Administrator: Let’s pray: Developers not coming to pay city P7B today

CEBU, Philippines - The scheduled payment of P6.78 billion by the winning bidders of 45.2 hectares of the South Road Properties will not proceed today.

City Administrator Lucille Mercado, who heads the Cebu City Hall Committee on Awards, told The Freeman in an interview last night that no less than the Manila representatives of the developers informed the city of their decision that they would not come to give the payment to the city.

“Tomorrow (today) mag-Mass nalang ta kay dili madayon ang program (signing of notices of award and handing over of the payment), kay naka-prepare na man ta og stage. No signing of contract gyud,” she said.

Mercado said the representatives did not give any reason why they would not come, but she said it is likely because of the City Council resolution passed during its regular session last Wednesday.

In a 10-3 vote, the Bando-Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan-dominated City Council passed a resolution asking the executive department to avoid any act related to the sale of the SRP lots, including the acceptance of the 50 percent of the P16.76 billion payment scheduled today.

The amount represents the remaining portion of 50 percent of the total value of the sale of two SRP lots after Filinvest Land Inc. and the consortium of Ayala Land, Cebu Holdings Inc. and SM Prime Holdings handed to the city P1.6 billion last June 30.

With a P10.009-billion bid, the consortium acquired 26.3 hectares of the SRP while Filinvest Land Inc. got a 19.2-hectare SRP lot for P6.7 billion. Both agreed to give the P6.78 billion today, August 7.

“Wala pa ta kahibalo kung kanus-a ang payment ug ang signing kay wala pa na na-discuss (with the developers). Ang sa tomorrow (today) nga activity, sa Mass, ato lang ipangadye nga wala na untay mobabag ug dili ta maagian sa bagyo,” Mercado said.

She said Mayor Michael Rama would be the one to announce today whom they spoke with.

Yesterday, prior to the interview with Mercado last night, Rama said the payment should push through since he has not seen “any legal ground” that it should not.

“Of course, din-a lang ta mo-istorya ana (City Council request). Way lain gitan-aw but pagbabag…. I have my own call to do. That’s only a (City Council) resolution,” he said.

Last July 15, Department of the Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Austere Panadero said their office was of the opinion that Resolution No.13-0418-2014, which granted Rama the authority to sell the two lots, “cannot validly supersede and/or amend City Ordinance No. 2332.”

With the DILG opinion, the City Council, through a motion of City Councilor Sisinio Andales, asked Rama to defer any act related to SRP lot sale since the public bidding that was undertaken due to the passage of the resolution was “highly questionable.”

Andales said the resolution cannot take precedence over the 2012 ordinance, which asked interested bu-yers to submit an unsolicited proposal to the City Council.

For Rama, however, what Panadero said was “not a law, but…(just) an opinion.”

“DILG didn’t even have complete facts….  Ang City Council ni-approve sa budget ordinance putting 13.7 billion (annual budget for this year) and included sa sources (of fund) is land disposition and sale (of SRP),” he said.

Rama said no one can stop the whole process since the City Council itself has authorized him to dispose parcels of the SRP.

“We will have to pray that everything will be okay (today). That’s it, as far as the executive (department) is concerned. With my legal (counsels), the next thing to do is just to continue the process,” he said.

The winning bidders agreed to pay the full 50 percent of the P16.76 billion today, August 7 after the city declared them as winning bidders for the two lots.

Rama, though, declined to divulge if he has been talking with the developers regarding the City Council resolution.

FLI Vice President Allan Alfon also said that they were ready to hand the amount today, as he has not received any instruction from their central office in Manila not to proceed during the interview.

Ronald Tumao, Vice President for Market Research and Planning of SM Prime Holdings, likewise said he has not received any instructions from their central office.

Mercado said people from Manila were the ones who said the scheduled payment would not proceed.

Rama went to Manila Wednesday night, coincidentally after the City Council made the request, but he did not disclose what was the reason for the trip.

“The most important thing is I will have to abide with what we started. Everything is complied with…  Not be too good if and when we’re thinking of having it (payment) suspended. Unsa may rason nila (City Council)? Imbis motabang sila, ila nuon undangon ang pagdawat,” he said.

“As the mayor and responsible office lawyer by background, I cannot see any legal ground why such action (payment) shall be forestalled,” he added.

Andales, on the other hand, said Rama “should respect the opinion of DILG.”

“The opinion of DILG is much superior to his opinion…. We have already forewarned (the executive department on) the effect of proceeding with the sale,” he added.

Rama had planned to use the P6.78 billion to pay in full the remaining P2.5 billion of the Japanese loan the city made to establish the SRP and as source of fund for the city’s P13.4-billion budget this year. — /RHM (FREEMAN)