THE public isn’t barred from passing through the W. Geonzon Street in barangay Apas, Cebu City, contrary to Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama’s assertion.
This was the statement of the Ayala Group regarding the road dispute between the Cebu IT Park and the Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) which is building a P5 billion BPO complex project adjacent to W. Geonzon St.
Jeanette Japzon, corporate communications manager of the Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) which owns the IT Park, said the investors and locators “are merely concerned about breaching their boundary to create a new access.”
She said Filinvest shouldn’t focus on Geonzon St. since there are two other access points to the project which is outside the IT Park, including Salinas Drive.
“We need to enforce our boundaries not only for business and security purposes, but to comply with our PEZA certification as well, which is one of the reasons for investors to come to Cebu and locate in Cebu IT Park,” she said.
Existing access
In an earlier statement, the CHI said the lot where the W. Geonzon St. is located is titled to the Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp. (CPVDC).
Japzon clarified that Filinvest is trying to create another access from their property going directly to the Geonzon St. which they consider as a form of encroachment on their property.
There is an existing wall along Geonzon St. separating IT Park from the ongoing project of Filinvest.
“They shouldn’t open a new access directly into our property because there is already an existing access in Salinas Drive,” Japzon said.
Filinvest earlier sought the help of Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III and Rama.
Fair
The province has a joint venture with the project of Filinvest. Rama yesterday appealed to Ayala not to restrict access so as not to affect traffic flow. “We don’t have to be talking about (the road) being titled or not. We just have to be sober,” Rama said.
Barangay officials in Apas recently passed a resolution to officially recognize that Geonzon St. together with its road and sidewalk is a public road and there should be unhampered access.
In a statement, Filinvest vice president Tristan Las Marias said they support the barangay’s move.
“This resolution also strengthens the City Mayor’s recent pronouncement that opening Geonzon Street to the public will boost business and investment opportunities in the area as it alleviates the traffic condition of Salinas Drive,” Las Marias said in their statement.
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