu Investment Promotions Center managing director and the negotiator of the development.

But Tinago barangay councilor and opposition leader Joel Garganera questioned the realization of this assurance.

“It is not clear if the city can get P1.5 billion in three years because how can there be a gross sale. Can they construct a building within three years,” Garganera asked in Cebuano.

Fernandez, however, said that the first deal for the SRP is the most integral part of the development of the entire SRP.

“The first deal is very important. It does not matter how much money we are going to make,” he said.

“Despite the international crisis, we are very happy that Filinvest is pursuing this. This is not just legally acceptable, it is also economically wise for the city of Cebu,” Fernandez said.

The first development will spur more developments in the 302-hectare reclamation property.

LBP sets release of South Road Properties lot titles; CH to meet an obligation in JV

2009-02-02T09:08:00.000+08:00

THE Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) issued last week a certification for the release of the titles covering a 12-hectare area of the mortgaged South Road Properties (SRP) which they will turn over to the Cebu City Government anytime it asks for it.

Titles for another eight hectares could also be released after the City Government pays its P357-million amortization this month, a high-ranking official of the LBP said.
The release of the titles will allow the City to meet one of its obligations in the proposed joint venture contract with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) if Acting Mayor Michael Rama is authorized by the City Council to sign the agreement.

As conduit bank for the City’s 12.315-million yen loan with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the LBP has the titles of some 240 hectares of reclaimed properties within the 302-hectare SRP.

12 hectares

According to records of the City Treasurer’s Office, as of August 2008 when the last loan payment was made, the City has paid P1.473 billion to Jica for the principal and interest, and is entitled to get titles of a land area equivalent to the payments made, the LBP source said.

“That is why we have already given them a certification that we will release the titles of 12 hectares anytime they need it. When they pay this month, we can give them titles for another eight hectares,” said the source who is privy to the SRP loan transaction and who requested anonymity.

As stated in the proposed Joint Venture contract between FLI and the City, the City is supposed to turn over titles for a 12-hectare portion before they start developing the property.

“Mr. Fernandez asked for the certification before they issued the notice of award to Filinvest but actually, the certification is no longer needed because it’s part of the loan agreement that the City will be entitled to get titles of properties that have been paid for,” the source said.

No turnover

In a phone interview yesterday, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said he just came back from a leave of absence and has not received a copy of the certification.

He clarified that the City Government will not be turning over titles of any portion of the SRP to FLI unless it pays the City an amount equivalent to the value of the land.

“As a down payment, they will give us some P350 million and for that, we will release the titles of a two-hectare portion. When another payment is made, then we release other titles. We will have to review the contract and make sure that we will give them the titles only after payments are made,” said Fernandez.

The contract also requires FLI to remit payments for the outright purchase of a 10.6-hectare waterfront area directly to LBP. This would be considered as advance payment, the source from the bank said.

FLI is required to pay some P250 million a year for six years for the purchase of the land.

“This means the amount due for the City’s payment of the loan principal and the interest will decrease because the computation of the interest is based on the loan balance, it is diminishing,” said the source.

Since the JBIC and the National Government do not allow any pre-payment of loans by LBP, the latter will have to bear the interest payments to JBIC, as well as the risk of any change in the foreign exchange by the time the loan payments are due. (LCR)

Special council session set for South Road Properties dev’t pact

2009-02-01T11:03:00.000+08:00

By Jully Venus Cuizon, Correspondent

A special session will be held tomorrow by the Cebu City Council to deliberate on the fine print in the joint venture agreement between the city and Filinvest Land Inc. for development of the 50.6 hectares of the South Road Properties (SRP).

This was decided after yesterday’s teleconference between Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who is in Houston, Texas for medical treatment, and some councilors concerning the details of the P25 billion joint venture contract with Filinvest.

It was an “informal conversation” with Osmeña who wanted to be updated on the negotiations with Filinvest said acting Mayor Michael Rama.

It was a back-and-forth exchange of “question and answer” as Osmeña sought clarifications on the contract said Councilor Gerardo Carilo.

The Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) is seeking the council's approval to authorize Rama to sign the contract between Filinvest and the city government.

Acting Vice Mayor Hilario Davide said the committee on laws will submit its report and recommendations on the contract to the council.

After Rama signs the contract, the city will receive P338 million from Filinvest as initial payment for the outright purchase of 10.6 hectares of prime reclaimed property in SRP.

Filinvest was virtually guaranteed the contract after Rama denied with finality the motion of appeal filed by the Cebu provincial government challenging the developer's proposal to the city.

City has no hand in FLI development (South Road Properties)

2009-01-31T13:58:00.000+08:00

THE Cebu City government could not dictate what development Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) will implement in the 10.6-hectare reclamation area it bought at the South Road Properties (SRP).

Joel Mari Yu, managing director of the Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC), the SRP marketing arm, assured that the city can get the promised P1.5 billion cash within the first three years.

The joint venture agreement between the city and the Filinvest covers two properties: an outright purchase of the 10.6- hectare known as Pond F and the development of another 40 hectare property under a profit sharing arrangement with the city government.

Since the 10.6 hectare property was directly bought by the FLI at P15,000 per square meter, then the city does not have any right to direct whatever development it wants to undertake.

According to Yu, this property will be known as FLI's “self development” project wherein the city would only depend on its development proposal.

The Joint Venture (JV) contract states that FLI will “develop the sale properties into a modern urban center consisting of residential, office, commercial, hotel and leisure buildings, and a public promenade.”

While the other property, which is under a profit – sharing arrangement with the city, will be developed into an “integrated and well–planned clusters of medium rise residential buildings for condominiums and hotels, and a portion for an IT building.

Aside from the sale of the 10 hectare, the city can also get either a minimum guarantee of return or a 10 percent of the gross sales of the building spaces being sold, whichever value is higher.

“I am the one who negotiated. I know the city can survive within the first three years, and I know we can get the P1.5 billion in the first three years,” Yu assured.

REPORTER MARIAN Z. CODILLA AND CORRESPONDENT JULLY VENUS CUIZON

City Council ‘has authority’ to examine contracts and, if necessary, change its provisions (South Road Properties)

2009-01-31T13:55:00.000+08:00

THE Cebu City Council may still amend the draft joint venture agreement with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) if it finds anything wrong with the contract, Acting Mayor Hilario Davide III said.

But at this time, Davide said it is still early to comment on the details of the contract since the councilors have yet to finish reviewing the 27-page draft joint venture agreement to develop a 50.6-hectare area of the South Road Properties (SRP).

He told reporters yesterday that they recognize the importance and enormity of the P25-billion contract that is why they are taking their time to review it. He even called for a special session on Monday so they can discuss the contract in detail.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez earlier said that under the City’s Joint Venture Ordinance, the council will only authorize the mayor to enter into and sign the agreement with FLI.

Yesterday, though, Davide said they are mandated by law to go over the contract, and amend it if needed.

“Under the law, any contract to be signed by the chief executive is subject to the City Council’s approval. It implies that the council has the authority to go over the contract, to make sure it conforms with the law and is legal,” he told reporters yesterday.

Possible

When asked if they can still amend the contract if they see any provision that would be disadvantageous to the City as pointed out by Tinago Barangay Councilor Joel Garganera, he said that it is possible.

“Some say that the council’s action is ministerial but that does not prevent the council from going over the contract and changing it. There had been cases in the past when the contracts were changed... Any amendment is a possibility. But if everybody finds na maayo ang contract, then why change it?” said Davide, the council’s presiding officer.

Garganera, a known critic of the SRP, earlier said that the FLI proposal, if approved, would be “grossly disadvantageous” to the City because of the limitations of the profit-sharing scheme.

Acting Mayor Michael Rama told a news conference yesterday that Garganera is welcome to comment on the contract, which he said should be considered by the council.

The barangay councilor said the public seems to have been misled because when FLI and the city officials first announced the firm’s unsolicited proposal, P80 billion worth of investment was promised.

“But they changed that. The contract is now only P25 billion with an annual payment of only P250 million a year for six years. They keep on saying wala na’y problema sa pagbayad sa utang (there’s no more problem with the loan payments), but what is P250 million a year when the City is paying some P800 million a year for the SRP loan?” he said.

Garganera also questioned the extended payment period for the 10.6-hectare waterfront area that FLI will purchase for P1.59 billion.

He pointed out that in the invitation to pre-qualify and to submit a comparative proposal, the amount was supposed to be paid within a period of only three years.

But in the draft contract, FLI will be allowed to pay for the Pond F lots within six years, at an annual installment of P250 million a year.

He also said that some provisions of the contract are disadvantageous to the City because it will not be able to maximize its share of FLI’s revenues.

The contract states that the City will get a 10-percent share only from built-up space in the 40-hectare area, where medium-rise residential buildings and retirement and congregate care complexes will be constructed.

The 10-hectare Pond F that FLI will buy will be developed into a modern urban center with residential, office, commercial, hotel and leisure buildings and a public promenade.

Garganera pointed out, however, that the City’s 10-percent share from FLI’s gross sales of built-up space is not applicable to the 10-hectare area, where the buildings with high potential revenues will be built.

FLI had committed to build 875,000 square meters of building space in the 50.6-hectare properties.

“I am not a real estate expert but I think everyone knows that in constructing 875,000 square meters, most of the space will go to the hotels, high rise condos and office
buildings, which will all be in the Pond F area where the City’s 10-percent share will not apply,” Garganera had said. (LCR)

Scrutiny urged over South Road Properties contract

2009-01-30T14:37:00.000+08:00

By Marian Z. Codilla, Reporter

A critic of Cebu City’s transactions over the South Road Properties (SRP) has questioned the joint-venture contract that City Hall signed with Filinvest Land Inc.
Tinago barangay councilor Joel Garganera said he wanted more scrutiny over the contract. He questioned the contract’s legality and as well as City Hall’s transparency in handling the contract, which is now pending with the City Council’s committee on laws.
“The public has to know (the details of the contract) as well because if they are not going to deliberate on the contract very well... it is not far fetched that there might be someone who will file a case. But I am not saying it’s going to be me,” Garganera told Cebu Daily News.
Garganera attended the council’s regular session last Wednesday on the hopes that the contract would be discussed, but was disappointed that the matter was not raised.
He said he then visited the City Secretary’s Office to get a copy of the contract, but was denied.

He said he would have wanted to scrutinize the contract himself as a “concerned citizen.” He wondered how an initial offer of P80 billion worth of developments for a portion of SRP went down to P25 billion.
Garganera also cited inconsistencies between the published invitation to challenge the Filinvest contract on Dec. 8 and Dec. 15 last year and stipulations in the contract.
The invitation sated that one of the commitments of Filinvest is to give the city a minimum of P1.5 billion in cash payable within the first three years for the sale of a 10.6-hectare seafront property at the SRP.
The contract submitted to the City Council stated that Filinvest, upon signing of the contract, will pay P348 million as first payment and the remaining balance will be payable in six years with a five percent interest every year.
Garganera also wondered if Filinvest’s development plan was economically advantageous to the city since Tristan Las Marias, Filinvest Vice President for the Visayas and Mindanao, said the company was going to build hotels, office spaces, and condominiums on what Garganera described as the “Crown Jewel” area of the SRP, while only medium-rise commercial buildings and a retirement facility would be constructed on the 40 hectare joint venture property.
“Filinvest has the prime lots, all their properties are surrounded by bodies of water and the cost of such properties must be very high. Why is it that only medium-rise buildings are going to be built in the joint venture (agreement)? The council should discuss the merits of the contract. If it is grossly disadvantageous to the city then it is illegal,” Garganera said.
He said he was worried that the city may not get a fair deal on the properties if the council would not be critical in discussing the contract.
Garganera said he did not mind what the administration thinks of his criticisms since he only wanted what is best for the city.
“They can always say it is politically motivated, then let it be. But this is economic in nature. The basic services are being neglected because of the debt servicing. I am only hoping that the council should discuss it properly and not to hurry this up. Basin dinha nata manguros kung nangilat na (Maybe we'll only make the sign of the cross once the lighting strikes),” he said.

Council committee looking into plan to donate South Road Properties lot

2009-01-30T09:41:00.000+08:00

Cebu - The proposal of Councilor Jose Daluz for the city to donate a parcel of land at the South Road Properties to the University of the Philippines is now pending before the City Council committee on laws.

The proposal was referred to the committee during the council’s regular session last Wednesday to determine the legal implications of the proposed donation.

But while UP is leaving it up to the council to decide on the proposal, UP Visayas – Cebu College Dean Enrique Avila said UP is serious in expanding to the SRP.

“It has been our President’s desire that UP Cebu will be able to contribute to the development of the community that is why we accepted their proposal… For as long as we are offered, we will honor our commitment. If the SRP is not for us, we have nothing to lose,” Avila said.

Daluz’ proposal stipulates that the city will donate a lot to UP but the university has to build a separate campus therein within a specific period of time, otherwise, the donation will be declared null and void.

Another condition is for UP to bring to the SRP extension programs like Masters in Business Administration and other continuing education courses.

Avila admitted the condition puts a lot of pressure on UP but the university decided to accept the challenge because UP President Emerlinda Roman sees it as an opportunity to develop UP and a chance for the school to contribute something to the community.

Roman has reportedly started allocating funds for the project, as it is her priority as newly elected president to develop the university’s regional campuses.

“We were offered because the city believes that with UP at the SRP offering MBA courses, the city can attract more investors to be locators at SRP,” Avila said. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/JMO (THE FREEMAN)

Abellanosa shoots down move to donate lot to UP (South Road Properties)

2009-01-29T18:48:00.000+08:00

Cebu - The Cebu City Council referred to the committee on laws the resolution donating a lot at the South Road Properties to the University of the Philippines.

Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa asked for reconsideration of the resolution – authored by Councilor Joey Daluz - that authorizes acting mayor Michael Rama to enter into a deed of donation with the UP for a parcel of SRP lot.

Abellanosa, who is a product of UP and owns the Asian College of Technology (ACT), said he doubts the capacity of the national government to provide funds to sustain the property.

He mentioned that UP has a six-hectare lot in Lawaan Dos, Talisay City that remains idle. The lot is now occupied by illegal settlers.

“I have no doubts in donating anything, but it is the capability of the national government in providing financial resources to UP, I asked the proponent (Daluz) to reconsider. Let us open talks with other universities like La Salle or Ateneo,” Abellanosa said.

After a minute recess, it was finally decided to have the resolution referred to the committee on laws.

The city is set to donate 51,372 square meters of lot located at Lot 1-G at the SRP to the UP on condition that the university will open masteral courses on management in its SRP campus so its graduates could serve to the locators at the properties. — Ferliza C. Contratista/LPM (THE FREEMAN)

FLI demands turnover of titles over 12 hectares of South Road Properties land

2009-01-29T18:39:00.000+08:00

CEBU City Hall is preparing to pull out titles of certain portions of the South Road Properties (SRP) from the Land Bank of the Philippines, as the City Council starts reviewing the joint venture contract with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI).

Among other provisions, the 28-page draft agreement requires the City Government to transfer absolute title, ownership and possession of a 12-hectare portion to FLI before it starts construction.

The City is also bound to give FLI a one-year business tax holiday as an incentive for being a pioneering investor in the SRP, and to impose real property taxes only on portions whose titles have been transferred in the name of FLI.

Once the contract is signed, the City will no longer have to worry about some of its SRP loan payments in the next six years, since the contract requires FLI to pay some P250 million a year to LBP, the conduit bank for the SRP loan.

The contract also provides that in the event of a suit, proceeding, investigation or other legal action questioning the City’s titles of SRP lots and its right to dispose of the sale and joint venture (JV) properties, “the City shall indemnify and hold FLI free from any and all claims, damages, expenses and liabilities arising therefrom or relating thereto.”

Any lawsuit related to the SRP titles or its disposal also gives FLI the right to suspend payments for the purchase of lots and the JV activities.

“Should any such pending or future suit, proceeding or action be decided adversely against Cebu City or result in a judgment affecting the City’s performance of its obligations, or which would prevent the transfer of the properties under the name of FLI…then FLI should have the option to cancel and terminate this agreement…,” the contract read.

Although the Talisay City Government and the Province had previously questioned the SRP titles and the bidding process, respectively, no formal complaint against the City has been filed in court so far.

City councilors were provided copies of the draft joint venture agreement between FLI and the City, which they tackled in yesterday’s council session.

Councilor Gerardo Carillo proposed to authorize Acting Mayor Michael Rama to enter into and sign the JV agreement, but his colleagues preferred to refer the contract to the committee on laws for further review.

And considering the “enormity” of the decision they will have to make, Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. moved to call for a special session on Monday so they can discuss the details of the contract.

In a phone interview last night, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the City will not have any problem complying with the contract, since the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) agreed to release some lot titles.

The SRP titles are mortgaged with the LBP for the City’s 12.315-billion yen loan from the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation (JBIC) when it undertook the reclamation project.

