Tomas to Hire Inmates for SRP (July 2006)

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has found a way to temporarily solve the congestion problems at the city jail: hire some of them to work at the South Reclamation Project (SRP).

Osmeña said his idea will not only decongest the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) during the day, it will also give
inmates an opportunity to earn.

In a news conference yesterday, the mayor said the City Government is not capable of helping manage the jail facility at this time, as suggested by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City Chapter.

“We are not going to support BJMP because of the corruption in their system. What we have to do if we’re going to take over is that we’re going to take over the entire operations, and I don’t have the internal management capability to do that,” he said.

The IBP suggested that the City Government take over the management of BBRC after seeing that the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), which is managed by the Capitol, is faring better in terms of management.

But Osmeña said the BBRC cannot be compared with CPDRC. Unlike the governor, he said he doesn’t have the time and capability to look after the inmates because of several other facilities and issues he has to worry about like the city hospital, public markets and the vendors.

Taking over the BBRC will only cause problems for the City Government and will strain City Hall’s internal capabilities.

He added that it’s easier for Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia to help manage CPDRC because in managing the Province, she has all the municipal and city mayors to help her.

“She doesn’t get involved in the nitty-gritty of things and she has the luxury and capability to look at these problems. In my case, I still have problems with other things,” he said.

Also yesterday, the mayor announced plans to hire some inmates to do manual labor at the SRP in the coming months.

If the plan pushes through, the City will pay the inmate P100 for a day’s work and provide them with meals.

He said, though, that the plan will take several months to be implemented as everything will depend on whether the judges will allow them to work.

“Under this concept, we’ll be selecting prisoners who only have few months left to work, the ones who are considered low risk.

At least they have the opportunity to save so that when they are released, they’re not zero balance. This will at least bring down the congestion during the day,” he told reporters.

The mayor plans to have the inmates make sandbags that will be used as base for the internal roads at the SRP.

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Japan Investors Plan to Build Hospital in SRP (July 2006)

Japan investors plan to build hospital in SRP

CEBU CITY – A group of Japanese businessmen has expressed interest to put up a hospital or a retirement facility at the South Reclamation Project (SRP) here.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena said such plan was signified by the Japanese businessmen during his week-long visit to Japan to market the reclamation project.

Osmena said these prospective investors have visited Cebu several times but have not been to the SRP.

During his State of the City Address (Soca) on Monday, Osmena said, the city government was working on development projects that were expected to enhance the marketability of the SRP, now titled in the name of the city government.

The mayor said an investor is buying 20-hectare of about 300-hectare reclamation project for the establishment of a container van manufacturing company, while another investor is also leasing 20-hectare of reclaimed lot.

The city is now focusing on development works to improve the SRP’s marketability. The development works include the establishment of a 1.4-kilometer beach and boardwalk in Pond F, and the completion of Phase 1 of the Senior Citizens Building.

Osmena said the establishment of amenities that include electricity, water and internal road network is also now in progress. The development works would be made parallel to the marketing of the reclaimed lots, he said.

The mayor made presentations with several companies in Japan.

”Many small companies that are doing new things in Japan are coming to Cebu to take a look at our situation because historically, we attract big investors. Now, we also wanted to attract the smaller companies that are doing some innovations in certain fields,” he said.

Osmena said at least five to six of these smaller companies, whom he referred to as “innovators”, have expressed interest on the SRP.

He said another Japanese firm is hiring skilled retirees to work for them on-line. It now has at least 1,000 employees.

”These are the companies that we need to bring to Cebu instead of just focusing on those bigger companies,” he said.

Joel Yu, head of the Cebu Investment promotions Center (CIPC), accompanied Osmena to Japan to the week-long visit to Japan that ended last July 1.

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Villarete Asks Council to Prohibit Public Use of all Parts of SRP (June 2006)

The Freeman 06/28/2006

South Reclamation Project manager Nigel Paul Villarete is asking the city council to declare the 296-hectare South Reclamation Project as reserve for current and future use by the city government and prohibits any kind of public use. 

In his letter addressed to the city council, Villarete said that the channel separating the SRP from the mainland should remain open and clear, free from obstruction and any impeding structures or improvements. 

Villarete said that all parts should be immediately and readily accessible by the city government for clean-up, repairs and maintenance purposes. 

"Inasmuch as the channel surrounds and direct abuts the SRP, it is deemed imperative that the city government has direct access and control in case the city needs to establish other management, control, access, or maintenance structures and or improvements anytime in the future," Villarete said. 

It is noted, according to Villarete that in Presidential Proclamation No. 843, which declared the SRP as alienable and disposable, and which transferred ownership to the city government, the approved Survey Plan clearly indicated the necessary Salvage Zone as required by law. 

The Salvage Zone is intended by law to allow sound urban environmental management of coastal areas and protect these areas from encroachment, Villarete said. 

