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Mixed signals from Cebu City Hall officials along with negative comments from the political opposition convinced businessman Roque Ting into backing out of the P13.5 million compromise deal on his property along the South Road Properties (SRP).
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said it is now up to Vice Mayor Michael Rama to resolve the dispute with Ting whom he heard had decided to wait for the Court of Appeals ruling on his case with the city.
?The vice mayor says one thing and it placed me in a very awkward position and (it angered) Mr. Ting. Then the media comes in and Guardo criticizes the (compromise deal) that's why Ting said forget it,? Osmeña said.
?Now the vice mayor wants to negotiate it. I already negotiated Don?t tell me that I did not negotiate,? Osmeña said.
Osmeña said he never met Ting the past year and was only told by somebody whom he declined to name that the businessman was agreeable to a P13.5 million settlement for his property that was affected in the implementation of the South Road Properties (SRP).
He said he never talked to Ting personally when he asked the City Council to allocate P13.5 million as settlement for the 4,222 square meter property of the Filipino-Chinese businessman.
Rama initially warned the council's budget and finance committee on proceeding with the settlement because the city may be caught in a similar predicament faced by the Capitol which paid for P98.9 million for the Balili property that had some portions submerged in water.
The Ting property, a 4,222 square meter property located in a demarcation line between the cities of Talisay and Cebu is also partially submerged.
The Metro Cebu Development Project (MCDP) demolished six structures within the Ting property and dredged a portion of it to separate the properties of the two local government units.
The MCDP offered Ting some property to pay for the damages. But with the group's dissolution, Ting asked the Cebu City government to pay for the damages instead.
When the city government refused, Ting filed a case before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) which ruled that the city should pay him P38 million.