“We’re already working on the release of some titles. Even if we want to get the titles for 50 hectares, Land Bank will give it to us because anyway, we will be making additional payments when (FLI) gives a down payment. But we don’t need 50 hectares, we won’t need to get that much,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

The draft agreement covers the JV to develop a 50.6-hectare portion of the SRP into a modern urban center consisting of residential, office, commercial, hotel and leisure buildings, which requires at least P25 billion in investment on the part of FLI.

According to the document, it involves FLI’s purchase of a 10.6-hectare area worth P1.592 billion, and the development by FLI of a 40-hectare area under a profit-sharing scheme with the City.

In the profit-sharing arrangement, the City is guaranteed a 10-percent share of the gross sales of built-up space, which will be remitted quarterly to the City.

For the sale of the 10.6 hectares, the City will get a down payment of P348 million within 30 days from the signing of the contract.

The balance will be paid in six years, or some P217 million to P269.5 million a year, with a five-percent interest per annum.

Titles for a two-hectare area will be turned over to FLI after each of the first four payments, which will be paid directly to LBP. (LCR)

Council sets special session to tackle contract for South Road Properties

2009-01-29T15:54:00.001+08:00

Cebu - The Cebu City Council will hold a special session on Monday to discuss the Joint Venture Contract between the City Government and Filinvest Land Incorporated (FLI).

The city council will only give authority to Acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to sign the contracts and documents on behalf of city after this session.

The letter of Cebu City Administrator Francisco Fernandez, Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) head was only noted during the regular session yesterday.

Instead of pushing for its approval, Councilor Augustus Pe asked that it be referred to the Committee on Laws to look into the contract.

Committee on Laws chairman Edgardo Labella assured a report will be ready for discussion on Monday.

The letter asked that authority be given to Rama to sign the JV agreement and other contracts governing the relationship between Cebu City and Filinvest for the development of 50.6 hectares of land at the SRP.

Filinvest was finally awarded the project last Friday.

Filinvest will put up an investment of P25 billion for this project.

The Provincial Government attempted to bid for the same project, but was rejected twice by JVSC for reasons on lack of jurisdiction, lack technical expertise and lack of financial capability.

With the project awarded to FLI, Cebu City will not have to worry where to source the P300 million, which is its obligation to its creditor bank for the first quarter of the year.

FLI’s investment will accordingly total to P80 billion in 25 years. — Ferliza C. Contratista/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)

FLI eyes more projects (South Road Properties)

2009-01-28T09:43:00.001+08:00

AS the global economic turmoil deepens, property developer Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) continues to invest in ongoing and future projects in Cebu.

Louie Carandang, FLI business development officer, said two of the company’s ongoing projects are on time—the Grand Cenia Condotel and Residences in Cebu City and the Seascapes Resort Town in Lapu-Lapu City.

Both projects bank on Cebu being a tourism hub even while reports point to a slowdown in the travel market, as a result of the financial crisis that is affecting many major economies worldwide.

“It (tourism) is a cycle. It will recover later. We’re not scared about our investments, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao,” said Carandang. He cited Department of Tourism figures that show Cebu would need about 400,000 to 500,000 hotel and resort rooms a year.

He said buyers of condotel units at Grand Cenia also see the same potential. “Our sales have not been affected by the crisis,” he added.

He pointed out that buyers of Grand Cenia are mostly foreigners or Filipinos with foreign income (like overseas Filipino
workers) “who are not so much affected” by the global crisis.

While Seascapes is considered “very high-end”—with lots priced around P15,000 per square meter and prices for condo units going up to as much as P9 million—FLI is confident the property will sell very well. Its target markets are foreigners and overseas-based investors.

Sold out

Carandang reported that all Seascapes lots have already been sold out within a year after the developer began pre-selling the property.

FLI, however, has decided not to sell shares to its club house that will feature a spa and sports facilities.

Carandang said FLI has seen the business potential of keeping the ownership of the club house and its amenities. He added that FLI might contact an international spa operator to manage the facility.

FLI is also confident about the success of its future projects: the One Oasis condo compound in Mabolo, Cebu City, which will be implemented this year; and its expansion of existing housing subdivisions in Lapu-Lapu City and Talisay City.

Cecille Canturias, FLI Cebu sales team head, said the company’s sales continue to go up. In 2000, its sales were only P30 million a year, which went up to P450 million in 2007 and P700 million in 2008.

“We have many repeat buyers, they buy condo units for investment,” she said.

Grand Cenia condotels are projected to earn P300,000 to P400,000 a year for the unit owner, which means “it will pay for itself,” said Carandang.

“FLI has been around for more than 15 years, surviving crises is nothing new to us. But we’re very prudent and in 2009, we will continue to be; but we will not sacrifice the quality of our products,” said Carandang.

He admitted, though, that to respond to the needs of its target markets, FLI has decided to develop products that are more affordable. He cited One Oasis, whose condo units will be priced from P1.4 million to P2 million.

He said One Oasis, which will be located near major malls and universities, will be ideal for new families and those with children who study in Cebu City.

To make it easier for buyers, FLI has also lowered the interest rates of its in-house financing program to 11.5 percent for the first years from P19 percent. It has also extended its low-interest rate period to 36 months from 18 months.

FLI will also invest in a 50.6-hectare mixed-use development at the South Road Properties of Cebu City in a joint venture with the City Government.

Acting mayor signs notice of award to FLI; council to review contract (South Road Properties)

2009-01-27T22:01:00.001+08:00

CEBU City Acting Mayor Michael Rama signed yesterday the notice of award of the joint venture contract with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), but it will take at least one week before he is authorized to sign the agreement.

The Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) endorsed to the City Council secretariat yesterday a copy of the draft contract on the joint venture project with FLI.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez, chairman of the JVSC, said he also wrote the secretariat requesting the council to pass a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign a contract with FLI for a joint venture to develop a 50-hectare portion of the South Road Properties (SRP).

The matter will be tackled in tomorrow’s regular session, but he does not expect the council to approve it immediately, as it will still have to be reviewed by the council’s committee on laws.

In a phone interview yesterday, Rama said the city council knows that the joint venture project is an urgent matter, but he hopes they will also be reminded of the need for transparency.

He said it will be up to the council to take their time in reviewing the contract if they have to, saying he does not want to pressure the council into passing a resolution authorizing him to sign it.

“I don’t want to pressure the councilors. They know there is an urgency to this, but I hope they will not be pressured by that. Whatever it is, we have to be mindful of the importance of transparency,” Rama told Sun.Star Cebu.

Last Friday, the JVSC approved the notice of award of the contract to FLI, which will construct 875,000 square meters of building space in a hotel, high-rise condominiums, office buildings and medium-rise residential buildings spread across 50.6 hectares of land at the South Road Properties.

The P25-billion project will earn for the City some P350 million next month, and P250 million a year for six years as payment for the 10.6-hectare lot that FLI will purchase.

Another revenue source would be the City’s 10-percent share from the sale of properties in the remaining 40-hectare area, plus an undisclosed minimum guarantee.

Fernandez said yesterday said that depending on the council’s deliberation tomorrow, a special session may be called to discuss the joint venture contract.

“The contract will still be referred to the committee on laws. There might be a special session but that is the protocol; that it has to be studied by a committee. So I’m sure that it cannot be approved on Wednesday,” he said last night. (LCR)

Nalzaro: Capitol’s legal move (South Road Properties)

2009-01-26T18:57:00.000+08:00

THE Chinese community is celebrating new year today. Aside from celebrating at home, some families will flock to various Chinese temples for a bigger and more colorful celebration and to offer prayers. Like, our New Year, the Chinese New Year was also greeted with a big bang before midnight last night.

A traditional dragon dance will be held at the downtown area where majority of establishments owned by Chinese businessmen are located. Decorations are usually in red. Establishment owners will also distribute money wrapped in red envelop, called angpao, to performers. To our Chinese friends, Kung Hei Fat Choi! I hope the Year of the Ox will bring progress and prosperity to all of us.

******

So Cebu City Hall has finally awarded Filinvest Land Inc. the right to develop a 50-hectare portion at the South Road Properties (SRP), 10 hectares of which is an outright sale while the 40 hectares is a joint venture. This after the joint venture selection committee and acting Mayor Michael Rama denied the appeal of the Provincial Government that challeges Filinvest’s unsolicited proposal.

What is now needed to formalize and legalize the deal is a City Council resolution authorizing Rama to enter into a contract with Filinvest. Once sealed, City Hall will receive several millions as advance payment. This will solve the financial woes of the City Government, brought about by the debt-servicing to the Japan Bank of International Cooperation, which financed the development of the multi-billion peso SRP project.

But it’s too early for City Hall and Filinvest to rejoice, as there might be some legal hitches in the days to come. I can only surmise that as of this time, Capitol legal minds are mapping out some legal plan to stop the deal. While the transaction was still with the joint venture selection committee, Capitol lawyers had already raised some legal questions that might be their basis in going to court.

If the Capitol decides to go to court, of which I am almost one hundred percent sure, we can expect a protracted legal battle.

If there is a pending case, or worse, if the court issues an injuction, the project cannot commence on time. That will also delay the payment by Filinvest to City Hall. If I were Filinvest, I will not release any amount due to the uncertainty of the project. What if the court declares the contract illegal? There have been several government transactions, which were declared illegal.

Again, I may sound like a broken record but I have a long suspicion that the Capitol’s move to challenge the Filinvest proposal is just a strategy so they can acquire a legal personality to intervene in the deal. Because if they do not show interest and just go to court, they can be accused of politicking. Now, they have that “window of opportunity” to question the deal because they are already part of it.

Capitol owns vast properties that are ideal for development. Why the sudden show of interest in the SRP? And why be interested in the lots that Filinvest wants to develop? It’s plain and simple; sabotage. The SRP covers 300 hectares. And if the Province is really interested in developing there, why not just ask City Hall for another portion?

I have said this before and I will say it again. Capitol will only stop harassing City Hall and Filinvest with a barrage of legal suits if the City Council lifts or repeals the resolution prohibiting a Capitol development in the Banilad area. With the lifting of that resolution, the Province can start its multi-billion peso Ciudad project in consortium with a China-based company.

Capitol should not wait for a change of leadership at City Hall before negotiating to pursue the Ciudad project. As what I have been saying, as long as Tomas Osmeña is alive he will always be calling the shots at City Hall, especially if his replacement is a political ally. Kana si Mike Rama ug mamayor na mora ra unya na siyag tawo-tawo sa humayan. Believe you me. Tsur gyod ko ana.

City gov’t mulls security cameras for South Road Properties, streets

2009-01-25T06:56:00.002+08:00

By Jully Venus Cuizon, Correspondent

DESPITE the likelihood of being labelled as copycats, Cebu City officials are considering to install security cameras in some city streets and the South Road Properties (SRP).

In a text message to , Cebu City Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña said he doesn't mind if they were accused of imitating Capitol's program of installing security cameras so long as it aids in ensuring security within the City Hall premises.

"Copying is not an issue as long as it helps the security, is reliable and not overpriced,” the mayor said.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez also echoed his boss's sentiments, saying “imitation is the greatest form of flattery."

The city government recently installed security cameras at the City Hall executive building for security purposes and to monitor the movement of employees.

Not a few supported the move, saying this would prevent theft within the premises.

City Councilor Roberto Cabarrubias said security personnel stationed at the command center can monitor who among the employees are slacking off and report them to the Human Resources Office.

Cabarrubias, who chairs the committee on information and technology, said the office can then recommend the sanctions to be imposed on the erring workers.

"We want our employees to feel that they are being watched if they are serving are public well," he said.

He said guards stationed at the command center will also be told to coordinate with the security personnel assigned at City Hall for monitoring any suspicious activities. Cabarrubias said they still have to train the security officers.

"The recording of the videos from the security cameras is 24 hours and even if there are brownouts, they are still recording because it has a generator of its own,” he said.

Cabarrubias said the software for the cameras can send alarms to the security personnel at the command center.

He confirmed that plans are underway to install security cameras at the street intersections and the SRP.

For his part City Planner Paul Nigel Villarete said the presence of security cameras is intended to ensure good governance and does not violate privacy.

"If security cameras are placed in public areas, then that's a public function. Why would anybody feel violated when you are in a public place, unless there's something to hide?," he said.

SRP Chief Operations Officer Nagiel Banacia said he hopes that only fully trained persons be tapped to run the command center.

He said security cameras can be placed at the perimeter fence and on the streets of the SRP.

At the SRP area alone, about 25 armed security personnel and three partrol cars patrol the property for 24 hours.

“If this will be implemented, security will be strengthened, it would make our jobs easier, less costly," he said.

Dads to authorize Rama to sign: Filinvest gets deal for project at South Road Properties

2009-01-24T15:14:00.000+08:00

By Rene U. Borromeo Updated January 24, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU - Filinvest Land Inc. has officially been given the nod to go on with a proposal to develop a portion of the South Road Propetries (SRP).

Acting Vice Mayor Hilario Davide III yesterday assured that the Cebu City Council will not delay the approval of a resolution that will authorize the acting mayor to sign the contract for a joint venture with FLI.

The members of the Joint Venture Selection Committee headed by city administrator Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez met yesterday and awarded to FLI the contract for a P25 billion joint venture project at the SRP.

Before Acting Mayor Michael Rama can sign the deal, he needs the nod of the city council.

Davide said the issue about the joint venture project with FLI will be discussed by the council on Wednesday and there is also a possibility that a special session will be held.

Fernandez also believes that the city council will not delay the granting of authority to Rama to sign the contract, but said “They must do their job without sacrificing the issue of transparency.”

The agreement is that within one month after the actual signing of the contract, FLI will release its initial payment for 10 hectares. The total will be paid within a period of three years.

In its proposal of FLI offers to purchase 10 hectares for P1.5 billion and to develop the other 40 hectares in a joint venture scheme with the city.

Fernandez said this is very timely, because the city needs P338 million next month to pay its loan from Japan.

“Aw hinoon wala man kita karon maproblema sa kwarta kay naa may daghang nakolekta nato nga buhis,” Fernandnez said.

Meanwhile, Fernandez said he is hoping that the Cebu provincial officials will no longer pursue their intention to bid for the same area that the Filinvest Land Inc. wants to develop.

Rama has rejected the appeal of the Cebu provincial government to contest the unsolicited proposal of FLI. .

Fernandez explained that the province is not qualified to challenge the offer of FLI, first because it is not a private entity as provided for under the city ordinance that created the joint venture agreement.

It’s Not Over

“We will move on.”

This was what Capitol consultant Rory John Sepulveda said in a press conference yesterday after he was asked regarding Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s next move after the Cebu City government awarded the joint venture project to FLI.

“We’re still on top of the situation,” Sepulveda said.

The Capitol was not surprised with the city government’s action and that they knew it beforehand.

He said that despite of not being able to come up with the P125M bond that the city asked from the province for the joint venture, Capitol will still move forward with their plans.

Sepulveda further said that as far as the administrative process is concerned, Capitol fought in a clean and honest way, and they never surrendered.

He added that the lady governor has a game plan and that is to increase economic activity to generate more jobs.

“This is what we are going to do in response to the world economic slowdown,” he said.

Part of the game plan is to continue building roads, bridges, infrastructures and school buildings.

In addition to that, he also said they would continue delivering basic services to Cebuanos, especially to investors and tourists, and putting up economic enterprises.

When asked if they will file an appeal or give up on the SRP joint venture project, Sepulveda said that they will wait for its finalization before commenting on the matter.

He noted that it would take three years before the project would be realized and that if ever Filinvest could not pay the P1.5 billion for the 10-hectare lot in time, they will look at the contract and see if it is all right to try again. –with Johanna Natavio and Darlene Sino Cruz/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)

Filinvest’s P338-M payment set for South Road Properties loan

2009-01-24T15:04:00.000+08:00

By Marian Z. Codilla and Cris Evert B. Lato, Reporters

WITH the P338 million it looks forward to receiving from Filinvest Land Inc., the Cebu City government hopes to pay a P350-million loan amortization on Feb. 20 for the South Road Properties (SRP) reclamation site.

Acting Mayor Michael Rama, who is in Manila, is expected to issue the notice of award next week.

The notice of award and a City Council review of the joint venture contract between the city and Filinvest will have to be undertaken before the developer releases the P338 million as initial payment for several hectares of prime lot at the SRP.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said Rama will first issue a notice of award to Filinvest which contains the conditions for the joint venture agreement for the P25 billion development project.

Upon receiving the notice, Filinvest has 15 days to complete requirements for the joint venture agreement.

“They have to fulfill the requirements before the signing of the contract such as authorization issued by their board,” Fernandez said.

The city's joint venture ordinance states that failure to comply “with the conditions precedent for the execution of the contract within the prescribed 15 calendar day period will result in the confiscation of the proposal security.”

After the notice of award is issued, the Cebu City Council will deliberate on the contract within seven calendar days.

