It’s quite tragic that the South Road Properties (SRP) is being used as a political tool and issue by contending local parties, whose different visions of Cebu City’s centerpiece real estate project threaten to undermine whatever gains have been achieved so far.
When Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama arrived from Manila to announce to local media that the SM-Ayala consortium and Filinvest Land Inc. already paid more than P6 billion for the SRP lots they plan to develop in the next few years, not a few doubted the veracity of his claim, including the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) camp which asked for proof.
Even if he didn’t show the actual checks, Rama could have at least showed photos of the checks on his cell phone or iPad Air tablet that he brought with him from his Manila trip.
As it is, whether the public believes him or not may not matter if the money comes into the city’s coffers as he promised. But even before this megabuck deal, Rama has now acquired a reputation for pressuring developers like Filinvest into paying up for their investments in the SRP.
Just ask Filinvest officials who’ve been pressured to pay the city even while they are developing their subdivision project in the SRP in order to meet the mayor’s promises of cash assistance to the city’s senior citizens, the scholars and other groups.
One may question the mayor’s tough negotiation tactics, but he somehow eventually gets the job done. And the Manila trip showed that Rama and his camp have somehow anticipated BO-PK’s move to douse the celebratory mood brought by the recent P1.6-billion bond payment of the developers.
By citing the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) opinion that a resolution cannot supersede the 2012 ordinance that mandates unsolicited proposals as the only way to undertake ventures in the SRP, the BO-PK bloc in the council issued a reminder that somehow, they will not be ignored and will continue to have a say on how the SRP will be run.
But again, the Manila trip showed that the Rama camp is prepared to employ other tactics to move the deals forward, regardless if it skips over or skirts legal obstacles or technicalities.
Whether there was any truth to Councilor Margot Osmeña’s claims that the mayor threatened to cancel the contract if the developers don’t pay up, the fact is Rama won’t hesitate to confront and apply pressure in order to get the funds he needs for his programs.
Looking beyond the intramurals between Rama’s camp and BO-PK, the fate of the SRP deals should be monitored by Cebu City residents and used as a gauge in casting a vote of confidence for either one or the other camp.