EDITORIAL - Great victory

The court has spoken and the Cebu City government can now withdraw the P3.6 billion from the sale of portions of South Road Properties (SRP) that was consigned to the Regional Trial Court during the previous administration.

In his order, RTC Judge Estela Alma Sinco said “Thereafter, once the consigned amounts are released, plaintiffs’ (consortium) obligation in order to the Deed of Sale on Installment dated 7 August 2015 is considered discharged and extinguished.”

This means the administration of Mayor Edgardo Labella can now utilize the money to fund projects. With the city facing gargantuan mission in its effort to fix the aging traffic network and outdated drainage system, the money can certainly be of great help to subsidize such undertaking.

However, even before the City Hall can tap the funds, former mayor Tomas Osmeña has asked the court to stop the local government from using the money, insisting that the sale of the SRP lots during the time of then mayor Michael Rama was illegal.

Osmeña filed a petition for a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction against Labella, the City Council, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Ayala Land, Inc., Cebu Holdings, Inc., Filinvest Land, Inc., Filinvest Alabang, Inc., Cyberzone Properties, Inc., Anesy Holdings Corporation, Igold Holdings Corporation, and Betterfield Phils. Corp., saying there are several defects in the sale of the lots.

Whether the court will grant Osmeña’s petition remains to be seen. However, the fact that it already allowed the city to utilize the consigned amount only tells us that it has not seen any anomaly in the negotiation and sale of the lot properties.

With the court decision, the city should not waste time using the money on projects that would benefit the city residents. City Legal Officer Rey Gealon was right in saying that the court decision was a great victory for the city under Labella’s administration. “Imagine the programs and projects that would be comprehensively implemented out of this almost P4 billion for the good people of Cebu,” he added.