Young councilor candidates of Cebu City to seek win-win negotiations on Kawit Island project dispute
Cebu City South District candidates for councilor, Rengelle Pelayo of Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan and Gerald Carillo of Partido-Barug-PDP Laban discussed issues regarding the policies in the city during the CDN Debates on Saturday, April 6, 2019.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The youngest candidates for the Cebu City Council sought to provide a win-win negotiation for the most disputed P18 billion Isla Dela Victoria project at the South Road Properties (SRP).
In the CDN Debates, Know Your Candidates face-off interview on Saturday, April 6, 23-year-old Gerald Carillo of Partido Barug-PDP Laban and 28-year-old Rengelle Pelayo of Bando Osmeña Pundok-Kauswagan (BO-PK), both running for councilors in the South District, discussed the ways the Isla dela Victoria dispute could be settled.
Pelayo, taking the side of the administration of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, mirrored the mayor’s arguments on the Kawit Island, stating that the joint venture agreement (JVA) with the Universal Hotels and Resorts, Inc. (UHRI) was advantageous to the city.
She argued that with a zero cash-out for the P18 billion project and with the city receiving 10 percent of the profit of the development, the city would be earning in the next 50 years under the lease.
“How can this be advantageous to the city when we will be earning for the 50 years?” said Pelayo.
On the other hand, Carillo, said that he agreed that the renting of the 8-hectare property would yield more profit for the city.
Read more: ISLA DELA VICTORIA GETS OFF THE GROUND
However, he said that the JVA was disadvantageous because the price of the property was not taken into consideration, which was at least P10 billion.
Carillo said that the P10 billion should be added to the total cost of the project, appraising the project to P28 billion.
In this case, Carillo said that the city’s share should be equal to the property’s value, which is at least 30 percent of the total project value including the 8-hectare property.
Carillo said that the city should wait for a better offer, but Pelayo said that waiting for a better offer would become disadvantageous to the city.
He suggested that the city renegotiate the deal with UHRI to gain more shares of the profit.
“We can wait for a better offer or we can negotiate for a bigger share,” said Carillo.
Both Carillo and Pelayo said they would hope that the dispute would be settled, and said they would like to work on such settlement should they become members of the City Council./dbs
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