No question; Patria de Cebu project a go, says developer

CEBU, Philippines — The Patria de Cebu project will push through but not before developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. makes changes to its proposed mixed-use plan, the company's chief executive said.

Jose Soberano III said the proponents, including the Church, will come up with a win-win solution after some sectors opposed the project's implementation.

CLI and the Archdiocese of Cebu had entered into a P900-million, 40-year lease agreement to redevelop the Patria de Cebu, located in the city's downtown area, into a mixed-use development that will have a Rome-inspired public plaza, offices, integrated retail center and hotel, among others.

However, the planned project would include the destruction of the old Patria structure, a move opposed by certain sectors, who say the property is part of Cebu’s cultural and religious heritage.

Amid the oppositions, Soberano said they will have to make revisions on the project design to meet the requirements of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

“Patria is a go project,” Soberano pointed out. “There’s no question about that.”

He, however, noted the developer would adhere to whatever decision the Church and the NHCP will have on the new design.

He said a decision will be released by June or earlier.

But the delay in the implementation, he said, will also delay the project's completion.

According to Soberano, the project was supposedly targeted to be completed by March 2021, the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan's arrival in the Philippines.

Now, he said, the project is unlikely to meet that time frame, although a portion of it will be finished by that time. – JMD (FREEMAN)