Taxpayer wants court to stop use of proceeds

A resident of barangay Basak San Nicolas asked the court to stop the Cebu City Council from authorizing the use of P8.3 billion in proceeds from the sale of land in the South Road Properties (SRP).

The complaint was filed by Romulo Torres on Thursday in his capacity as “citizen and taxpayer.”

He asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) and writ of preliminary injunction against the local legislature.

He said the money  from SRP sales should not be spent by Cebu City until it is clearly settled whether the public bidding of SRP lots was “valid.”

The argument is the same one repeatedly raised by critics of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama in the council dominated by the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK), that SRP lots should be disposed of through  unsolicited proposals of private entities rather  than a public bidding.

Mayor  Rama was not impleaded in the case filed by Torres.

Named respondents in the case were Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and all 16 city councilors.

In his complaint, Torres said that interested buyers of SRP lots must submit unsolicited proposals as a matter of policy.

He cited City Ordinance No. 2332 which protects the SRP from unlawful and unauthorized transactions and dealings.

Torres said the  ordinance  excludes the sale or disposition of property in the SRP by public auction.

Torres recalled that last year, the city council authorized Mayor Rama to negotiate and dispose of SRP lots  by sale through public bidding.

A public bidding was held on June 30, 2015 and the city  received  partial payment of P8.3 billion from three lot buyers SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Lands Inc., and Filinvest Lands Inc.

The bidding proceeded even as the council passed on June 25 a resolution which held in abeyance the bidding process of the SRP lots.

Councilor Andales, sought for comment, said  he welcomed the court cases to put an end to the issue.

He noted that the  Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) stated in a legal opinion that a resolution cannot supersede an ordinance.

Andales had warned before that pushing on with the SRP sale would make the city  vulnerable  to court action.

Councilor Noel Wenceslao, author of City Ordinance No. 2332, said the  filing of the case appears politically motivated.

“As the author of the ordinance, I’m telling him (complainant) to read first the entirety of the ordinance before commenting. This is all politics,” Wenceslao said.

He said there’s no issue  to protest over since the ordinance stated that whatever the means of disposal for public  lots will be, either unsolicited proposal, public bidding or negotiated sale, it should go back to the City Council for approval.

City Legal Office Jerone Castillo said he  sees no reason for the city government to stop using the P8.3-billion down payment for the two SRP lots.

“That has already been done. That has been rendered academic already,” he said.

Named as respondents in this civil case are Councilors Nestor Archival, Margarita Osmeña, Lea Japson, Eugenio Gabuya, Mary Ann delos Santos, David Tumulak, Nendell Abella, Sisinio Andales,

Alvin Arcilla, Roberto Cabarrubias, Ma. Nida Cabrera, Gerardo Carillo, James Anthony Cuenco, Alvin Dizon, Richard Osmeña, Noel Wenceslao and Philip Zafra.