If there is no legal impediment, the council will authorize the mayor to sign the joint venture contract with Filinvest for development of 50.6 hectares in the SRP.

Tristan Las Marias, Filinvest vice president for the Visayas and Mindanao, said the company renewed its P250 million guarantee for their project proposal security with a bank.

He said they will extend it until the first week of February when the mayor signs the contract.

Still, Fernandez said they are hoping that the contract is signed before the city is scheduled to pay around P350 million for the SRP loan to the Land Bank of the Philippines on Feb. 20.

“This (P338 million income) will be the amount that we will be using (to pay for the SRP loan),” Fernandez said.

Cebu City Councilor Jose Daluz III said the city can expect a bigger budget surplus since the city council already appropriated P489.5 million for SRP loan payments on their budget this year.

The payments are scheduled on Feb. 20 and Aug. 20.

As of now the contract is still secured by the JVSC secretariat and will only be publicly discussed during the council deliberation on either regular or special session.

Las Marias said they are going to start their development immediately after finalizing their master plan and completing all their building requirements.

The P25 billion project will be completed in a span of over 25 years.

Aside from the amount, the city stands to receive P250 million a year for the property’s outright sale plus a 10 percent minimum guarantee share of their gross income.

Filinvest plans to put up an urban commercial district which consists of a hotel, office spaces and condominium towers in the sea front area and medium rise buildings for residential area on the other side, across the sea front area.

Meanwhile the heads of three separate business chambers in Cebu hailed the decision of the joint venture selection committee (JVSC) of the Cebu City government to award the development of 50.6 hectares of SRP lots to Filinvest.

Clarito Fruelda, vice president for external affairs of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said this latest development raises bright prospects for Cebu amid the worldwide economic slump.

“We hope that FLI will move faster and start development in the area so it (development) can generate business and employment,” he told in a phone interview yesterday.

Fruelda said the project is a proof of FLI's confidence in Cebu as a viable venue for business development.

Rey Calooy, president of Filipino-Cebuano Business Club, said the rise of new infrastructure and facilities at the SRP will attract foreign investments.

“It (SRP) should be developed by a private developer (like FLI) to ensure efficiency and quality service. It generates jobs, business opportunities, (healthy) competition and national and local taxes,” said Calooy.

For Gordon Alan “Dondi” Joseph, president of the Cebu Business Club, the JVSC's decision signals that the “city's long wait is over.”

“They will be in a better financial position to deliver services to the city residents. It does represent huge potential for the investor and the city,” he said in a text message.

Capitol to ‘move forward’ (South Road Properties)

2009-01-24T10:08:00.000+08:00

Saturday, January 24, 2009

CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia decided to “move forward” and focus on “worthier undertakings” such as further spurring economic activities in the province, her spokesperson said yesterday.

Capitol information and revenue generation consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda said they do not want to be accused of delaying developments at the South Road Properties (SRP), whose loan interest costs Cebu City taxpayers about P1 million every day.

Governor Garcia is scheduled to preside over a two-day seminar with Capitol department heads and consultants starting today in Sogod town, just a day after the Provincial Government ended its tourism caravan “Suroy Suroy Sugbo: Southern Heritage Trail.”

Sepulveda said it’s important that the Provincial Government did not pay the P125-million nonrefundable appeal fee the City Government demanded for the position paper the Capitol filed with the mayor’s office.

Even if the City Government rejected their bid, the Capitol consultant said the Provincial Government believes its officials “did everything insofar as the administrative process is concerned.”

“We fought it out. We fought a clean and an honest battle,” said Sepulveda, saying it would be the City’s call whether to award the contract to the Filinvest.

“If they will award it (contract), I will not be surprised. We knew they would award it,” he said. (GMD)

Cebu City to earn P350M in February and P250M a year for 6 years from South Road Properties joint venture

2009-01-23T10:03:00.000+08:00

Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

FOUR years after it started paying for its loans, Cebu City Hall will start earning from the South Road Properties (SRP) next month, if the City Council authorizes Acting Mayor Michael Rama to sign the P25-billion joint venture contract with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI).

Within 30 days from the signing of the contract, FLI is required to pay the City Government P350 million as down payment for the joint venture to develop a 50.6-hectare portion of the SRP.

It will also pay P250 million a year for six years as payment for the 10.6-hectare waterfront Pond F lot worth P1.5 billion, an outright sale that was integrated into the joint venture activity.

Under the City’s Joint Venture Ordinance, the proponent will have to pay a down payment 30 days after the signing of the contract, but FLI vice president for Visayas and Mindanao Tristan las Marias said they could pay the amount earlier.

Until it pays the P338 million, the City will hold on to FLI’s irrevocable bank guarantee of P250 million, which the City can seize if the firm backs out of the project.

At noon yesterday, the City’s Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) convened and awarded the joint venture contract to FLI, which coincided with the City’s celebration of the Sto. Niño feast at the SRP.

The JVSC prepared to submit the notice of award and a copy of the contract to the mayor for his confirmation.

From the mayor, the contract will be transmitted to the City Council for the body to authorize the mayor to sign the contract and enter into a joint venture agreement with FLI.

Authority

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez, the JVSC chairman, said the contract does not have to be approved by the council, and will only have to pass a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign the document.

“The JVSC has already awarded it so we will now submit it to the mayor for him to sign the notice of award and to ask the council for authority to sign the contract. So, human na ang role sa JVSC in the process,” he told reporters yesterday.

After deliberating on the FLI proposal, the JVSC, whose members might be replaced, is set to tackle proposals for water supply at the 302-hectare reclaimed facility.

The JVSC also came up with a timetable on when the contract signing will be. But officials said the date will be up to the council, which might want to review the contract further before authorizing the mayor to sign.

Fernandez said the contract may be signed in the first week of February since Acting Vice Mayor Hilario Davide III said the council may tackle the matter during their session this Wednesday.

On Feb. 20, the City will be paying Land Bank P350 million for its SRP loan payment, that is why it will be advantageous to the City if it gets FLI’s down payment by then, he said.

Review

“But it really depends on the council. We have to consult the councilors and the vice mayor for the timetable. While we want to do it sooner, there also has to be a balance. On one hand, we want to settle this immediately because we are under time pressure to pay. But on the other hand, it has to be balanced in terms of transparency. The contract has to be reviewed not only by the council but also by the public,” Fernandez explained.

In an interview after the awarding, Las Marias said they are preparing for the “real work” for the firm, which will include a review of the initial concept of the project and coming up with a master plan for the entire 50.6-hectare area.

FLI committed to build 875,000 square meters of building space in a hotel, office buildings and high-rise condominium towers at the 10-hectare waterfront area, and medium-rise residential buildings on other areas of the property.

The City stands to have two revenue sources from the project: the payment for the 10-hectare lot that FLI is buying and revenues from the sale of the properties under the joint venture on a 40-hectare area.

Las Marias said the City’s share of their sales is 10 percent, plus an undisclosed minimum guaranteed amount.

‘Will gain’

“On the purchase price, the price of the City is much higher than what COA allowed, so I guess that speaks a lot about the kind of returns it will be getting. On the joint venture project, there’s a minimum guaranteed return and at the end of the day if you compute the total amount the City will receive with the minimum guarantee, it’s
equivalent more or less to the value per square meter, and that’s higher than what was set by COA,” he told reporters.

“In both transactions, I am pretty sure that the City stands to gain more than the current fair market value of the land,” Las Marias continued.

FLI, he said, intends to start construction six months after the City grants them building permits, which they will apply for immediately after the signing of the contract.

Fernandez also welcomed the Province’s statement that it will move on and respect the City’s decision disqualifying Capitol from challenging the FLI offer.

“The Province came out with a statement and they are very statesmanlike. Of course we are very happy with their statement that it is the end,” he added. (LCR)

Cebu City JV body to choose challengers of FLI proposal (South Road Properties)

2008-12-23T10:00:00.000+08:00

CEBU City’s Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) will convene today to decide who will be qualified to challenge the offer to develop a 50.6-hectare portion of the South Road Properties (SRP), if any party submits their eligibility requirements.

So far, only the Provincial Government expressed an interest to challenge Filinvest Land Inc.’s (FLI) unsolicited proposal and secured forms for pre-qualification and eligibility requirements.

But they have not submitted their eligibility documents yet as of last Friday afternoon, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said.

Interested parties have until 11 a.m. today to submit their documents for eligibility, according to the invitation to apply for eligibility and to submit a proposal published in local dailies last Dec. 8 and 15.

But according to City Ordinance 2154, which prescribes the guidelines and procedures for entering into joint venture agreements with private entities, “private sector participants shall be given at least 30 calendar days from the last date of publication of the invitation to apply for eligibility and to submit a proposal.”

Fernandez said the JVSC will convene this afternoon to open the eligibility requirements, if Capitol or other private parties submit any.

“Today is the deadline for submission, that is why the JVSC will convene. If Capitol and other parties submit and they are found ineligible, then
common sense will tell us that we can decide to award it to Filinvest,” Fernandez told Sun.Star Cebu.

“But the ordinance says they should be given 30 days to apply for eligibility and to submit a proposal so we will most likely wait until then, to give them a chance,” he continued.

If the Province or any other party submits the documents and are declared eligible, they have until Jan. 23 to submit their comparative proposal.

Transparency

Fernandez said that any decision made by the committee regarding eligibility or ineligibility of any party or the awarding of the contract will have to be referred to the City Council for approval.

The ordinance, however, gives the City Government authority to adjust the period prescribed for compliance of the requirements for joint venture activities.

Whether or not the committee will allow interested parties more time, or whether the contract will be awarded immediately to FLI, will be tackled in today’s meeting.

“Notwithstanding, the City Government may adjust said period as may be appropriate for the nature, scope, size and complexity of the proposed joint venture activity. Provided, that the principles of transparency, competition and accountability are observed,” the ordinance read.

FLI has submitted an unsolicited proposal for an unincorporated joint venture with the City Government over a 20-year period. This will provide infrastructure facilities, buildings and other amenities in a central business district type of development involving the construction of 875,000 square meters of building space over a 50.6-hectare area of the SRP.

The firm intends to invest at least P25 billion in the project, which will include “mid-level to ultra high-end” residential buildings, a medium-rise complex, a cluster of high-rise hotels, retirement and medical facility and commercial areas.

FLI’s offer will be subject to an open competitive bidding, and for other private developers of the same stature as FLI to challenge. (LCR)

Gwen finds South Road Properties better to invest in, says Tomas

2008-12-22T09:59:00.000+08:00

The Freeman
December 20, 2008

Cebu City Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña expected Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to decide on investing in the SRP since the province is not “desirable.”

Osmeña, when sought for comment on the recent move of the Province of Cebu in showing their intention over the areas being eyed by the Filinvest Land Incorporation (FLI), said he will just have to wait and see.

“Of course, it is so bati to invest in the province she doesn’t like to live in the province, let’s see,” Osmeña said. Last December, Wednesday, Garcia had a representative to buy a set of eligibility documents from the Secretariat of the Joint Venture Selection Committee prior to the opening of bids on December 23.

Cebu City invited all interested private sector entities and participants to submit a competitive challenge over FLI’s unsolicited proposal over a 50.6-hectare lot at the SRP. FLI committed to compensate the City over a period of 20 years first with a minimum of a P1.5 billion cash payable in the next three years.

Meanwhile the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), funding agency of the SRP wrote a letter to acting mayor Michael Rama, clarifying that their representative did not mention the SRP plan as “unacceptable” during the recently-held workshop of the Asian Development Bank.

Norio Matsuda, chief representative of JICA Philippines, told Rama their representative in the said workshop, Jun Watanabe, did not make such a statement.

“Related to the workshop we were informed that one of the local newspapers in Cebu published the relevant article with a headline ‘Japanese government frowns on projects, planned SRP use not acceptable’. We would like to make it clear on this occasion that our representative on the workshop did not make such kind of statement during and after the workshop,” Matsuda said.

In the workshop, consultants from ADB were already asking for a masterplan which the city government was not able to produce since Osmeña wanted the SRP to be planned according to the demand. — Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)

South Road Properties framework plan

2008-12-21T09:52:00.000+08:00

Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

PLANS for the South Road Properties (SRP) drafted 15 years ago were amended to suit a mixed land use project and will be submitted to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) headquarters in Tokyo for approval.

The framework plan, if acceptable to Jica officials in Japan, will be the basis for the planning of utilities for the 302-hectare SRP.

Cebu City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said yesterday that based on their discussions with officials of the Jica-Manila office last July, the latter accepted and approved in principle the changes on the use of the SRP, from an export zone for light manufacturing firms to a mixed land use project.

The City Government’s plan for the SRP, which JICA Manila drafted into a document, will still have to be presented to the JICA board in Tokyo for approval.

Shift

Another change that will be presented to the Jica headquarters is the shift from leasing of SRP lots to selling the properties, which could enable the City to pre-pay Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) the balance of its 12.315-million yen loan with Jica for the SRP. The LBP is the conduit bank for the loan.

Fernandez said the possibility of a pre-payment to LBP “worried” Jica, because LBP might also pre-pay the loan. Fernandez said, though, that LBP will not make pre-
payments to Jica and will use the money as a revolving fund instead, if the City Government agrees to pay the loan balance in advance.

“There will be a new agreement that will consider the changes of the time. The framework plan we made 20 years ago has to be amended. Jica already agreed that there have been changes, and so the agreement we had with Jica 20 years ago will have to be amended,” Fernandez told reporters yesterday.

Based on the presentation of Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari Yu before Jica Manila officials, the latter drafted a new framework plan that will be submitted to their headquarters in the third week of January.

Assumptions

During a meeting with Asian Development Bank (ADB) representatives yesterday, Fernandez said they agreed that the revised plan will also be used as basis for the assumptions needed for them to proceed with planning activities on the utilities, including power and water supply, solid waste management, wastewater treatment facilities and public transport.

The City and the ADB-Cities Development Initiative for Asia agreed on the need to have certain assumptions on power and water supply requirements, estimated number of workers at the SRP, public transport needs, among others. The assumptions will be based on the JICA plan.

But even the assumptions will have to be flexible enough to allow the City to adapt to changes in the demands of the market and investors who would operate in the SRP, Fernandez said.

“If the new plan is acceptable to Jica, this will also be the basis of the second round of planning workshops with ADB for the utilities. It will be the basis of the assumptions and we have reached an agreement that even the assumptions should be made flexible,” he said.

CH officials insist South Road Properties should be demand-driven, to meet with consultants

2008-12-20T09:48:00.000+08:00

Thursday, December 18, 2008

CEBU City officials will meet with Asian Development Bank (ADB) consultants today to clarify its requirement of a development framework or master plan for the South Road Properties (SRP).

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said that Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña reiterated yesterday his stance that the 302-hectare SRP will be demand-driven and will respond to the needs of the market, and would not be tied down by a master plan.

He said he was also surprised by the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (Jica) request for a master plan because it has already agreed that the City Government will only provide “a master plan that is more of a vision, and not a detailed and rigid master plan.”

The official said that the shift from an industrial and light manufacturing export zone to a mixed land use project is acceptable to Jica.

Clarification

Fernandez, who has just reported back to work after a one-week leave, was asked by the mayor yesterday for feedback and recommendations based on the result of today’s meeting.

“We will clarify several things with them tomorrow. Are they going to be firm in their request for a master plan? And what do they exactly mean when they asked for a master plan?” he said yesterday.

Consultants of the ADB-Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) asked city officials for a master plan or development framework plan on the SRP, which they said they will need so they can proceed with pre-feasibility studies on the utilities and infrastructure needed at the SRP.

“I think it has to be clearly pointed out to them that they are our consultants. They don’t make decisions. As consultants, they’re supposed to give us their good and bad thoughts and we will decide accordingly. Their recommendations have to be mutually accepted,” Fernandez said.

Acting Mayor Michael Rama, City Planning and Development Coordinator Nigel Paul Villarete, Fernandez and other city officials will meet with the ADB consultants this morning.

Technical aid

During the workshop on CDIA’s Priority Infrastructure Investment Plan (PIIP) for the SRP last week, a Jica representative also asked for a master plan of the mixed land use project, which they will submit to the JICA board, along with a proposal for technical assistance for the utilities.

“I’m a little bit surprised about Jica’s request for a master plan because last July, we thought we came to terms that the Manila office had to present to the Jica headquarters the changes happening in the Philippines, a new master plan in quotation marks. We agreed that it cannot be a rigid plan,” said Fernandez.

The Jica representative said the City already presented a plan before the loan agreement was approved, but the plan was for an export zone for light manufacturing firms. “The original purpose of the SRP was for industries and manufacturing firms but that is no longer what the market needs. And the shift to a mixed land use was acceptable to the JICA head in Manila. They fully understand that the realities have changed,” Fernandez added. (LCR)

Filinvest still to pursue P80 B South Road Properties investment

2008-12-18T09:44:00.000+08:00

The Freeman
December 16, 2008 12:00 AM

Cebu City mayor on-leave Tomas Osmeña said the Filinvest Land Inc. will still pursue its P80 billion investment at the South Road Properties despite the opinion of Asian Development Bank (ADB) consultants that the SRP lacks a land use master plan.

