Labella: SRP lots no longer for sale

Cebu City South Road Properties. | CDN File Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City-owned lots at the South Road Properties (SRP) are not anymore for sale.

This was the pronouncement of Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella on Friday, November 22, following reports that various international companies are eyeing to put up establishments at the city’s reclamation area.

So far, a Singaporean company is making an offer to use one of city’s SRP lots but Labella said has not even seen the proposal yet, which, he said, is still being studied by the city government’s joint venture committee.

The mayor expressed preference for joint venture agreements (JVA) instead of outright sale as the city gets to retain ownership of the property under JVA, while still getting its share from the property’s income during the period that it is in the hands of the private developer.

Labella’s position echoed that of the city’s former mayor, Tomas Osmeña, who had also rejected direct sale in favor of JVA, such as the venture agreement that the city government has entered with the Universal Hotel and Resorts Incorporated (UHRI) for the P18 billion project on SRP’s Kawit Island.

Labella said none of the SRP lots will be sold under his administration because this may not be beneficial to the city in the long run.

“Under this administration, we do not intend to sell lots anymore,” said the mayor.

The SRP is a 300-hectare reclamation project of the city government. To date, only 90 hectares are left with the city government, divided into eight lots.

Labella’s administration recently accepted the P16-billion payment of the SM-Ayala Consortium and Filinvest for the sale of 45 hectares of SRP lots in 2015 that was previously rejected by Osmeña because he claimed the sale was not legal.

Labella, who was vice mayor when the sale was approved in 2015 during the administration of now Vice Mayor Michael Rama, chose to accept the payment, using a big part of the payment to fund the city’s P10.4 billion 2020 annual budget.

Although Labella accepted the proceeds of the sale saying that the sale has always been “legal,” he said he is no longer inclined to sell more of the SRP lots. /elb