CEBU Gov. Hilario Davide III is ready to let go of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) after Mandaue City’s recent bid to purchase the venue.
“I’m willing to let go. We are going that direction,” Davide told reporters yesterday.
Last month, the Mandaue City Council passed a resolution signifying the city’s intention to purchase the CICC from the province.
The provincial assessor pegged the value of the CICC at around P600 million, Davide said.
He added that Mandaue city will conduct their own assessment of the property.
Despite possible legal complications, Davide said the province will continue with its initial plan to sell the property which sustained major damage when a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Bohol and Cebu on Oct. 15, 2013.
The CICC is the subject of an ongoing graft case in the Office of the Ombudsman against former Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia and six other Capitol officials.
The facility was built to serve as the main venue of the 2007 summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The provincial government spent over a billion pesos for the facility which rises on prime reclaimed property owned by Mandaue City.
Allegations of overpricing prompted the Ombudsman to investigate Garcia and other Capitol officials.
Davide said Mandaue City’s offer to purchase the mothballed convention center may be too attractive for the province to decline. He said he still has to convene the CICC management board before making a final decision.
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