“Don’t listen to them. They don’t know what they are talking about. Filinvest will start project without them,” Osmeña said yesterday.

The mayor, who is still in the United States, said he knows what is acceptable and what is not.

The ADB consultants have suggested that the SRP’s land use master plan should be completed first before the lots will be sold.

They explained that infrastructure utilities such as roads, drainage systems, electricity and water lines should be identified first because it would be difficult to put them up once the lots are already sold.

But Osmeña argued that “If we followed a so-called master land use plan, the SM City mall would never be there. Why? Because it was never in the master plan as a matter of fact, to accommodate SM, we had to destroy six hectares of city roads, side walks, streetlights, drainage and electrical lines.”

He said the hiring of those ADB consultants are just a waste of time, saying “let them show their past accomplishments if any.”

The FLI had proposed for a joint venture with the city to develop a 50-hectare lot at the SRP.The firm will pay the city P1.5 billion for 10 hectares of the lot while the city will receive 10 percent of the gross income from the rest of the lot.

In his argument, Osmeña asked that “was the Cebu International Convention Center originally part of the master plan of the Mandaue reclamation project? No way.”

He even suggested that ADB should hire experts from Osaka Power or Tokyo Power regarding the district cooling, or Singapore Power for electrical distributor.

Osmeña said the city will not put on hold projects at the SRP just to wait for the completion of the study conducted by the ADB consultants.

He said the ADB has not extended a single development loan to the Philippines for the past several years even though it is based in the country. “That’s a reflection of their competence.” — Rene U. Borromeo/LPM(THE FREEMAN)

BRT advocate offers to help in South Road Properties design, bus system

2008-12-17T09:41:00.000+08:00

Monday, December 15, 2008
Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

ASIDE from two foreign funding agencies, Cebu City Hall might also get some help and input for the South Road Properties (SRP) from one of the world's leading mass transport system advocates.

Former Bogota City, Colombia Mayor Enrique Peñalosa has expressed interest in making a design proposal for the SRP.

In a recent visit, he has said that the 302-hectare SRP, which could transform Cebu, "could become what Manhattan is to New York or what Makati is to Manila."

The former mayor, who introduced the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Bogota, has written City Planning and Development Coordinator Nigel Paul Villarete, Peñalosa offering what he could do.

In his letter, Peñalosa said the SRP "is probably the most exciting project" he has seen in the many cities he has worked in, and that it could transform Cebu and the Philippines.

"I work with a great team of some world-class urban designers from the London School of Economics, and I would love it if we could make a proposal for SRP's design. SRP could transform Cebu, the Philippines and have a profound effect in Asia's urban development," he said.

Peñalosa, though, said the City Government should incorporate new urban design elements that will make the SRP unique and better than Makati or Manhattan in several aspects.

Maximum gain

"A rapid but careful and comprehensive scheme can also be devised in order to ensure the maximum financial gain to Cebu City from the sale of the land. It should be a project that makes Cebu more attractive for international investors and tourists. It should also be accessible to all citizens of Cebu for their enjoyment," he said.

Villarete said that although Peñalosa's ideas and proposal were given unofficially through an e-mail, the City is willing to consider them.

Among other things, Peñalosa said he imagined the SRP to have a pedestrian waterfront around the reclaimed land, bicycle lanes, parks, marina, waterfront promenades, plazas, and the BRT system.

"Cebu's BRT should go across SRP and small feeder buses could bring passengers from different points to the BRT stations. Mayor Tommy Osmeña's vision of having no cars in the island may be too radical, but certainly cars could be restricted," he suggested.

Despite some differences in their ideas on how to go about the planning of SRP's utilities, Villarete believes the City can still work with the foreign consultants conducting studies on the infrastructure needed at the SRP.

He said he would rather wait for the succeeding workshops early next year to find out what direction the technical assistance will take.

Assistance

The Asian Development Bank-Cities Development Initiative for Asia (ADB-CDIA) has provided the City with a $499,000 grant in technical assistance in studying the utilities and infrastructure requirements of the SRP.

ADB and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) may also be tapped for the funds needed to implement the recommendations of the consultants, if the City Government decides to accept them.

During a workshop last week, though, ADB and Jica representatives said that unless the City can provide a development framework or a master plan for the SRP, their agencies might not be able to provide funding.

Their comments upset Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña, who said that he has long planned some of the utilities without any new input from both ADB and JICA.

"I really think that it will work out all right, it's just that there were some insistence from both sides; but we are going to work it out…. It's really up to what will happen in January, when the consultants will meet to thresh out their concerns for the studies to proceed," Villarete said.

He said he is happy that ADB has funded the project development and pre-feasibility studies in identifying the utilities.

"But we don't have to comply with anything. Yes, there is a technical assistance but it (results) is not something that should be forced on the City if it's against its will," he added.

Acting Mayor Michael Rama yesterday said he would meet Villarete and SRP Chief Operating Officer Nagiel Bañacia to discuss the outcome of the workshop.

"I will check with them on what were the feedbacks during the workshop and let's see what needs to be done. I don't want to add anything to what Mayor Tom said; he
also has a point, but I will leave it at that," he said.

Don’t Tie Down South Road Properties to Master Plan: Tomas

2008-12-14T18:46:00.000+08:00

Saturday, December 13, 2008

CEBU City officials and the marketing arm of the South Road Properties (SRP) assured they will comply with the terms and conditions of the loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama also assured JICA that the City is “not skirting substantially the original plan for the SRP.”

It’s just that the times have changed and the City is doing the most practical thing, which is to make the SRP profitable for the City to pay its loan obligation.

Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) Managing Director Joel Mari Yu said they are prepared to allot a portion of the 302-hectare property for light manufacturing firms, which was the original purpose of the SRP before the loan agreement was approved.

Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña also said that even if the SRP has shifted from being purely an export zone for manufacturing companies to a mixed land use project, the developments will create jobs, which is the main objective of the SRP.

“It is demand-driven. We listen to what the locator has in mind and if it’s good for Cebu, we will find a way as soon as possible,” he said in a text message, when asked if the SRP will still have room for manufacturing firms.

External

“Global conditions will dictate the ultimate direction of the SRP. Our first joint venture requires the construction of 875,000 square meters of finished buildings and condominiums. How you can build this without creating jobs means that we will use robots? That’s the first step. The usage of these buildings will not require jobs? Why? Will these buildings be serviced and occupied by robots?” said Osmeña.

Osmeña was reacting to an earlier statement of a JICA official who said that compared to manufacturing firms, hotels and condominiums might employ fewer people after the construction period.

(City Planning and Development Coordinator Nigel Paul Villarete corrected Sun.Star Cebu’s headline yesterday on the JICA official’s statement.

Meanwhile, former Cebu City mayor Alvin Garcia said he expects the offer of Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to develop a 50.6-hectare portion of the SRP will not materialize, given the lack of a master plan for the project’s use.

In yesterday’s “Tapok-tapok sa Kia” forum, Garcia said he has kept on reminding that the SRP requires a master plan and that such a development framework should not be solely up to the buyer or developer of the reclamation project to decide.

“Now, it’s clear that what they (city officials) did was wrong,” said Garcia.

Still valid

“I think that some people at the City Hall know that a master plan is important. Karon kay wa na man ilang amo, ila na i-implementar…maghimo na gyud og (Now that their boss is away, they are implanting it. They are working on a) master plan.”

In a phone interview yesterday, Yu said the SRP can accommodate manufacturing firms anytime.

Although the SRP was originally intended as an export zone, the demand for factory spaces here has dropped when manufacturing firms decided to transfer to Vietnam and China.

“The original intention is still valid. But in the last three years, not a single foreign direct investment came to Cebu. In the last five years, there was only one. A sizable amount of land at the SRP is still not negotiated, we can allot space for manufacturing firms that might want to locate there. If it has to happen, we are ready for that,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

Yu and Villarete said the City will also comply with the loan agreement that requires the City to retain ownership of 49 percent of the SRP until it can fully pay for the 12.3-million yen loan made in 1995.

Aside from Filinvest Land Inc.’s (FLI) proposed condominiums and office buildings, Osmeña said that Bigfoot Entertainment’s project is also a high priority because it’s a prestigious industry with “livelihood impact and technology transfer.”

Priorities

Retirement and medical tourism facilities, a 15,000-seater coliseum, corporate headquarters, postgraduate schools and an international yacht club will also be a priority.

“Whatever Jica’s comments are, I challenge JICA and the Philippine Government to show a better Official Development Assistance project than the SRP among hundreds that they funded. I will show the Japanese taxpayers that they did not waste their funds on this. Just their best project in the last 30 years and compare it with the SRP. I promise to defend and win the argument. Hindi tayo mapapahiya,” Osmeña said.

Rama, for his part, said the City is leaning toward having a master plan on how it hopes to develop the property.

The acting mayor also said he could not believe that a JICA official would say that the planned use for the SRP is “not acceptable.” (Editor’s note: He was referring to the headline, not the story’s text.)

“I’m a little bit surprised that there is such a statement attributed to JICA. I wish and I hope that Jica was taken out of context. Dili man ta unmindful unsa’y original plan,” he said.

He said the offer of Filinvest Land Inc. “may not be for massive employment generation, but it has a domino effect on the economy.” (LCR/With GMD & RHM)

Planned South Road Properties use ‘not acceptable’

2008-12-14T09:36:00.000+08:00

NOT having a development framework or a master plan and a governance structure for the South Road Properties (SRP) would cost the Cebu City Government a lot, including foreign funding for utilities and other infrastructure within the 302-hectare facility.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) reiterated yesterday the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) request for a development framework or plan, so it can justify to the Japanese Government the shift in the use of the reclaimed properties.

JICA granted the City Government a 12.315-million yen loan in 1995 to develop the SRP into an export zone for light manufacturing firms.

While residential condominiums and commercial centers in some portions of the SRP may still be acceptable to them, JICA representative Jun Watanabe said a larger
part of the SRP should be used for developments that have a high potential for creating jobs, like manufacturing firms.

Watanabe reminded city officials yesterday of the terms and conditions of the SRP loan, after hearing about unsolicited proposals to put up residential condominiums,
malls and office buildings in the SRP.

He said it might not be acceptable to the Japanese Government if the City and investors develop 70 to 80 percent of the total land area for projects that have low potential for creating jobs.

“It’s basic that we cannot allow private usage (of land) in the SRP, for example gambling and hotels, that kind of private activity. We understand and we know these kind of private activities have to be done... but to what extent this kind of private activity will come is another matter,” he said during the Priority Infrastructure Investment Plan
(PIIP) workshop yesterday.

Balance

“For example, 80 percent of land will be used for private and 20 percent is for public, maybe this is questionable because as explained, the SRP has been developed through the money of the Japanese taxpayers. They will ask why Japanese people’s taxes here are used for the private companies. But for example, 80 percent is used for public and 20 percent is used for private, we can accept that kind of private usage,” Watanabe said.

In an interview after his presentation, he explained that by public use, he referred to development projects that will create a large number of jobs even after construction.

He added that a zoning and framework plan is needed also so he can justify to the JICA board the utilities needed for the SRP, and how to develop areas for information technology buildings, commercial and residential.

It is indispensable to their operations, he said, because the board cannot accept their proposal without a plan.

JICA is one of the funding agencies being considered for the setting up of the utilities.

On paper

“There was no master plan presented to us. We know the ideas of Mayor (Tomas) Osmeña for the SRP but it has to be a written document. The master plan was already prepared before the loan agreement but at that moment, it was mainly for manufacturing.”

“But the situation has changed and with this change, they should have a master plan because it is necessary for us to justify why the City is now going into IT, tourism and not manufacturing,” Watanabe said.

“Commercial activity can be acceptable but it should be explained that it will create jobs,” he continued.

Watanabe admitted, though, that limitations on land use would discourage investors from the SRP, which is why he will consult the board on what will be acceptable to them.

For his part, ADB-Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) Program Manager Michael Lindfield said that without a development framework, the ADB will not be able to proceed with the feasibility studies for the infrastructure needed, like solid waste management, district cooling, public transport, waste management and disposal.

Long-term

“Unless we have a coherent plan that is agreed on by the local government, potential developers and infrastructure suppliers, and unless we have a government structure, meaning some way of managing the SRP on a sustainable basis, then it will be very difficult for us to plan the next phase in terms of infrastructure and to finance it because we need to know that there is a viable and sustainable way of managing the infrastructure in the long term,” Lindfield said.

In a separate interview, City Planning and Development Coordinator Nigel Paul Villarete said what is important in drafting the development framework is for the City to still have flexibility in implementing projects, and not be tied down by a detailed master plan.

“What we need is a general development framework that will allow you to have a certain idea on what kind of development you will have in your domain, and at the same time some flexibility to adjust to global changes in the future. We just need a guide,” he said.

Lindfield also cited the need for an organization or management structure that will make sure that those services will be at the SRP on a long-term basis.

While they will help lay down before February the framework plan, which will be used for planning the infrastructure needed at the SRP, he said they can only recommend some inputs. It will still be the City Government that will approve ordinances on the framework.

Lindfield also pointed out the need for a government structure to balance the interests of the City Government and the private investors, and to make sure both parties comply with their obligations in development projects.

“We can’t proceed unless we have a viable framework plan and a government structure. The pressure is on because the City already has some unsolicited bids in process. We need something concrete by February, otherwise it delays the proponent and proposals,” he added.

City urged: Firm up plan for South Road Properties’ infra, utilities

2008-12-12T23:09:00.000+08:00

Thursday, December 11, 2008
Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

FOREIGN consultants recommended yesterday the creation of concrete plans for utilities and infrastructure at the South Road Properties (SRP), before the Cebu City Government sells or develops other areas of the 302-hectare facility.

Consultants of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are concerned about the development of SRP lots into commercial, recreational, medical and condominium complexes even before a defined plan on roads, transportation and other utilities are laid down.

John Olof Vinterhav said, though, that he does not see a need for a moratorium on the sale and negotiations involving SRP lots, since their study will be completed in a year’s time.

A team of around 15 foreign and local ADB consultants led by Vinterhav started yesterday the project development for the Cities Development Initiative for Asia’s (CDIA) Priority Infrastructure Investment Plan (PIIP) for the SRP.

They will study the appropriate public transportation and road network, water supply and wastewater treatment, solid waste management and disposal, district cooling and power distribution.

Vinterhav said that as a consultant providing technical assistance, he would have preferred that they made the study on the utilities and infrastructure needed at the SRP before any development started.

Bigfoot Entertainment has already constructed and started operations in their three-hectare leased property. Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) is also planning to develop a 50.6-hectare area, which will be bid out later this month.

“There is no need for a moratorium because we were told that there will be no sale in the next six months. We would have preferred that the FLI proposal didn’t come but it’s there already. Anyway it’s possible to do a planning even if the FLI offer is finalized,” he told reporters yesterday.

The consultants raised their concerns during the PIIP visioning and scoping workshop at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, which city officials and Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) Managing Director Joel Mari Yu also attended.

“If I were the one to decide, I would say don’t close any deal unless you can safeguard that there is flexibility, that the City can get back a piece of land that might be needed for utilities. But Cebu City is the owner of the property, they can do whatever they want to do. But as the provider of technical assistance, my advice is for the City to consider our
recommendations before they do anything, that they don’t close any deal before the plans are finalized,” said Vinterhav.

They were specifically concerned about a situation in the future when the City might have to set up bus terminals or a road networks on a property that has already been purchased or developed.

But Yu said the absence of detailed planning on the exact location of utilities and infrastructure does not bother them.

The City will also continue negotiating with SM Prime Holdings, Ayala Land and Pueblo de Oro, and will continue the bidding for the FLI offer.

Yu said that in all of CIPC’s negotiations with interested buyers, he has informed them of the provision in the sale, lease or joint venture contract that will allow the City to buy back any property that will have to be used for utilities and infrastructure.

“If the consultants can define now what area they want to keep for the utilities and infrastructure, it’s very easy to modify the contract. The build-up time is two to three years, we can still change the layout, dili pa madaot ang locator ana,” Yu said.

He also said that the recommendations of the consultants can always be incorporated into the individual master plan of each locator or developer.

“We don’t need to wait for the results of the ADB study. We can just amend the contracts according to the input of ADB that we want to accept from the consultants,” Yu continued.

Also during the workshop yesterday, Yu said the SRP was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1995 to be developed into an export zone for light manufacturing companies.

But because of the manufacturing firms’ preference for Vietnam and China over Cebu, they shifted into a mixed land use development.

He said, though, that the City and the CIPC, the marketing arm of the SRP, will still set aside some 50 hectares for light manufacturing companies.

