A bid to invalidate Cebu City’s sale of two lots of the South Road Properties (SRP) was filed with the Court of Appeals.
After the Regional Trial Court dismissed the petition of former prosecutor Romulo Torres, he elevated it to the CA Cebu Station in order to stop the Cebu City Council from from using the SRP sales proceeds.
In the earlier dismissal, RTC Judge Alexander Acosta in Cebu City said the sale was valid and that the council could spend the P8.3 billion down payment received from three private developers of the SRP — SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Land Inc., and Filinvest Land Inc.
Torres filed the suit in his capacity as a “citizen and taxpayer” but the legal action is widely identified as a blow by the camp of former mayor Tomas Osmeña, who is seeking reelection.
Torres questioned the mode of disposing the lots by public bidding. He said City Council Ordinance No. 2332 which protects the SRP from “unlawful and unauthorized transactions and dealings” excludes the sale or disposal of SRP property by public auction and favors unsolicited proposals.