Villarete added that a piece of legislation to that effect, foreshore lease applications, miscellaneous sales applications, fishpond permits, and any other kind of public land uses and applications be prohibited in the area and no applications be approved nor recommended for approval by higher authorities, is also necessary. 

The city government of Cebu, through an Official Development Assistance of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation embarked into a major reclamation project in 1995, called the South Reclamation Project, generally located offshore of the south district of the city. 

The reclamation works was completed in 2000, the initial horizontal infrastructure development and utilities were implemented, and the SRP was declared as a Special Economic Zone through Presidential Proclamation No. 763, issued on January 20, 2005. - Garry B. Lao

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Work on Hospital for Tourists Starts in 1st Part of ’07

Barring any hitches in negotiations, construction of the first medical center in Asia catering to medical tourists will begin in the first quarter of 2007. 

The facility, to be tentatively called the American Specialty Hospital of Cebu, will rise on a two-hectare lot at the Cebu South Reclamation Project (SRP). 
The Cardiovascular Hospitals of America (CHA), which will operate the hospital and owns four similar facilities in the United States, will lease the property for 25 years. 

Dr. Philip Chua, CHA vice president for Far East operations, said the facility will cost about P1 billion. 

Chua was among the speakers in yesterday’s Health and Wellness Forum at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino as part of InTourPreneur 2006, one of the events of the Cebu Business Month. 

Services 

Aside from its state-of-the-art equipment, the hospital will be accredited by the Joint Commission International and will honor international health insurance providers. 

Chua said the hospital will be a “small” one – at least 30 beds – to ensure a fast turnover of patients. 

That way, the patients can still enjoy the other components of the package they have availed themselves of as medical tourists, Chua added. 

The hospital will also offer services popular among medical tourists, specifically open heart, cosmetic, eye and dental surgeries. 

While they will be hiring locals for manpower, Chua said their medical team will be composed of professionals who are trained and licensed in the United States. 

He also assured that while they will cater mostly to tourists who can afford the services, they will accept charity cases in coordination with various government and nongovernment agencies. 

Negotiations 

Chua told Sun.Star Cebu that they are still negotiating with both the national and local governments for various concessions, which will include, among others, the site where the hospital will rise and tax exemptions for being a pioneer in the medical tourism industry. 

Chua, who is also chairman of cardiovascular surgery of the Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital, however said they have at least three concerns that need to be addressed before going full blast in the construction. 

These include return of investment, peace and order, and corruption in politics. (RCT)

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Man-made Beach To Raise SRP Value (June 2006)

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is disappointed that the South Reclamation Project (SRP) can’t be used yet, but excited about the completion of the man-made white sand beach that is seen to double the property’s value.

The 1.4-kilometer stretch of white sand and the multi-level boardwalk, however, will not be completed before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in December.

Osmeña said it is disappointing that the proposed SRP facilities can’t be used for the summit and the other conventions and meetings that will be held in Cebu this year.

“I’m under strong pressure here. There are many interesting events and we can’t even use it, I’m disappointed. There are many business and medical conventions and the Asean summit but we can’t use the SRP,” he told a news conference yesterday.

The mayor blamed the delays on bureaucratic snags and the numerous requirements imposed on the City Government in starting economic activities there.

Osmeña is putting on hold plans to build a new headquarters for the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), saying the City’s priority now is the completion of the SRP.

Besides, he added, he still has doubts on the national leadership of the Philippine National Police, which is why he will postpone the plan to construct a new police camp.

He added the City is preparing for the arrival of three companies who want to put up their factories at the SRP, which would require the City to construct roads there soon.

By the end of August, the whole Pond F and Kawit Island will also be fully electrified to prepare for the investors.

“What we’re working on right now is the completion of the Senior Citizens Center because that’s a political commitment and I want to get that started. But the key here is the white sand beach and the boardwalk,” he said.

The mayor brought members of the local media to Pond F yesterday, where the construction of the boardwalk and the filling up of the coastline with white pebbles is underway.

Once completed, the mayor said the present value of the SRP lots, pegged at P15,000 to P20,000 per square meter, could double.

The white sand stretch is along Pond F, the area claimed by the Talisay City Government.

The filling up of the coastline and the construction of the boardwalk has just started, and work will be gradual since it is still in its trial period.

Osmeña said the construction will be done by phases, at 50 to 100 meters a month.

“We will not finish this in time for the Asean, but what’s important here is that the value of the area will change dramatically when they see a white sand beach... the city will have something everybody can be proud of,” he added.

The boardwalk was designed to be an elevated, split-level type so it can serve as a buffer in the event of a typhoon, he added.

While he admits that the SRP boardwalk will compete with the proposed boardwalk at the reclamation area in Mandaue City, Osmeña said Cebu City’s will be different, “because the water there (Mandaue) is so dirty.”

Osmeña said the standard he would set in managing the SRP would be “higher than Ayala’s” in order to maximize its marketability.

Jeepneys will not be allowed to enter the SRP, electrical lines will not be visible and cleanliness will be monitored at all times, he added. (LCR)

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