Other developments in the SRP are the high-end retirement facility, medical tourism facility, University of the Philippines’ graduate school program, a stadium or exhibition center, mall, recreation facilities, a promenade, a marina and high-end condominiums.

In a teleconference during the workshop, Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña said he envisioned the SRP not just as a revenue-generating project, but one that will create jobs, and bring in tourists, expatriates and corporate headquarters to Cebu.

“There are many possibilities for the SRP but one thing I don’t like it to be is a real estate business. Cebuanos want something more, something better. Hopefully, the time will come when we will be able to bring in corporate headquarters to the SRP,” he told the participants.

Osmeña had just arrived at his rented apartment in Houston, Texas from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where he completed the second cycle of his chemotherapy, when he addressed the consultants and city officials.

Kawit Island now officially part of South Road Properties

2008-12-11T23:07:00.000+08:00

The Freeman
Updated December 10, 2008 12:00 AM

CEBU - The Kawit Island at the South Road Properties has been reclassified as an alienable and disposable land and has been removed from the administration of the Department of Health, said Malacañang in a letter sent to Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

The letter, sent by Malacañang Records Office Director Marianito Dimaandal, attached with it a certified true copy of Proclamation 1505, which amended an Executive Order 43, the executive order issued in 1904 that declared the island solely for quarantine use and maritime hospital services by the Chief Quarantine Officer of the DOH.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued PP 1505 in May this year upon recommendation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

PP 1505 has also formally declared the island as part of the SRP and under the direct administration of the city government.

With this development, the city government and the Asian Development Bank – Cities Development Initiatives for Asia will hold today a conference to kick off the Priority Infrastructure and Investment Plan of the SRP.

At least 30 stakeholders are expected to attend the two-day conference, which will serve as a “visioning and scoping activity of the various project stakeholders,” said SRP Chief Operations Officer Nagiel Banacia.

Prospective investors and project counterparts from various offices of the Cebu City government are also expected to participate in the event.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña who is in the United States for chemotherapy treatment for his cancer will share his vision of the SRP through a teleconference.

Meanwhile, Joel Mari Yu, General Manager of the Cebu Investment and Promotions Center will tackle updates on marketing activities for the SRP such as projects investments and pending Negotiations.

City Planning and Development Officer Nigel Paul Villarete will talk on the “Role and Function of the SRP in Cebu City and Metro Cebu Development” while John Olof Vinterhav will talk in the “Rationale of the PIIP”.

Afternoon today, delegates of the conference will participate in a tour to the North Reclamation Area, the Sugbo Building, the Desalination Plant, Bigfoot Studios, Inayawan Landfill, Talisay South Road and Banilad- Mandaue areas.

Tomorrow, Jun Watanabe of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation will talk on the strategic framework master plan of the SRP while a representative of the Metro Cebu Water District will discuss the project’s water resources management action plan.

Delegates would also get to participate in workshops, which would climax with the presentation of outputs during the plenary.

Osmeña earlier said he plans to lease part of Kawit Island to selected agencies.

Before it became part of the SRP, Kawit Island was once less than 10 kilometers from mainland Cebu and had a total land area of 39,854 square meters.

Among the structures in the island are the building of the Association of Barangay Councils, SRP Administration Building, and the Office of Senior Citizens. – Ferliza C. Contratista/JMO (THE FREEMAN)

Nalzaro: Capitol’s revenge (South Road Properties)

2008-12-04T21:53:00.000+08:00

Bobby Nalzaro's column in Sunstar
Bobby Nalzaro

I AGREE with Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña that nobody, not even the Provincial Government, can dictate Cebu City Hall on what to do with the South Road Properties (SRP). The mayor issued this statement in reaction to Rep. Pablo John Garcia’s view that Filinvest’s offer to the City is illegal and disadvantageous to the government.

Gov. Gwen Garcia’s younger brother said the purchase of 10 hectares of SRP lots should be done through competitive bidding and not a Swiss challenge. And to be fair, the City should separate the purchase from the joint venture to develop 40 hectares of SRP lots.

Garcia, being a bar topnotcher, may have some basis to his claim. But as far as Tomas is concerned, he doesn't care whether the Filinvest offer is disadvantageous to the City or not so long as he can raise revenues from the sale. I am sure that when the offer was reviewed, City Hall lawyers studied its possible legal complications

Filinvest is not also foolish to enter into a transaction with the City Government if it is illegal. The firm, a leader in land developing, is protecting the image and prestige of the company. It will not engage in illegal and questionable transactions.

I already wrote in a previous column that Capitol’s announcement that it would challenge the unsolicited proposal of Filinvest is questionable. I now think Capitol is not really serious in its offer. What will it do with the lot? And of all the SRP lots, why is it interested in those coveted by Filinvest?

Capitol’s motive is revenge. It has something to do with the city's decision to prohibit Capitol from developing its Ciudad project in Banilad.

By challenging Filinvest’s proposal, Capitol can already legally intervene even if it loses in the bidding. It acquires legal personality to go to the court and raise legal questions. If it won’t participate in the bidding, it has no basis to go to court questioning the deal.

I am sure the legal issues now raised by Rep. Garcia will be the same issues that will be raised by Capitol in court. And if there is a pending case, the implementation of the project will be delayed. Worse, Filinvest might withdraw because of some legal hassle.

And if the project is delayed or Filinvest withdraws, the City Government cannot raise revenues. Mapurnada ang income ug commission ni Tomas, kun duna man. Panglawgaw ra gyod nang ila. Ila lang palaguton si Tomas.

CH gives go-signal to FLI’s P25-B proposal; officials still mum on Capitol’s bid (South Road Properties)

2008-12-03T21:52:00.000+08:00

Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

FILINVEST Land Inc. (FLI) will infuse a total equity of P25 billion, not P80 billion, in the joint venture with the Cebu City Government to develop a 50.6-hectare portion of the South Road Properties (SRP).

Even with limited details on the results of the negotiations between FLI and the City’s Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC), the City Council authorized the committee yesterday to proceed with the publication of FLI’s proposal, and to invite private entities to challenge it.

The special council session did not answer questions on whether local government units like the Provincial Government will be allowed to participate in the competitive challenge.

The council’s authorization to publish will allow the JVSC to collect P250 million from FLI later this week, before the invitation to pre-qualify and to submit a comparative proposal is published on Dec. 4 or 5.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said last night that FLI committed to invest an equity of only P25 billion for the project, as specified in the pre-qualification requirements.

FLI committed to construct 875,000 square meters of building space through an unincorporated joint venture with the City over a 20-year period, covering 50.6 hectares of land.

High-end medium and high-rise condominiums, office buildings, a retirement facility, commercial and recreational areas will be put up at the prime waterfront lots and properties along the South Coastal Road.

“The equity that they are committing is P25 billion. They only need to raise P25 billion to start the project and mao ra na ang ilang patuyok-tuyokon and at a certain point, it will reach P80 billion. So P25 billion ra sad ang kinahanglan sa mga challengers ana,” Fernandez told Sun.Star Cebu.

During the session, Councilor Nestor Archival asked the JVSC whether or not local government units will be allowed to participate in the joint venture, considering that the ordinance prescribing the joint venture guidelines covers only private entities.

“We would rather not comment on that. We will wait if there are proposals from local governments and if there are, I think that is when they would tackle it and consult legal luminaries and the city council. Until the deadline for the submission of proposals, it would be better if the JVSC refrains from commenting on that controversial matter,” Fernandez said.

A prospective challenger, the Cebu Provincial Government, did not attend the session.

‘Director’

“I am sure it (Filinvest presentation) will be covered by the media. We will make our reactions to the proposal after the meeting,” said lawyer and Capitol information and revenue generation consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda.

The Province also hit back at Mayor Tomas Osmeña, for saying that the Capitol cannot direct the affairs of the City Government, particularly in negotiations for the sale of SRP lots.

“At any rate, para sa Kapitolyo, we know that we cannot direct the city. There is only one director for the city and he’s doing his direction now through the use of his cellular phone. We don’t wish to become a director,” Sepulveda told a press conference.

Osmeña was reacting to the statement of Rep. Pablo John Garcia (Cebu Province, 3rd district) that the sale should be done through a competitive public bidding, and not a Swiss Challenge that violates the Local Government Code. He has also said the purchase of 10 hectares should be handled separately from the proposed joint venture to develop 40 hectares.

Sepulveda criticized a statement from the “director from Texas” that the City is simply following the National Economic Development Authority’s (Neda) guidelines on the
sale of SRP lots.

“Unfortunately, the director from Texas is not a lawyer. I’m telling him now he’s wrong. These Neda guidelines are not applicable to a local government unit,” he said.

Review

Businessman Crisologo Saavedra, who attended the presentation at the council session, said he will scrutinize both Filinvest’s proposal and the Provincial Government’s challenge.

“This is for the good of the Cebuanos and as part of my advocacy against corruption,” said Saavedra, who has filed cases at the Office of the Ombudsman to question allegedly anomalous government transactions.

At the session, Fernandez also told the council that FLI committed to compensate the City over a period of 20 years, including a minimum payment of P1.5 billion in cash, payable within the first three years.

In the joint venture component covering 40 hectares, FLI will also give the City 10 percent of the gross revenues from built condominium units, or a predetermined minimum guaranteed return, whichever is higher.

Fernandez did not disclose to the council the minimum guaranteed return, as the information would be made available only after the eligible bidders have been selected.

“If they are not able to sell any unit, then we get a minimum guaranteed return, which shall be over and above the price of the lot. But if they are able to sell, then we get 10 percent of their sales. This is what we are now offering to the public, for other private entities to challenge,” he told the council.

Ownership

Fernandez also assured the council that the City will remain the owner of the lot covered by the joint venture and that Filinvest will not be allowed to mortgage the property until it has fully paid for the lots through the annual share of the gross sales.

The JVSC will publish the invitation to bid in major local dailies twice, either on Dec. 4 or 5 and once more seven days after that.

The deadline for submission of eligibility documents is on Dec. 18, while the deadline for the submission of comparative proposals is 30 days after.

As stated in the pre-qualification requirements, any individual, partnership, corporation, firm or consortium, whether local or foreign, may participate in the competitive challenge.

Among other eligibility requirements, the prospective bidder or its affiliates should have at least 25 years of experience in real estate development in the country, and completed and developed a contiguous project of at least 35 hectares for a commercial business district costing at least P10 billion.

Since the minimum amount of the equity needed for the joint venture is P25 billion, the prospective bidder should be able to prove that it has access to an equivalent amount of capital.

If the bidder is a corporation, it must be a publicly listed company in the Philippine Stock Exchange and should have a stockholders’ equity of at least P20 billion. (With GMD & RHM)

Capitol willing to work with city on South Road Properties

2008-11-22T21:51:00.000+08:00

CEBU - Taking advantage of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s absence, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday visited the South Road Properties and expressed interest in working together with the city on the project that she intends to put up at the much-talked about facility.

For the first time since the province expressed interest in investing at the SRP, the governor stepped on the 295-hectare property where she was warmly welcomed and briefed by SRP management office head Nagiel Bañacia.

Before the governor left the Sugbu building, where Bañacia brought her to have an aerial view of the entire facility, the governor told him that the province is willing to work with the city.

“We should be working together, instead of fighting against each other,” Garcia said.

The governor conducted a preliminary inspection of the SRP because the Capitol is interested and wanted to challenge the proposal of Filinvest Land Inc., which intends to make a P2 billion outright purchase of the lots at the SRP.

The province is preparing to challenge the proposal of FLI to buy a 10-hectare portion of the property and to develop another 40 hectares under a joint venture with the city government.

The lot that the company wanted to develop is situated in SRP’s prime lot portion which is valued at P15,000 per square meter.

“We are serious in our bid and we did not do this to amuse anybody,” Garcia said after her short visit at the SRP.

She also instructed her appraisal team to coordinate with the city government in order to get the technical and assessment date of the lots.

The appraisal team of the province composed of provincial treasurer Roy Salubre, provincial engineer Eulogio Pelayre and provincial assessor Anthony Sususco.

Garcia said that the possibilities in doing development in the site are tremendous because of the complete utilities and facilities such as water and electricity.

The province doubts the proposal of Filinvest because under the National Economic Development Authority guidelines, a joint venture does not include outright purchase.

Capitol consultant on information and revenue generation Rory Jon Sepulveda cited the NEDA guidelines that said “a joint venture is a contractual arrangement whereby a private sector entity or a group of private sector entity or one man and government entity or group of government entity contribute money, capital permitive asset.” — Garry B. Lao and Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/WAB (THE FREEMAN)

Cebu to wrap up talks with Filinvest Land over its P80-B devt proposal (South Road Properties)

2008-11-21T21:49:00.000+08:00

Written by Wilfredo Rodolfo III / Reporter
Thursday, 20 November 2008 00:07

THE Cebu City government said it expects to wrap up next week its contract negotiations for an estimated P80-billion unsolicited development proposal of Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) for a large portion of the reclaimed South Road Properties (SRP).

The city’s administrator and chief negotiator Francisco Fernandez told reporters the draft joint-venture agreement is nearing completion and should be out for publication by December.

“Pending any problems, we expect to sign the formal joint-venture agreement by Januart 17. This would mean construction could start,” Fernandez said.

“We are currently talking about the area FLI will develop, what their plans are for the property and what income guarantee they can give the city,” he said. He added that since the agreement will be opened to a Swiss Challenge following government rules on unsolicited proposal, the city is also starting to set up parameters on how the challenge will be measured.

Fernandez said the challenges to the FLI proposal will be measured according to the net present value and the income it will give the city in the succeeding years.

The city also wants to make sure there are “guaranteed investments” in the property—that developers will actually build on the property immediately. “The city is not after land-sales proceeds but to spur development and provide jobs,” Fernandez said.

The Cebu provincial government earlier announced it is contemplating on challenging the proposal of FLI.

FLI, in its original proposal presented to Mayor Tomas Osmeña, said it would build on the long-term P80 billion worth of development over 60 hectares of the 290-hectare SRP.

Capitol to invest in South Road Properties

2008-11-18T21:47:00.000+08:00

CEBU CITY -- The Cebu Provincial Government announced Monday plans to go into commercial development in the South Road Properties (SRP), the pet project of Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña, Capitol's top critic. Capitol is also preparing to challenge the proposal of Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to develop a 50-hectare portion of the SRP.
"The Province is interested nga maka-invest mi sa among gamay'ng kwarta (in investing our little funds), so we decided to do commercial development in the south district, especially in the South Road Properties," Capitol information and revenue generation consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda said in a press conference Monday.

The announcement was met with surprise by at least one City Hall official. Acting Cebu City Mayor Hilario Davide III wondered why the Provincial Government is suddenly interested to challenge Filinvest's offer when Capitol officials have consistently criticized the SRP.

"Are they serious?... Frankly speaking, I can't help but entertain doubts and surprise. I don't know their motive but if they are serious, let them submit their proposal then we will study it," Davide told Sun.Star Cebu.
Sepulveda said Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia instructed him to draft a request relative to the guidelines of a joint venture with a local government unit (LGU).

Davide, however, said the ordinance that covers the City's negotiations with FLI does not include offers from LGUs.

Davide also said he has not come across any joint venture between two LGUs, or one LGU investing in another LGU.

"The ordinance is silent on LGUs investing in the SRP, there is no provision there that says that an LGU can join the bidding so we have to check first how the City will go about it. This is something novel but we will study their proposal," he said.

Davide, the author of the ordinance, pointed out that as stated in the measure and as announced by Osmeña earlier, any challenger of the joint venture offer of FLI must have the financial and technical capability to undertake the project.

In her State of the Province Address in July, Garcia said Cebu is the richest province in the country, posting P17 billion in assets in 2007 while remaining debt-free.

"We realized that we cannot just sit down idly and do nothing especially ilang gibalik-balik og announce nga wala'y development sa provincial properties," said Sepulveda.

Sepulveda said the proposal was hatched in a meeting with Governor Garcia, Representative Pablo John Garcia (Cebu Province, 3rd district) and Pablo Garcia (Cebu Province, 2nd district) over the weekend.
He said the scheme will be submitted to the Provincial Economic Enterprise Council (ECC) for evaluation and approval.

Sepulveda said Capitol is organizing a team to study the offer. He said the province is prepared to do the Swiss challenge or make another offer.
The Capitol consultant said the Provincial Government is thinking of innovative ways to generate resources rather than relying on traditional taxation.

FLI is proposing to buy a 10-hectare portion of the SRP amounting to some P2 billion and developing 40 more hectares under a joint venture agreement with the City Government.

Its officials said they plan to invest some P80 billion to build several high-rise and medium-rise condominium units, office buildings and a retirement and hospital facility at the SRP.

In a phone interview Monday, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez, also the Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) chairman, said he will check with the committee members Tuesday and the city councilors if the bidding is open to government entities.

Whether or not Capitol is serious with its plan, he said the committee will consider the Province's offer for review once they receive a copy.

