It’s easy for Vice President Jejomar Binay to look benevolent on a local issue like the long-running plight of settlers still waiting to gain final ownerhsip of lots under Provincial Ordinance 93-1. Binay gets his input from political allies like Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.
Binay, who’s repeatedly visited Metro Cebu as part of his campaign build-up, pointed to the P500 million already offered by the Cebu City government as initial payment for the lots occupied by settlers in Cebu City.
As expected, he and Rama blamed partisan politics for the delay in the resolution. The mayor pointed to the City Council for this predicament and the vice president lay the onus of blame on Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III, the province’s Liberal Party (LP) chairman.
But recent meetings by the Capitol showed that the problem has more to do with valuation of the occupied lots, which Provincial Board (PB) Member Grecilda Sanchez-Zaballero said amounted to more than P1 billion.
Both Rama and Davide, long-time friends in their days as peers in the City Council, don’t have strained ties unlike their predecessors but a land-swap proposal as lobbied by majority of the City Council is not in the offing.
Mayor Rama rejected a counteroffer that was designed after a workshop by Capitol officials.
“I was not expecting a counter-proposal. I was expecting, what we call, bringing forward what was being discussed in a room with honorable men and with an honorable woman,” Rama said yesterday.
It seems like no small measure of pride is now involved, instead of a cool, calculation of real estate values. How do you move to a compromise if the negotiation is framed as a matter of macho principles?
When Rama said there’s no reason for the city to change its proposal, he didn’t give much of an opening.
“Why will I have to change? If we change our mind, it affects conviction, it affects manhood,” Rama said.
The occupants are not in danger of being evicted, unlike the hapless residents of the Doña Pepang cemetery or the Inayawan dumpsite, who were forced out with no relocation site.
A big number of 93-1 occupants have paid off their amortizations and were issued certificates by the province during the tenure of Davide’s predecessor, Gwen Garcia.
With Rama and Davide seeking reelection next year, both men have to work harder to finish this land tenure issue that has spanned four Capitol administrations.
Otherwise it will remain a campaign issue that tests their sincerity in dealing with the urban poor.