City seeks legal rights to develop waterfront area

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Government is seeking legal rights to develop the reclaimed area near the City Hall building where the century-old Compania Maritima and other warehouses stand.

Mayor Michael Rama has tasked Rene Senapo, Assistant City Administrator for Economic Enterprise Management, and City Administrator Jose Mari Poblete to follow-up with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on the status of the lot.Parcels of these areas were leased to private individuals or companies in the past.

“The mayor asked Atty. Poblete to take steps so that the city can have legal rights to develop the Gochaoco block and BMS block. One of the things we have to do is probably ask DENR to update us on the status of those properties,” Senapo said.

Two blocks near City Hall going to Pier 3 are currently being rented by private companies. For the rest, Senapo said, the 25-year lease contract has already ended, unless renewed.

“DENR leased these to private groups. The lease is only for 25 years,” he said.

Acquiring legal rights to develop the area may lead to acquiring the lots so the City will later be the owner or lease it for a certain period.

The Gochaoco building is no longer occupied so the mayor wants to develop the area into something that will be beneficial to the City Government.

Senapo said that one of the ideas they have is to build a parking building to address the parking problem of private cars when going to city hall, the Carbon market and nearby areas.

“But the big picture really is to revive the urban core, the commercial heart of the city, which is from here (City Hall building) all the way to Carbon area,” he said.

There was also the proposal to preserve the buildings for their heritage and historical value, since these were built in the early 1900s.

The Campania Maritima, for example, is a commercial building built in 1910 during the American colonial period. It is a triangular three storey building located at waterfront.

Rama is considering the preservation of the building and turning it into a Maritime Museum.

“That’s a good idea. About 95 percent of domestic shipping is in Cebu,” Senapo said. (THE FREEMAN)