"There might be much ado about nothing if they are not serious. They will have to make a substantial deposit of some P250 million once they challenge FLI's offer, and meet other requirements," said Fernandez.

"We also have to check if they are capable of implementing the project. Money is not the only consideration here. The challengers need to have enough experience and have done similar projects in the past. We will have to review the ordinance to check if LGUs are entitled to join the bidding," he added. (GMD/LCR)

Tom asks people’s help to fight ‘landgrabber’ (South Road Properties)

2008-11-15T21:46:00.000+08:00

THREATS of a lawsuit by Talisay City officials and their claim over a 50-hectare portion of the South Road Properties (SRP) will not affect Cebu City Hall’s ongoing negotiations with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), city officials said yesterday.

While Acting City Mayor Hilario Davide III and City Hall’s Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) are confident of the City’s ownership of the SRP, Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña sought his constituents’ help in protecting SRP from a “landgrabber,” apparently referring to Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu, 1st district).

Gullas said last Wednesday that the Talisay City Government is expected to take legal action if Cebu City tries to sell the 53.44 hectares it is claiming.

In a text message sent from Houston, Texas where he is undergoing treatment for his bladder cancer, Osmeña asked Cebu City’s constituents to stand up for the 302-hectare facility.

“Please tell the people of Cebu City that I am sick and cannot defend the SRP as much as I would like to. I need the help of my constituents against this landgrabber. I
did this project for you and not for myself. Please stand up and help me defend what is rightfully yours,” his text message read.

Davide said yesterday that he was surprised why Talisay’s officials are saying they did not know about the titling of the SRP lots that Talisay claimed.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez, also chairman of the JVSC, said if Talisay will question the titles issued to Cebu City, it should sue the President for signing the presidential proclamation on the SRP’s ownership.

“As far as the ownership issue is concerned, Filinvest Land has no doubt that Cebu City owns the SRP. It took us three years to get those titles, even DENR denied their claim... I’m surprised that they were surprised that the lots were titled under the City’s name, because they knew all along,” Davide told reporters.

Davide further said that if Talisay City officials are questioning the titles of the SRP, they will also have to question the presidential proclamation stating that the SRP is within and is owned by Cebu City.

Talisay will also have to question the opinion of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which decided in favor of the Cebu City Government, he said.

“The title is no longer an issue. I don’t think it will affect our negotiations,” he continued.

Except for the unfilled 60-hectare Pond A and a two-hectare lot claimed by the Ting family, all other lots at the SRP, spanning some 210.074 hectares, were titled in the Cebu City Government’s name in September 2005.

For his part, Fernandez said yesterday that ownership of the SRP was not discussed in any of their meetings on the ongoing negotiations with FLI “because the titling is a non-issue.”

“That is no longer an issue. Ang among contention ana is that they know the titles have already been issued, they know that there is a Presidential Proclamation on that.

They should sue the President for issuing that document,” he added. (LCR)

Lack of consultants hounds ADB project (South Road Properties)

2008-11-14T15:40:00.000+08:00

By Marian Z. Codilla
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 15:09:00 11/12/2008

Cebu City, Philippines - The search for four more consultants has pushed back the start of an Asian Development Bank (ADB) technical assistance study on the South Road Properties (SRP) from last Monday to the end of the month.

John-Olof Vinterfav, land management specialist of the ADB-Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA), said the group still needs to find four more consultants to complete the set of eight consultants for the pre-feasibility study of the utilities that would be used in the SRP.

The technical assistance project is covered by a $499,000 grant from the ADB and will cover the study for the water supply, district cooling, urban planning, social concerns, legal issues, financing, environment and transportation in the SRP.

Vinterfav said the results of the study will be implemented by the Cebu City government to help improve the SRP.

However, the target date to start the study will have to be moved to the end of November or as soon as the group can hire the consultants.

The study will be done in two phases -- the first phase will involve the investment priority plan while the second phase will involve the pre-feasibility study of the SRP.

The second phase of the project will also determine the costs of the projects to be undertaken at the SRP and the activities and the kind of projects that would be undertaken in the area.

The first phase is expected to start from end of November to January next year while the second phase will follow on February until November next year.

“We are assisting the city in defining what needs to be done in the SRP and not to assist the investors although we also need to listen to them as we know there are a lot of investors interested in the properties,” Vinterfav said.

He said the Bus Rapid Transit system and the plan to connect the SRP to barangays (villages) Pardo and Toong through a 5.6 kilometer highway will be included in the study as it is related to how the SRP will be integrated to different parts of the city.

“SRP is a major part of the city and so we are assisting the city in defining what will be done,” Vinterfav said.

South Road Properties investors remain upbeat

2008-11-12T15:38:00.000+08:00

By: Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
Monday, November 10, 2008

INVESTORS are optimistic about their plans at the South Road Properties (SRP) despite the tedious process of acquiring lots there and the economic meltdown in the US.

Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) Vice Chairman Andrew Gotianun Jr. said they expect to finish negotiating with the City Government and close a deal on the SRP lot purchase by the middle of January, if negotiations succeed.

They submitted yesterday their proposed joint venture (JV) agreement to the City Government’s JV Selection Committee (JVSC) for review.

Bigfoot Global Solutions chief executive officer Michael Gleissner also disclosed the additional P50 million in investment that he will put into their entertainment complex on a leased property at the SRP, which was inaugurated last Saturday.

Timetable

Although Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña is “tough” to negotiate with and won’t reduce the price of SRP lots, he said he is still optimistic he can eventually buy lots in the 302-hectare facility.

Gotianun and Gleissner discussed their proposals and plans with Osmeña at the airport yesterday while the mayor waited for his flight to Manila.

“We’ll try to finish it by mid-January,” Gotianun told reporters, saying he is optimistic that FLI can work on the timetable set by the JVSC on the FLI negotiations.

FLI made a formal offer to buy 10 to 13 hectares of land at the SRP and to develop 40 more hectares under a joint venture with the City Government.

When asked if they will match any counter-proposal from other interested parties, Gotianun said: “We will study it. It’s always like that if you go through this kind of bidding... It’s like what happened to the NAIA Terminal 3.”

FLI’s offer will be subject to a competitive bidding similar to a Swiss Challenge, where other developers will be allowed to compete and buy the property at a higher price and give the City a bigger share in the JV agreement than what FLI offered.

Match

Gotianun said FLI previously turned down a chance to match the winning bidder’s offer, as in the case of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, “because the proposal of the competitor was way off-course.”

Despite the economic meltdown in the US, which forced Bigfoot Global Solutions to lay off 40 of its 500 employees in Cebu, Gleissner said he intends to pursue the expansion project at the Bigfoot Entertainment complex.

He has so far invested P150 million for the four soundstages for the international movie studio, and will invest P50 million more to put up retail shops, residential buildings and a boardwalk beside a pond.

The facility stands on a two-hectare lot they are leasing from the City for 25 years.

“We actually preferred to purchase, but as the first investor there, the lease was the option available to start things. The mayor here is a very tough negotiator and he’s not going to give the lot for a cheap price,” he said.

Gleissner said that the US’ financial crisis affected his call center business but he is optimistic that his filmmaking business will survive the crisis and he will be able to expand this.

Bigfoot Entertainment has so far produced eight feature films and has done post-production work for US-made films.

The city according to Tommy: South Road Properties holds promise of Cebu’s future

2008-11-11T15:37:00.000+08:00

By Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon
The Freeman
Sunday, November 9, 2008

The future of Cebu City is rooted in the success of the South Road Properties. This was the main message conveyed by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday in his State of the City Address at the Cebu Coliseum, the first time it was held outside City Hall.

Osmeña, who is serving out his last term and is expected to return to the United States today to continue his cancer treatment at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, was so upbeat about the future that he promised to provide qualified senior citizens in the city a yearly allowance of P2,000 to be sourced from proceeds of SRP sales.

Osmeña, who talked about the SRP much longer than other subjects in his more-than-an-hour speech, said two major sales are expected to be finalized within the year, one to Filinvest Land Inc., and another to a company he did not identify.

“I want to see Cebu prosper. We have to do something extra to improve the image of Cebu. We are much better off than we were before and I will not allow anyone to stop us,” the mayor said, in an apparent jab at critics who have belittled the status of the SRP, to the thunderous applause of 10,000 supporters.

The mayor told the crowd it is true Cebu City has come into debt because of the SRP. In fact, he admitted, the city is “number one in the country in terms of debts,” but he said there is nothing wrong with that if you have assets.

In 1995, the city secured a P3 billion loan to build the 300-hectare SRP, placing the value of the land at the time at only P1,000 per square meter. And because of the continued fall of the peso against the US dollar, the city’s debt grew to P6 billion, consequently doubling the value of the land at SRP to P2,000 per square meter.

“That is our utang (debt), two thousand pesos per square meter. But our first sale at SRP to Filinvest is for fifteen thousand pesos per square meter. So naa ta ginansiya ana. Dili ta alkansi. Galing lang naay mga bugo nga wala sila nakakita ani (so we have profits there. We did not lose. But there are those who are dumb enough not to have seen this),” the mayor said, again to thunderous applause.

Filinvest is one of the largest real estate companies in the Philippines and it is offering an outright purchase of ten hectares of the SRP worth P2 billion. Aside from this, Filinvest has also offers the city a joint venture to develop 50 hectares of the SRP property.

Osmeña said that in 1988 when he first became a mayor, he envied his cousin, then Cebu governor Emilio Osmeña, who sold province-owned properties to various investors while the city has no land to sell.

“We had nothing and now we have something. Cebu City is moving forward,” the mayor said.

The mayor also announced the launch of a facility of Bigfoot Entertainment at the SRP, the first investor to set up in the area. The Bigfoot property will be the first international movie studio in the country. Bigfoot has so far invested P2 billion in the city.

Osmeña said Bigfoot is bringing a new industry to Cebu and is training Filipinos how to make movies, not the Manila way, but movies that would rival those made in Hollywood.

So far, the only income from SRP had been P25 million representing the lease payment of Bigfoot for 25 years.

The mayor did not talk lengthily about his health, saying only that he is going to undergo chemotherapy twice a week. He said he would rather talk of the “health of the city” than his own.

He also challenged the City Council to continue to move the city forward even without him, saying he is the only mayor in the entire country who delegates so much of his executive powers to people he believes can perform better.

“Now is the time to test these people while I will be away for two to three months. I don’t know the future but no one can take away the great privilege of serving you. I’m very proud of that,” said the 60-year-old mayor, who has been diagnosed with cancer in the urinary bladder.

In reaction, city councilor Edgardo Labella said the mayor “has set the direction for all of us in his absence. We have to respond accordingly and consider it as a challenge to do better.”

The mayor cited the accomplishment of the city in reducing the number of dengue cases to just 41 this month compared to the 370 cases for the same period last year.

His wife Margot later thanked supporters for their continued support and prayers, reassuring them that the mayor is being treated in the best hospital in the world for his kind of disease by the best doctors.

“We are blessed to have each one of you. Tommy is a good man. He is a good patient now. Unlike in 2002 nga badlungon gyud (when he was mischievous). Maybe tingali kay senior citizen na man siya (maybe because he is now a senior citizen),” Margot said in jest. (/JST)

Bigfoot inaugurates P2B facility at South Road Properties

2008-11-11T15:35:00.000+08:00

The Freeman
Sunday, November 9, 2008

Bigfoot Entertainment has made a mark in Cebu and the entire Philippines by becoming the first investor to pour billions to build a two-hectare complex at the South Road Properties that was inaugurated yesterday.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said the recently inaugurated Bigfoot complex is the first international movie studio in the country. As of yesterday, Bigfoot has invested a total of P2 billion in the city, he revealed.

“Bigfoot is bringing new industry to Cebu. It is training Filipinos how to make movies, not the Manila way but movies that would rival Hollywood,” the mayor said.

During the groundbreaking ceremony of the project last year, Osmeña said that Bigfoot’s property at the SRP will house state-of-the-art filmmaking facilities that will be at par with the famous international film outfits such as Universal Studios and Warner Brothers Studios.

The city government has allowed Bigfoot to rent a two-hectare lot, or 20,000 square meters, for close to P30 per square-meter. The company is planning to lease 12 more hectares for its expansion.

The city has already received at least P25 million from Bigfoot as advanced rental for five years.

Phase 1 of the project is the development of a quad shooting stage on a hectare of land. This studio will house the complete support facilities such as director and producer offices, star dressing rooms and suites, wardrobe rooms, hair and make-up, the art department and camera and equipment rooms. The shooting stage will also be equipped with a helicopter pad.

The second phase is the development of the fabrication and mill buildings. These will have construction services encompassing everything from individually-fabricated elements to a complete set construction.

Bigfoot Entertainment is comprised of Bigfoot Productions, Bigfoot Studios, the International Academy of Film and Television, New Cebu Films and Fashion TV Singapore and Philippines. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/WAB

More jobs seen as CH, firm open 1st movie studio in RP (South Road Properties)

2008-11-10T15:34:00.000+08:00

By Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
Saturday, November 08, 2008

WITH promise of livelihood and job opportunities for ordinary Cebuanos, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced yesterday the opening of the first international movie studio in the country at the South Road Properties (SRP).

Bigfoot Entertainment’s two-hectare complex, dubbed as the Hollywood of Asia, will be inaugurated today, and is seen to create a lot of job opportunities and livelihood even for the urban poor.

Osmeña will join Bigfoot Global Solutions’ owner and president Michael Gleissner for the opening at 10:30 a.m., before proceeding to the Cebu City Sports Center for his 2 p.m. State of the City Address (Soca).

Considered a preview of this afternoon’s Soca, the mayor gave a speech at City Hall yesterday, discussing his health condition, his indefinite leave, his vision for the SRP and Cebu City, and the prospect of losing his hair when he undergoes chemotherapy in the US.

Although a prepared draft of his Soca mentions his sentiments for the Cebuanos as he prepares to leave, and a revisiting of his 22 years in Cebu, the mayor said he will not dwell on his illness when he faces thousands of Cebuanos today.

“I will talk about my health but I will not dwell on it. I will say that I won’t be able to come back after until Christmas, or maybe longer,” Osmeña said, adding that he will focus on the vision, directions and strategies of the City.

At the social hall yesterday, the mayor broke the rather somber mood when he told the crowd that urinary bladder cancer will make him lose his hair and sex appeal, drawing laughter from the visitors.

“Dili ko kasulti unsay epekto sa chemotherapy because sometimes mahulog kuno ang imong hair, mawala akong sex appeal. Ambot lang kaha kung ganahan ba mo na mubalik ko na wala na’y sex appeal (I can’t say what the effects of the chemotherapy will be. I could lose my hair and my sex appeal. I don’t know if you’d still want me back without my sex appeal),” he said in jest.

“In the meantime, many people are concerned but wala na tay mahimo. Whatever is there, is there we just have to deal with it. Now whatever happens to the City, it’s a good opportunity for the vice mayor to prove himself,” he continued.

While he is not prepared to lose his hair, Osmeña said this is the least of his concerns when he gave his doctors instructions to pursue aggressive chemotherapy when he returns to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas next week.

In a speech delivered before some 200 city officials and employees, businessmen, government officials and friends at the City Hall yesterday, the mayor announced the opening of the complex, which he said will boost the country’s movie industry.

“This will have a multiplier effect in terms of job opportunities, everyone will benefit from this industry. They spend $40 million to make a movie and a lot of people are given jobs, from the accountant to the costume maker, the cameramen. And the actors come here and spend their money here, eat in the restaurants, go to the spa, mudaghan ang mga masahista, daghan ang makatrabaho” said Osmeña.

Aside from the opening of the Bigfoot Entertainment complex, the first locator at the SRP, Osmeña will also report today other developments on the 302-hectare facility, including the proposed transport system and security measures there.

He announced yesterday the ongoing negotiations with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to have some 110 personnel of the Citizens’ Armed Forces Geographical Units (Cafgu) guard the SRP.

The AFP will provide a six-month training and firearms to the Cafgu personnel, while the City will take care of their uniforms.

For its part, the City will give the personnel honorarium and financial assistance.

Also yesterday, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) assured that security will be tight at the sports center area to ensure the safety of the people.

CCPO Director Patrocinio Comendador said they anticipate the thick crowd that will gather for the Soca, that is why they will field a sufficient number of policemen to secure the area and to prevent crimes.

Meanwhile, City Hall does not expect to finalize the sale of a portion of the SRP to Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) until mid-January yet after some legal matters delayed the negotiations.

When before the city officials were optimistic that it will make a sale before the end of the year, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said yesterday that the projected date of the signing of the joint venture (JV) agreement will be on Jan. 17 yet.

The JV Selection Committee (JVSC) prepared a new timetable for the expected progress on the negotiations with FLI.

Fernandez said that the delay was due to FLI’s failure to submit on time the proposed JV agreement, which they had to refer to their lawyers for review. FLI is expected to submit the proposal today.

