Former mayor Tomas Osmeña didn’t spell out the reasons why four councilors aligned with his Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) camp voted to support a resolution authorizing his rival, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to negotiate and sell lots in the South Road Properties (SRP) by public bidding.
The timing of the resolution’s approval showed some cunning.
Both Tomas and his wife, Councilor Margot Osmeña, who heads the committee of budget, were out of the country when when it was presented to the council for action.
An existing city ordinance restricts the mayor from selling SRP lots without the council’s approval. So Mayor Rama’s allies found a way to get the handcuffs off.
Another change in the equation is Osmeña’s modified position that Cebu City can sell SRP lots but only 5 hectares. He maintains his condition that this should be done only through unsolicited bids so that investors are forced to fully reveal their intentions on how to develop the reclaimed land.
It’s clear why Mayor Rama is under pressure to sell the lots now. There are genuine cash flow problems in City Hall, made more pressing by the widespread subsidies given for senior citizens, scholars, and medical aid beneficiaries among the poor.
Count in barangay officials, fire brigade volunteers, policemen and the growing list of judges and prosecutors with their continuous appeals for monthly allowances.
The administration is not bankrupt but it is cash-poor for these obligations. Even senior citizens who were promised P12,000 a year are being told that only half of this is in cash.
There’s been widespread talk that the complaint for misconduct in the Office of the President filed by a lawyer lumping the five BO-PK councilors along with Team Rama councilors for accepting the P20,000 calamity cash assistance after typhoon Yolanda drove allies of Osmeña to support the SRP resolution.
It’s value was rubbing salt into their wounds with the question: If that’s the way administration allies are treated, why stay friends?
Mayor Rama now has a chance to show critics and supporters alike that he won’t squander a golden opportunity given to him.
If real estate giants and Japanese investors have solid plans for SRP property, Rama and company should negotiate well and demand the best terms for Cebu City for the long term – and not just cash in to raise funds for the here and now. Certaintly not just to satisfy the need for reelection.
Osmeña’s words on this are worth keeping in mind: “There is only one SRP and if we misuse it, there won’t be another one.”