Osmeña: SRP sale needs an ordinance

The sale of a three-hectare land in the South Road Properties (SRP) needs an ordinance and not a resolution.

This was the pronouncement of Mayor Tomas Osmeña as the City Council’s committee on laws, in a report, recommended that the sale be authorized through a resolution “in order to expedite the process.”

“We’re not going to break the law like they did (previous administration). That’s their trap, but we’ll follow the proper way. If the sale is authorized through a resolution, the buyer may think it’s illegal. We have to do it correctly to show that it’s prim and proper,” Osmeña said.

Last month, Councilor Nendell Hanz Abella filed a proposed legislation to supplement City Ordinance (CO) 2332, which protects the SRP and its stakeholders from unlawful and unauthorized transactions and dealings.

Abella’s draft ordinance pro- vides that the sale will cover two lots at Pond F. These are Lot 1-F-8-A with an area of 25,769 square meters and Lot 1-H-1 with an area or 3,349 square meters.

Abella said the City Government can generate around P3.3 billion by selling the lots at P110,000 per square meter

Osmeña said that the price, which he suggested himself, will not be the precedent of the succeeding sales since the value of the SRP lots increases every year.

The committee on laws, however, said that there is no need to supplement CO 2332 to “avoid unnecessary amendments to the ordinance.”

It added that a resolution will suffice for the transaction.

The mayor, on the other hand, stood firm that the council cannot amend an ordinance with a resolution.

The sale of the property will be discussed in today’s regular council session. /