“We made a new timetable and the final signing is set on Jan. 17 because there were legal requirements that had to be complied with, more on the part of Filinvest, mostly internal. But the timetable is subject to change if things go wrong in the negotiations,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

And because Osmeña and other City officials have been discussing the JV terms and conditions with FLI for over two years already, Fernandez said he expects the negotiations to proceed smoothly.

“What we’re doing now is only for formality because the substance of the deal has been discussed for two years already. The signing of the sale would have been earlier but nadelay ta gamay because last week, Filinvest did not submit the proposed JV agreement because of some legal concerns,” he continued.

FLI is offering to buy 13 hectares of land at the SRP and develop 40 hectares under a JV agreement with the City Government for a high-rise and medium-rise condominium complex, retirement facility and office buildings.

Even if there are some delays, the City is expected to receive a portion of the initial down payment for the sale by Nov. 22, when the JVSC holds the first publication of the FLI offer as part of the bidding process.

Under the City’s guidelines in entering into a JV agreement with private entities, which was patterned after the National Government’s guidelines, FLI will be required to make a deposit of one percent of the total project cost upon the first publication.

If the first phase of FLI’s project will cost P25 billion, the City will get some P250 million by Nov. 22, Fernandez said.

“Once they pay us the one percent, that can be interpreted as a sale. But if your interpretation of a sale is the signing of the agreement, then that will be on Jan. 17,” Fernandez added.

According to the timetable prepared by the JVSC, they expect to declare the negotiations successful on Nov. 11, and hold the first and second publication on Nov. 22 and Nov. 29, respectively.

Other qualified developers who will match the FLI offer will be given until Dec. 29 to submit their complete counter proposals.

By Jan. 8, the JVSC already expects to award the contract to the winning bidder and endorse it to the City Council for approval. (With MEA

South Road Properties joint deal being drafted--mayor

2008-11-09T15:33:00.000+08:00

By Marian Z. Codilla
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 11:42:00 11/07/2008

THE Cebu City government and Filinvest Land Inc. are still drafting their joint venture agreement to develop a portion of the South Road Properties (SRP).

SRP negotiation updates and the city's commitment to help the poor constituents will be taken up by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña during his City Address (Soca) on Saturday.

The venue was moved to the Cebu Coliseum from the Cebu City Sports Center since it might rain tomorrow.

Osmeña reported for work at City Hall yesterday, a day after he quietly arrived from a four-week trip to the United States.

He was greeted first by reporters at the lobby and was welcomed by Cebu City administrator Francisco Fernandez and some barangay officials, and city officials.

Osmeña yesterday defended the SRP negotiations from criticisms by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia's allies.

“We are very strict in following a protocol. We are adopting national guidelines for government owned and controlled corporation on how to do a joint venture. We are following the exact protocol. The issue brought up by the province is the issue on transparency. We have been transparent when we say we are drafting an agreement with FLI,” he said.

Osmeña said lawyers of FLI are drafting the agreement and the city government officials expect to have it in a few days.

FLI is proposing to develop a 50-hectare property in the SRP where 40 hectares will be on a JV while the other 10-hectare will be an outright sale worth P2 billion.

“We are not following the rules of Tommy Osmeña but we are strictly following that National Economic Development Authority (Neda) guidelines,” Osmeña said.

On the initial proposal of FLI, the city will be collecting 10 percent of the sale or lease of whatever the FLI will be developing such as condominiums, and hotels.

The mayor just brushed off the reports of the Commission on Audit that the city tops the list of all the cities with the largest liabilities.

The liability was mainly due to the multi-billion loan acquired by the city for the SRP.

“Sure the province tops the list of provinces with most assets but it is because there assets are located within Cebu City,” he said.

“We are number one in the cities with debts....no problem with debts as long as we have assets. Naa tay utang...so are we poor?”

Osmeña said he is confident the city can pay the loan, which has reached $3 million due to interest rates, in the next three to four years.

Osmeña said he would answer the issues raised by the province during his Soca.

He said he would have wanted to hold his Soca at the sports complex to remind Cebuanos of his first accomplishment with then councilor Joy Augustus Young.

He reiterated that he would not resign even if he was battling cancer.

“Why will I resign? There is no reason at this point that I will be resigning,” he said.

He said Cebu City should not focus on his illness but see his cancer as an opportunity to be independent and not rely entirely on the mayor.

“The number one responsibility or duty of the father is to make their children not depend on you. You teach your children everything that you know so that one day they will not need you anymore or maybe they can even be better than you. The responsibility of the father is how to be useless in the future so that your children will not depend on you,” he said. /With Correspondent Jully Venus Cuizon

SM eyes 20-hectare property in Cebu for mall, IT buildings (South Road Properties)

2008-10-31T14:32:00.000+08:00

CEBU — Mall developer SM Prime Holdings, Inc. is looking at a 20-hectare lot within the South Road Properties for a planned shopping mall, hotel and two information technology (IT) buildings.

SM Prime President Hans T. Sy said they were in talks with the Cebu City government, which owns the properties, through the latter’s marketing arm, the Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC).

"Negotiations are still going on... We’re still keeping our lines open," Mr. Sy said in an interview during the launch of the north wing of SM City Cebu.

SM Prime originally expressed interest to develop the entire 300-hectare reclaimed property.

But the local government wanted to sell the lots to several entities who will develop large chunks of the property into industrial, commercial, tourism-oriented and mixed-use blocks.

So far, Cebu City has received an unsolicited proposal from Filinvest Land, Inc. to develop about 50 hectares of the South Road Properties.

"What we wanted before was not okay. But it’s fine because we have this crisis now, although we’re not affected by the crisis," Mr. Sy said.

"We are very much on track and we are still continuing with our expansion program," he added.

He said SM would build a mall on the 20-hectare lot. The company plans to introduce a mixed-use development in the area.

"Definitely, [we will build] a mall and we’re looking at other developments. We’re always open for possibilities," he added.

CIPC Managing Director Joel Mari S. Yu said SM Prime officials had told him that the company would immediately build a mall, a hotel and two IT towers as soon it buys the lot.

"That mall will be the second biggest in the Philippines, next to the Mall of Asia. I asked them where this confidence is coming from and they assured me that they know what they’re doing," he said.

If things go as planned, SM Prime might submit its unsolicited proposal to the city government in the first quarter of 2009, he said.

The city government’s joint venture selection committee, created to evaluate unsolicited proposals to develop the South Road Properties, is now evaluating the Filinvest proposal.

Filinvest wants to buy a 13-hectare lot for about P2 billion and jointly develop it with the local government into a mixed-use commercial center that will include recreational facilities, residential condominium and IT buildings.

Mr. Yu said they hoped a bidding would be held before the end of the year to accommodate other developers who might offer a better deal.

The sale and development of the South Road Properties will allow the Cebu City to pay amortization and interest for a P5-billion loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

It obtained the loan to reclaim the property, which has since been registered as a special economic zone with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

Filinvest to submit complete proposal (South Road Properties)

2008-10-24T14:30:00.000+08:00

Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Cebu City’s joint venture committee that studies the multi-billion proposal of Filinvest Land Inc. to purchase and develop a portion of the South Road Properties is scheduled to convene on Tuesday, a day after the proponent submits its complete business proposal on Monday.

Cebu City administrator Francisco Fernandez, who heads the committee, said the formal negotiation on the proposal will begin on Tuesday and they expect it done within 10 days.

The committee is tasked to evaluate the proposal of Filinvest and make a recommendation for approval of the mayor and the City Council.

Filinvest, one of the largest real estate companies in the Philippines, is offering an outright purchase of the 10-hectare hectare portion of the SRP worth P2 billion.

Aside from this, Filinvest also offers a joint venture with the city government to develop 50 hectares out of the 300-hectare property.

So far, Fernandez said that there has been no “feelers” or other developers expressing their intent to compete with Filinvest’s offer.

Once the committee’s recommendation is approved by the City Council and the mayor, it will be published in a newspaper of general circulation to give other developers a “competitive challenge.”

The publication of their approved recommendation is to give other developers the chance to challenge the offer of Filinvest and see if they could give a better deal than what is offered by the Filinvest, should there be any.

After publication, any developer has 30 days to challenge Filinvest’s proposal.

If the challenger offers a better deal, the committee will evaluate as to whether it has the capacity to compete or the capability to invest money and develop the proposed project.

The committee will also see to it that the bid of the challenger is more favorable for the city as compared to the offer of Filinvest.

Fernandez is optimistic that they will be able to close the deal with Filinvest before the end of the year.

Just recently, the National Power Corporation expressed its intention to purchase a 3,000 square meter lot at the SRP to use it for its new regional office. —Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/WAB

Mall owner to buy South Road Properties lot

2008-10-23T14:28:00.000+08:00

Sun.Star Cebu
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

UNSUCCESSFUL with its planned takeover of the South Road Properties (SRP) last year, SM Prime Holdings Inc. now wants to buy a 20-hectare lot for a mix-use development project.

Aside from a hotel and a mall, SM also wants to build two information technology (IT) towers immediately, said Joel Mari Yu, managing director of the Cebu Investment and Promotion Center (CIPC).

Yu said that SM is negotiating for a combination of a lease and an outright purchase of interior lots and some portions along the South Coastal Road.

While they are inclined to enter into a sale and lease agreement, CIPC is not discounting the possibility of a joint venture, he said. CIPC is the marketing arm of the SRP.

“There is a formal offer already from SM and we are making a counter offer. I’m listening to their proposals and, so far, it’s going to be advantageous to the City.

Everything is still under negotiation but Mayor Tommy Osmeña told me to process it already,” he said in a phone interview last night.

Second biggest mall

If their plans push through, SM will build in the SRP the second biggest mall of the company in the country or next to the Mall of Asia in Manila.

At City Hall yesterday, the Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) turned over to Acting Mayor Michael Rama its recommendation to accept, in principle, Filinvest Land Inc.’s (FLI) proposal for further negotiations.

Rama said he will decide on the matter after reading all the details of the unsolicited proposal and the committee’s recommendations.

“Offhand, it was something very attractive but I will have to look at other documents first before I will decide whether I will accept or reject it,” he told reporters.

FLI is proposing to buy 10 hectares of land and to develop 40 hectares under a joint venture agreement with the City. It plans to put up several condominiums, office buildings, a medical and retirement facility in the SRP.

As for SM’s proposal, Yu said that the mall developer had originally planned to buy a 50-hectare portion but found the price too high.

Its officials asked the City to reduce the price but Yu said they cannot do so because the minimum floor price for the three classifications of lots are fixed and was already approved by the Commission on Audit (COA).

In March last year, top executives of SM Prime Holdings Inc. submitted a financial proposal to CIPC on their plan to take full control over the entire 295-hectare facility.

SM’s multi-billion-peso offer included “taking over the full obligation of paying” for the balance of Cebu City Hall’s P6.3-billion loan with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation that was used for the reclamation project. (LCR)

South Road Properties team’s ‘smell test’

2008-10-22T14:27:00.000+08:00

Monday, October 20, 2008
By Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

AT the corner of one of the access roads in Cebu City’s South Road Properties (SRP) is a sign that welcomes visitors to the Hollywood of Asia.

But with the garbage dumpsite visible from the Bigfoot Entertainment complex and the overwhelming stench reaching its premises, it’s in stark contrast to the Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.

City officials are aware of the problem and have started to act on it, SRP Management Office head Nagiel Bañacia said.

This week, City Hall will make an emergency purchase of filling materials and aggregates that will be used to cover the garbage dumped in the Inayawan sanitary landfill, to eliminate the odor.

Tree-planting activities have also been initiated around the dump site to cover the mountains of garbage that accumulated there.

Worse when it rains

Bañacia admits the garbage facility is one of the negative factors affecting the marketability of the 302-hectare SRP.

Rodel Mancao, a security guard at the Bigfoot Entertainment complex, said they have gotten used to the stench, which worsens during heavy rains.

“Basta muuwan na gani, unya dad-on sa habagat diri ang baho, hastang baho-a gyud lagi. Sa kadugayan naanad na man lang mi, ambot lang kaha sa mga tag-iya diri na mga foreigner pero siguro ko nakabantay na sad na sila (When it rains and the winds carry the smell here, it really stinks. We are getting used to it, but I don’t know about the owners),” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

The Bigfoot complex is separated from the landfill by the General Services Office (GSO) maintenance compound. A wire fence separates the landfill from the GSO.

Bigfoot president and chief executive officer Michael Gleissner has so far paid P25 million for a 25-year lease agreement on a two-hectare lot there.

A barangay intelligence network (BIN) guard on duty at the GSO said they are lucky if the garbage is topped with aggregates, which does not happen every day these days because of a shortage in filling materials.

“Usahay matabunan, so mawala ra ang baho pero sunod adlaw mubaho na sad. Anad na mi anang bahoa diri, mura na lang ug wala, dili lang mi muangal pero ang mga mamalitay diri, mureklamo gyud sa kabaho (Sometimes they cover the garbage and on those days, it’s not so bad, but the next day, the stench returns. We no longer complain, but I’m sure the prospective buyers will),” Gaudencio Manresa said.

His colleague at the Sugbu Building in Kawit Island said the stench reaches the SRP administrative building, several kilometers away from the Bigfoot property beside Pond A.

Bañacia said that Bigfoot officials earlier raised the problem, and the City has since acted on it.

Once completed, the Bigfoot Entertainment property will have four 1,200-square meter soundstages like those in Hollywood in Los Angeles, production offices, Hollywood suites, a crafts and sets shop and a fabrication building.

It is also planning to purchase 16 hectares of land for their expansion projects, which will include an executive hotel, administration offices, specialty restaurants and cafe, a spa, swimming pool, nature park and a mini-zoo.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez admitted that interested buyers of SRP lots have raised concern on the proximity of the landfill to the properties they want to buy.

“We’re getting complaints about it, we already got a complaint from Bigfoot and we don’t intend to hide it. The landfill is there and they’ve seen it but we assured them that we intend to eliminate the smell,” he said.

The problem on the stench had Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña worrying over it even while he was in the hospital just hours before his surgery.

“That was his concern before and after his operation, so definitely we will address the issue. The heavy rains damaged the internal roads, that is why we couldn’t transport the soil cover to the area. But we will solve that this week,” Fernandez said yesterday.

He admitted, though, that these are only short-term solutions.

The City intends to get a private firm to manage the landfill, which will include measures to eliminate the stench.

Fernandez said they are now talking to three private firms, including those that are managing the dump sites in Payatas and Montalban in Metro Manila.

The long-term solution would be the proposed transfer of the landfill to Barangay Kalunasan, which is still being evaluated by City Hall and barangay officials, he added.

FLI asks City to keep talks confidential (South Road Properties)

2008-10-20T14:24:00.000+08:00

Friday, October 17, 2008
By Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

ON the request of Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), members of the Cebu City Government’s Joint Venture Selection Committee (JV-SC) will sign a confidentiality agreement to keep negotiations under wraps.

The nine-member JVSC formally received yesterday the detailed unsolicited proposal of FLI to develop a 50-hectare portion of the South Road Properties (SRP).

In a closed-door meeting with the committee members, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said FLI officials asked them to sign a confidentiality agreement while they negotiate on the terms of the sale and the joint venture (JV).

Agreement

The members of the committee will sign the agreement during their first formal meeting on Saturday.

While they pledged to be transparent on all transactions involving the SRP, Fernandez said they find FLI’s request to be reasonable, since they also need to protect their proposal.

The confidentiality agreement covers all negotiations that will be made until the unsolicited proposal is approved for publication for bidding.

Fernandez, the chairman of the JVSC, said details of the agreement will be divulged to the public once it is approved for publication, which is also the time when FLI will pay the City P300 million in surety bond.

“During the negotiations, everything will have to remain confidential, including the terms and conditions of the agreement, the design and cost of their project, the share of the City in the joint venture, and their market. That’s what the confidentiality agreement covers. If we reject their offer, the details remain confidential,” Fernandez told Sun. Star Cebu.

If there are no challengers to the FLI proposal, the JVSC expects to award the contract to FLI by Dec. 15, 2008.

FLI and Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña already divulged some general information on their plans during the ceremonial turnover of the executive summary of the firm’s
unsolicited proposal during a press conference at the Casino Español de Cebu last month.

But in the meeting and negotiations with the JVSC, FLI will be submitting documents containing the details and specifications of their project, which they intend to keep confidential.

Open

“But once it is published, I assure you that everything will be open to the public. I think their request is reasonable because their only concern is that if this is divulged while the negotiations are ongoing, other challengers might copy their proposal and designs, and it’s very bad business ethics if we reveal it,” Fernandez explained.

Earlier, FLI announced that their unsolicited proposal includes an outright purchase of a 10-hectare lot amounting to P2 billion and the development of 40 hectares under a JV agreement with the City.

