Osmeña lashes at Labella on FB

Kawit Island development project

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña brought to social media on Sunday his frustrations against the refusal of Barug Team Rama members in the City Council to pass the P18-billion development project proposed on Kawit Island.

He also called Vice Mayor Edgar Labella a “liar” and “coward” for making the Cebuanos suffer “because of your politics, the politics of destroying what others build because you can build nothing yourself.”

“Now, 5,000 jobs are gone. All because of politics and the need to tow the party line of Team Babag,” Osmeña said on FB, Sunday dawn.
Osmeña’s post received 429 engagements and 42 shares as of 6 p. m. on Sunday.

“It (the disapproval of the project proposal) is not just about politics. It is about the future of the people of Cebu City and for the generations to come,” was Labella’s reply to the mayor’s FB post.

Labella shared the skepticism of Team Rama colleagues on the 10 percent proposed sharing scheme between the Cebu City government and the project proponent, the Gokongwei-led Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc. (UHRI), which he said is too small.

“The intention (of the project) is good but there are serious flaws in the contract which could be tantamount to legal ramifications such as entering (into) a contract which is grossly disadvantageous to the City,” the vice mayor added.

Labella also questioned Osmeña’s decision to entrust a multi-billion project to UHRI, which he referred to as a “young company with no track record.”

He instead proposed for the conduct of a public bidding to make sure that the city is able to choose the most qualified developer.

City councilors reached an 8-8 vote when they discussed the proposed joint venture (JV) during a special session on Friday.

Labella, the council’s presiding officer, managed to break the tie to make sure that the JV is not implemented.

“The owner of Robinsons and Cebu Pacific, who is a fellow Cebuano and one of the richest men in Asia, is not qualified according to Team Suyop,” Osmeña said on FB.

Osmeña alleged that the move of the opposition bloc was “politically motivated.”

He also expressed frustration on the opposition councilor’s vote even after administration councilors adopted the recommendations made by an ad hoc committee which the council created to review the proposed JV before presenting this for flood discussion.

Councilor Renato “Junjun” Osmeña Jr., mayor Osmeña’s nephew and a Barug Team Rama ally, was head of the ad hoc committee.

“They (Team Rama councilors) in essence voted against their own recommendations,” Osmeña said.