Former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama says the mayor threatened to rescind previous sale of SRP lots. CDN FILE Photo
Mayor wants amendment to ordinance on council authority for SRP sale
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will have to convince the Team Rama bloc in the City Council to sell any lot in the South Road Properties (SRP).
In a press conference yesterday, former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama said his allies in the council already have a stand on Osmeña’s plan to sell the 1.5-hectare pond F in the SRP.
Rama questioned why Osmeña wanted to sell the SRP now when he was even vocal about his plans to rescind the SRP sale from the SM-Ayala consortium and Filinvest.
Earlier, Osmeña ordered the City Legal Office to conduct a study on the terms of reference of selling the 1.5-hectare portion of pond F in SRP.
Rama said the Team Rama bloc won’t block any SRP lot sale but they need to be convinced first by Osmeña.
“It is not that we are blocking but we have to be convinced on why we are selling. And if we are selling, I wish it will be deliberated very clearly by our team. That is part of the indispensable portion of my involvement being the head of Team Rama,” he said.
Rama sold a 26.3-hectare property in SRP to the consortium of Ayala Land, Cebu Holdings Inc. and SM Prime amounting to P10.009 billion, while Filinvest Land Inc. bought a 19.2-hectare property for P6.7 billion last year.
The three companies already paid the down payment or half of the price totaling P8.4 billion and only half of the amount was used by the city while the other half was on hold.
The three companies were supposed to pay P3 billion of the remaining balance.
When asked if the companies won’t pay due to Osmeña’s threat that he will rescind the sale, Rama said the companies should pay since it belongs to the city.
Osmeña is said to be seeking an amendment to the city ordinance which prohibits the mayor to sell property in SRP without being authorized by the City Council.
“Yeah, because we have ordinance that we cannot sell. So we have to amend to sell,” he said.
Under City Ordinance 2332, the mayor will have to seek authority to sell from the City Council before he can dispose of lots in the SRP to avoid solicited proposals./Reporter Nestle L. Semilla