Some P80 billion will be invested by FLI to put up several high-rise and medium-rise condominiums, a commercial center, a medical and retirement facility and office buildings in the SRP.

From the JVSC, the unsolicited proposal will be presented to the mayor for preliminary acceptance or rejection.

Documents

If the proposal is accepted in principle, formal negotiations between the JVSC and FLI will start once the latter submits all the documents, including their engineering designs.

“After Saturday, we can already make a recommendation to the mayor to accept the proposal in principle or to reject it. If he accepts, we are given 10 days to finish the negotiations and after that, we go back to him to present our agreement. If he finds it acceptable, then we will publish it for the Swiss challenge,” Fernandez said.

The proposal will be published twice. After the second publication, challengers will be given 30 days to submit their proposals.

Fernandez said that if there are no challengers in the bidding, a contract with FLI will be submitted to the City Council for approval and if approved, the mayor will sign the contract with FLI.

Other voting members of the JVSC are the city attorney, former city administrator Juan Saul Montecillo and the city treasurer.

A representative of the Commission on Audit, the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Associations Inc. also sit in the committee as non-voting members and observers.

City to tackle SM offer to build mall at the South Road Properties

2008-10-19T14:23:00.000+08:00

The Freeman
Friday, October 17, 2008

With two proposals worth close to P3 billion already on the line, the City of Cebu is now ready to tackle the offer of SM Properties to buy 50 hectares of the South Road Properties.

Joel Mari Yu, managing director of the Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC), which is the marketing arm of the SRP, said that although the offer sounds very good, the matter of pricing will have to be addressed.

Yu said that SM plans to use half of the property it is planning to buy to build into a two-storey mall while the remaining 25 hectares will be for future expansion.

While a mall at the SRP would really help boost the area, the offer of SM Properties is not high enough to meet the authorized selling price set by the Commission on Audit.

More so, Yu said that if the city accepts SM’s offer, this will not be fair to Filinvest land Inc. and the consortium of Rockwealth Venture Development Inc. and Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation.

Filinvest Land offers to buy 10 hectares of the SRP for P2 billion and has a proposal for a joint development with the city of another 40 hectares.

The Rockwealth and Pueblo de Oro is proposing to buy 10 hectares at P900 million to built a medical tourism facility.

COA has mandated that the lots at SRP be sold at P8,000, P11,000 and P15,000 per square meter depending on the location.

Yu said that the mall at SRP is a very strategic investment that would enhance the value of the entire property, but he said the city government cannot sell the lot below than what is authorized by COA.

“SM is a prime client. Pero dili mi makabaligya ug presyo ubos pa sa ge-authorize sa COA. We even suggested that they should be the one to write COA on this matter,” Yu said.

The proposed medical tourism facility will be bid out next week while the proposal of Filinvest is still being evaluated before any recommendation can be made.

Once that recommendation is made, it will have to be approved by the members of the city council and the mayor before this will be published in newspaper of general circulation for a competitive challenge or competitive bidding.—Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/NLQ

Developer eyes 10 hectares for medical tourism facility (South Road Properties)

2008-10-17T14:22:00.000+08:00

Sun Star Online
Wednesday, October 15, 2008

CEBU City Hall is preparing to hold an open bidding for a 10-hectare portion of the South Road Properties (SRP) possibly next week, after a buyer presented an offer to buy a lot for a medical tourism facility.

Cebu Investment and Promotion Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari Yu said the Manila-based developer intends to put up a big and high-end hospital that will cater to foreigners, tourists and expatriates.

The 10-hectare lot will earn for the City at least P900 million, with a minimum floor price of P11,000 per square meter for the lots beside the road and P8,000 per square meter for the interior portion.

Yu said that one-third of the property, worth P370 million, is beside the road and the remaining two-thirds, worth some P540 million, are interior lots.

“The buyer wants to purchase 10 hectares of land right away for a high-end medical tourism facility. So we will just declare it for sale then put it up for open bidding, meaning it’s an outright sale and anyone who is interested can bid,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

The winning bidder, though, will have to follow certain restrictions on what they can use the property for.

Yu said the restrictions will be included in the bid of restrictions, which will be part of the bidding documents, and will specify what the buyer can and cannot do with the lot.

“We are currently surveying the property and we expect to finish the survey at the end of the week. If the city administrator can get all the documents together, we can publish the bidding announcement next week,” he continued.

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the details of the bidding and the sale will be discussed during a press conference today.

Yu of CIPC, the marketing arm of the SRP, said the survey being conducted will delineate the property and set the boundaries of the 10-hectare portion, which is near the 50-hectare property that Filinvest Land Inc. wants to develop.

The CIPC and Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña have been negotiating with the buyer for a year already.

If the interested buyer wins in the bidding and constructs the hospital, Yu said that no other developer will be allowed to put up a similar facility.

“We made sure that the developers will complement and not compete with each other...In the bid of restrictions, we will make it very clear that only certain activities will be allowed in the area. No motels and used car dealership will be allowed, and they can’t subdivide and resell the lots,” he added. (LCR)

We won’t sabotage deal: Joel, Sonny (South Road Properties)

2008-10-12T20:00:00.000+08:00

AS long as the proposal of Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) is above board and good for Cebu City, City Hall won’t have to worry about any “economic sabotage” by former Sen. John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña and Tinago Barangay Councilor Joel Garganera.

Sonny assured his cousin, Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña, that he wants the FLI project to push through and “for the SRP to finally make money,” saying the people have already paid a high price for it and basic services have suffered because of the project.

He does not intend to file any case to stop any transaction at the SRP, Sonny said yesterday.

Vigilant

Garganera, who earlier filed a case against City officials over the SRP, urged fellow Cebu City residents to be vigilant and to monitor developments in the FLI proposal and other transactions related to the sale of SRP lots.

He also asked officials of the City Government and the Cebu Investments and Promotion Center (CIPC), the marketing arm of the SRP, to be transparent on the deals they will enter into.

“It’s not only incumbent upon me to look into the details of the proposals just because I’m the one who filed the case. The rest of the Cebuanos should also be vigilant in monitoring the details of the deal. As long as dili ta mabintahaan and it’s good for the City, I will support it, I will not do anything against it,” Garganera told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.

Before leaving for the United States last Wednesday to seek medical treatment, Mayor Osmeña gave critics of the SRP a stern warning that he will fight back using every tool the City has if anyone sabotages FLI’s proposal.

FLI plans to invest P80 billion in developing 50 hectares of the 302-hectare SRP.

It plans to buy some 10 hectares for P2 billion at P12,500 per square meter, and enter into a joint venture with the City to develop 40 hectares into a mixed-use project, which will include high-rise buildings, medical and retirement facilities and medium-rise residential condominiums.

Details

“We’re happy that at least, finally, there’s someone interested to buy. We don’t know all the details of the Filinvest proposal, that’s why everyone should monitor it. Karon, support lang ta. And for the city officials, the least that they can do is to be transparent about everything to the media and the public,” Garganera said.

In March last year, Garganera asked the court to stop Tomas, the City Council, CIPC and the Register of Deeds from marketing, selling, disposing of or leasing the SRP, saying it will be illegal to do so because the City’s ownership of the SRP has no congressional authority.

Regional Trial Court Judge Soliver Peras denied the application for a temporary restraining order last May 22, 2007 and dismissed Garganera’s complaint last Dec. 11. The case is now on appeal.

Last Wednesday, Tomas reminded reporters of the lawsuit and other legal actions that were filed against them in relation to the South Coastal Road and the SRP and the delays it caused in the sale of the lots, including those caused by Sonny.

“I assure Tommy that I never had any intention, nor will have any intention to file any suit to stop whatever project he has at the SRP. I have stayed quiet these past two years even as he claimed that investors were lining up outside and elbowing their way into the SRP,” Sonny’s statement read.

While there may be some legal questions that have to be settled, Tomas and the prospective investors should welcome them, Sonny said.

“The people of the City are paying a very high price for the SRP. Barangays are forced to use their own funds to collect garbage, a responsibility normally assumed by the City... The City’s internal revenue allotment, designed and intended for agriculture, health and social services, are now being diverted to service the SRP debt,” Sonny said.

He lamented that health care for the constituents has been sacrificed and that the mayor even wants to sell the Cebu City Medical Center.

2 firms want to buy lots in South Road Properties

2008-10-09T19:30:00.000+08:00

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

TWO major developers have informed Cebu City officials of their plan to present an offer to buy lots at the South Road Properties (SRP), but they will have to wait until the first sale is finalized.

Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña said yesterday that the City will have to close a deal with the Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) first or any other developer that will match its offer, before they entertain other buyers.

Acting Mayor Michael Rama, the City Council and the Joint Venture Selection Committee (JV-SC) for the SRP will go ahead with the sale even without Osmeña.

Osmeña went to Manila last Monday supposedly to inform the Commission on Audit (COA) of his one-month sick leave and that SRP lots might be sold while he is seeking treatment in the United States.

But he said that COA officials were in a meeting in Malacañang. That is why he designated Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north district) to discuss the matter with COA.

He also met with FLI officials to inform them of his departure.

Proposal

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez, chairman of the JV-SC, said that no one has expressed interest to challenge the unsolicited proposal of FLI yet, which intends to buy 10 hectares of land and develop 40 hectares under a joint venture with the City.

“There are no interested challengers for the Filinvest offer so far, but there are two other developers who have already sent feelers and want to know if they send their proposals, will these be acceptable to the City,” he said.

The interested parties want to buy other portions of the 302-hectare SRP, but have not specified the areas and the lot sizes.

“That’s what we were discussing with them and we agreed that it is best to close one deal before we talk to the others so as not to create a confusing situation,” Osmeña told reporters yesterday.

“This transaction is actually very simple but because of its magnitude and with billions of pesos involved, we have to be careful,” he said.

The mayor will leave for the US at noon today to seek treatment for the tumor in his urinary bladder.

He has filed a one-month sick leave, but could come home earlier or much later, depending on the results of his medical exams.

SRP Management Office head Nagiel Bañacia said that of the 302 hectares, only 200 hectares will be sold since the 60-hectare Pond A has yet to be filled up.

The roads within the SRP and the Kawit Island make up the remaining portion that the City will not dispose of. (LCR)

City targets two more South Road Properties deals before December

2008-10-05T19:27:00.000+08:00

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is optimistic that the city government can close substantial deals with two more investors within the year for the South Road Properties.

While he refused to name these investors, the mayor claimed they are among the top ten largest real estate developers in the country.

“Aside from Filinvest, I am expecting to make two more deals within the year. But as to when are we going to be paid, I don’t know. You know the government’s bureaucratic red tape,” Osmeña said in a news conference yesterday.

Osmeña’s statement was confirmed by Joel Mari Yu, managing director of Cebu Investment and Promotion Center, the SRP’s marketing arm.

Yu said one investor proposed to develop a medical-tourism business while the other plans to develop an entertainment center, a shopping mall, condominiums, and an information technology center.

“Yes, that’s true. But as of now, I am not at the liberty to divulge the names of these companies. It is for the mayor to say it,” Yu said in a separate interview with The FREEMAN.

Osmeña earlier explained that as much as he wanted to be transparent about the negotiations on the sale of the SRP, he could not reveal the details because it might create a misunderstanding because the investors had asked him not to talk about it.

Recently, the Filinvest Land Inc., one of the largest real estate companies in the Philippines, submitted its proposal to the city for the “outright purchase” of 10-hectare lot worth P2 billion and another joint venture agreement of the remaining 40 hectare of lot which will house high-rise buildings and condominiums. The offer got a positive response from the mayor and the city officials.

Osmeña said that as of now, no investor has tried to compete with FLI’s offer.

Aside from the two other prospective investors that the city hopes to close deal with within this year, he said the city has also received offers from other buyers who eye different portions of the 295-hectare property. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/WAB

Filinvest may collect cost refund fees: Tomas (South Road Properties)

2008-10-05T19:26:00.000+08:00

Saturday, October 04, 2008

CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will allow Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to collect a minimal project development cost refund if the contract for its unsolicited proposal is awarded to another developer.

But Osmeña is almost sure there will be no need for a project development cost refund because FLI is bent on matching any higher offer by a challenger when their proposal goes through a bidding, specifically the Swiss challenge.

Osmeña expects to close a deal within the year, but is non-committal on when the City will be paid, since this depends on bureaucratic procedures, he said.

In the bidding, the City Government’s 10-percent share in the joint venture (JV) is expected to be the most contentious provision of the proposal.

Other developers will have a chance to compete with FLI’s offer and propose to give the City a bigger share in the JV, which the developer can match.

As of yesterday, the City has not received any feelers from developers of their intent to join the bidding.

Development

“If there is any refund to be collected from the winning bidder, it will be very minimal. It will not be hundreds of millions. It’s only fair because if you accept the designs of a proposed development, I think there should be some compensation to the proponent,” he told reporters yesterday.

“It will be nothing if you compare it to the P80 billion they will be investing... If you want me to make a wild guess, it will be less than P5 million... but Filinvest is intent on matching any better challenge,” he said, when asked what amount will be acceptable.

In 2006, Osmeña opposed the Ayala consortium’s unsolicited proposal on the Carmen Bulk Water Supply because of the project development cost refund provision in the terms of reference for the Swiss challenge.

He had said that the project development cost refund cannot be justified in an unsolicited proposal because “they were not asked to make the proposal.”

In his news conference yesterday, Osmeña said he is expecting to close one or two more transactions before the year ends.

“We expect closing two additional transactions aside from Filinvest within the year. When we say within the year, it means we will make a deal, but when we will get paid depends on the bureaucratic red tape,” he said.

Developers who want to challenge FLI’s offer will be pre-qualified to make sure that only real estate developers of the same stature as FLI can challenge the proposal.

FLI has formally presented its offer to buy a 10-hectare portion of the SRP amounting to P2 billion, and develop 40 hectares under a JV agreement with the City.

The real estate giant offered the City a 10-percent share of their annual gross sales if the JV pushes through.

“The share of the City is essentially the point of the bidding. We’re also going to be looking at the track record of the bidders, and they must be able to demonstrate that they are capable of engaging in this project,” the mayor said.

If their pre-qualification standards will be followed, Osmeña said there will only be around 10 developers in the country that can participate in the bidding. (LCR)

Cebu seeks ADB grant for new projects (South Road Properties)

2008-10-03T19:25:00.000+08:00

CEBU — The Cebu City government is planning to implement at least two projects as soon as it starts generating additional revenues from the sale and development of the South Road Properties, a 300-hectare reclaimed area that is envisioned to be a mixed-use complex.

One of the projects is the proposed 5.6-kilometer highway that will connect the reclaimed area to the villages of Pardo and Toong, where a proposed "urban poor city" is being planned.

City administrator Francisco Fernandez said the city government might be able to secure a grant from the Asian Development Bank, whose representatives visited the proposed site last Friday. The ADB is looking at providing a grant for the opening of the road from the South Road Properties to the proposed housing site.

Filinvest Land, Inc. formally submitted last week its unsolicited proposal to purchase a 13-hectare lot for about P2 billion and develop a 35-hectare lot in a joint venture with the city government.

The South Road Properties is a 300-hectare development that was reclaimed by the Cebu City government using a 12-billion-yen grant from the Japan Bank of International Cooperation. — GRMT
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which is which? 10 hectares for 2 billion and 40 hectares for joint venture with the city OR 13 hectares for 2 billion and 35 hectares for joint venture?

by the way, this article is from businessworld..

Tom opposes South Road Properties authority

2008-10-02T19:23:00.000+08:00

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said yesterday that will not allow the creation of an authority to manage the multi-billion South Road Properties.

“It can become a monster. SRP is owned by the city, it should be controlled by the city. Even if I will be chosen to head that authority, no way. It should never be,” he said in a press conference yesterday.

Osmeña said that he is now asking the people of Cebu to support his plan in making SRP a big plus for Cebu.

“SRP is not going back to the sea. Since it’s already there, we have to maximize what we have. Profit is not the main consideration but economic development. No matter what, SRP is always a big plus for Cebu,” the mayor said.

The mayor even said if a prestigious organization like the United Nations or the Japanese Embassy would like to put up a building at SRP, he can give a portion of the lot for free.

“Why not? Can you imagine, the United Nation having its building at SRP. That would make Cebu prestigious. We should not have a stagnant mind and bureaucrats are like that,” the mayor said.

But as of now, Osmeña said that the main priority of the city once SRP sales are made is to pay its loan.

Osmeña said that the city will be paying P700 million this year as payment of its SRP loan.

The mayor admitted that it has been hard paying for the loan but the city has survived although some of the services were sacrificed in the name of development.

Among the benefits they had to hold off to pay the loan was the P2,000 promised to 28,000 senior citizens in the city per month.

But the mayor said that starting next year this will already be implemented provided that the senior citizens are registered voters of the city.

The city government is currently negotiating with Filinvest Land Inc. for a possible joint venture. The latter is proposing to develop at least 50 hectares at the SRP. – Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/BRP