One down, two to go

I know the inmates will be enraged with this because this is the only time they get to spend time with their family. But we have to isolate the inmates who kept on stashing contrabands inside our facility. CEBU CITY JAIL WARDEN JESSIE CALUMPANG ON HIS NO-VISIT POLICY FOR THE JAIL)

IWhether you like it or not, this is a personal triumph for Osmeña

heard about the rescission of the sale of a portion of the South Road Properties to Filinvest Friday, last week. “It’s a done deal,” my source told me. “The documents have been signed.” I’ve been asked, however, to keep the matter confidential in order not to preempt the press conference that Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Filinvest scheduled yesterday morning.

Yesterday, both seller and buyer formally announced the cancellation allegedly because of the failure of the city to comply with its contractual obligations, more particularly the delivery of the title to the property sold in the buyer’s name within six months from the execution of the contract of sale.

Whether you like it or not, this is a personal triumph for Osmeña, who, immediately after he was elected in May last year, announced that the recovery of the properties that then Mayor Michael Rama sold to Filinvest, Ayala and SM in 2015, was going to be a priority of his administration. How did he intend to do it, I asked him during an interview on Frankahay Ta. His answer was vague: he will let the people do it.

In fact, he did it himself, while at the same time maintaining that he was doing it for the Cebuanos, who he believed, were short-changed in the deal. His strategy which can best be summed up as “some pressure here and some pressure” worked. It’s now one down, two to go.

Whether Ayala and SM, which bought as a consortium but which, according to my source, paid separately and were issued separate receipts, will follow in Filinvest’s footsteps is at most speculative. But both giant conglomerates, SM especially, must have realized by now how difficult and how inconvenient it is to fight City Hall.

Note can be made, of course, that SM or, to be more precise, the bank owned by the SM owner, had taken a different route. Last week, it filed a petition in court to enjoin the mayor to act - whether approve or disapprove - on their application for a business permit and from making good his threat to close all its 27 branches in Cebu City.

Banco de Oro or BDO was granted a three-day restraining order that was subsequently extended by 17 more days. The reprieve may not, however, be enough to calm the anxiety of its depositors. And even if the bank succeeds in securing a preliminary injunction, it will not entirely remove the proverbial sword of Damocles hanging above its head.

I do not believe that any of the buyers acted in bad faith or were playing politics. Buying was purely a business decision. They anticipated profits. However, they could end up suffering losses instead. Filinvest is already sure to take a hit in terms of the capital gains and other taxes that it has already paid and which the city is not going to reimburse. It is not a paltry sum even by Filinvest’s standards but sometimes you have to pay a hefty price when buying peace.

The only possible obstacle could come from the direction of the city council from whom the mayor will seek authority to release money from City Hall’s coffers to reimburse Filinvest. The council is dominated by Team Rama members, most of whom had a hand in authorizing Rama to sell to Filinvest et al.

They may even insist that their consent be secured in the rescission itself. If the opposition councilors stonewall and a vote is called, will they vote according to their conscience or follow party lines regardless of their own personal take on the issue?

Things are really getting more interesting at City Hall these days.