Rama still eyes Compania Maritima building

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he wants to pursue his  plan to convert the  pre-war  Compania Maritima building into a maritime museum.

“By December, there should be something going on in that area,” he said.

The shell of thes Compania Maritima, built in the 1930s, still stands near the east coast at the South Road Properties.

It used to house the  Shamrock Hotel and later shared space  with Manila Steamship  Company, which had offices in the ground floor.

Rama who wants the old building to be made a a heritage and cultural site, said he will be meeting with  internationally acclaimed Cebuano industrial designer Kenneth Cobonpue, Islands Souvenirs president Jay Aldeguer, Land

Management Council (LMC) head Jade Ponce and  Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella about the plan.

He also wants Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) general manager Edmund Tan, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (CCCI), Bureau of Customs and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to join the meeting.

Rama showed photos of the old building from the book of Lucy Urgello Miller titled “Glimpses of Old Cebu: Images of the Colonial Era.” According to the book, in the 1930s, the building was operating as Shamrock Hotel.

There was an earlier dispute between City Hall and the CPA regarding the ownership of the building.

During their regular session last Wednesday, the council tackled the issue on ownership of the building. A proposed resolution to declare it an educational and tourism site was deferred as  some councilors asked about the status of the ownership of the building.

But the mayor said as “custodians,” it was the city who started cleaning the building and beautifying it when those who claim to be owners did not do so.

Rama recalled that during his time as vice mayor and head of the Cebu City Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC), he initiated the face-lifting of the structure with the help of a private contractor.

He even talked with then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo about his intent to convert it into a cultural and historical site since it’s a “very iconic” building just across City Hall and along the coast.

There were earlier plans by former mayor Tomas Osmeña to use the building as a public school for Ermita but it didn’t push through. Rama said he wanted to preserve the structure which was why the city bought a lot in barangay Ermita and  partnered with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) for them to construct the school there.