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For Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, he would take an idle lot occupied by migratory birds over a leaky building any day.
The Cebu city mayor yesterday defended the city's South Road Project (SRP), saying he wasn't envious that Cebu province had no debts while the city incurred a P6 billion loan obligation for the reclaimed area.
“Envy? True the province has no debt, they also have no SRP. I'm not willing to exchange places. The SRP will still be earning taxes for the city in the next millenium or two. How long can a leaky CICC (Cebu International Convention Center) survive?,” Osmeña said in a text message to .
The mayor, who is on official business in Khaosiung, Taiwan, was referring to the center built by the province in time for the 2006 Association of Southeast Asian (Asean) summit which became the subject of allegations of overpricing.
Last Thursday, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia chided the mayor on the SRP in her State of the Province Address (SOPA) by saying the Cebu city government mortgaged the city's future with a debt it can hardly pay.
The Cebu city government previously secured a loan from the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) to reclaim the area which remains largely unoccupied as of this time.
In response, the mayor enumerated the city's achievements under his administration including winning five Galing Pook awards.
“The city outperformed all the 135 LGUs in the region including the province. The governor dances in the Sinulog because they have nothing to compare. Who was chosen the country's most outstanding, the governor? Who was awarded one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM), the governor?,” Osmeña said.
In her address, the governor said Cebu province is the richest province in the country.
But Osmeña questioned the collected revenues of the province, specifically the CICC.
“CICC earned P32 million? Was that net of gross earnings? How much did it cost to operate it? P700 million including a leaking roof? SRP will still be there in the next millenium or two,” Osmeña said.
The mayor claimed the revenues earned by the province only competed with and deprived the private Cebuano establishments who also catered to weddings and conventions.
“You spend P700 million to compete with Cebuano business and she is proud of it. Their properties are located in Cebu city so even if they are developed, the city will collect taxes from them the next 1,000 years and the province, zero. Their backbone highway is a flop. No one will bid even a peso for it,” he added.
Osmeña said the reclamation project is a world class facility that will generate billions of pesos in income for the city.
Meanwhile City Administrator Francisco Fernandez announced that the Commission on Audit (COA) already approved the floor prices for the sale of lots at the SRP.
Fernandez said he doesn't mind Governor Garcia's tirade on the SRP, saying it will serve to motivate them.
"In any business there will be problems but once it starts to succeed you earn the profits,” he said in Cebuano.
Fernandez said the city will start the bidding soon for those who wanted to purchase lots.
The amount ranges between P8,000 to P11,000 per square meter, depending on the location of the lots.
By placing the rate at P10,000 per square meter, Fernandez said the city can earn P1 billion if it sells at least 10 hectares.
He said the city's loan for the SRP stands at P6 billion.
The Cebu city administrator said the city already paid P600 million for the loan with Cebu earning rental income from film production outfit Big Foot which occupies 10 hectares of SRP lots. With a report from Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan
