With the recent looting of an undetermined amount of relief goods at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), one question must bug Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III: Is the structure worth keeping?
Long after the CICC was built at a cost of almost a billion pesos to serve as a venue for Cebu’s hosting of the 2007 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, the center has seen better days and was costing the province more than it earns for its maintenance.
From businessman Cris Saavedra to former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña, questions about overpricing arose and was the subject of an ongoing case against former Cebu governor and now congresswoman Gwendolyn Garcia, in whose term the center was built.
Garcia managed to evade the negative publicity for the most part and used the CICC to stage major events including the 2010 presidential candidates’ forum.
The CICC even served as the venue for her daughter Cristina’s wedding to Liloan Mayor Duke Frasco. Curiously, we haven’t heard a peep from her regarding the state of the CICC.
But the burden of maintaining the CICC turned heaviest when it sustained severe damage from the Oct. 15 earthquake and supertyphoon Yolanda last year.
The convention center was used to house the relief operations but even then, workers were concerned about their own safety and the safety of the donated goods that came from all over the country and the rest of the world.
These fears were confirmed with last month’s looting and while we don’t rule out the provincial government making some improvements, Davide has made it clear that he is weighing his options on how to deal with the CICC.
It was reported that the province tried to sell the CICC to the Mandaue City government for P600 million but city officials made a lower counter offer of P200 million.
The lower offer may be embarrassing considering the cost of building the CICC, but one look at the torn roofing, and that hole in the ceiling where the looters supposedly entered a room in the basement housing the relief goods and only a few people would argue for a higher selling price for the convention center.
We’re not even talking about the corruption case involving the CICC that was filed against Rep. Garcia. Certainly, Davide won’t allow the sale of the CICC until the case is resolved which could take years.
Davide could consider leasing the CICC to Mandaue City or to a private developer but who among the businessmen would look beyond the damage sustained by the center and manage to turn it into a profitable enterprise not only for them but for the province and Mandaue City.
Until then, the CICC would remain standing as an expensive eyesore in Mandaue City and a money pit for the province whose coffers are continually being drained for its upkeep.