Sooner than later
Mayor Tommy Osmeña got his wish. The city council has authorized him to sell three hectares of the South Road Properties at a price of at least P110,000 per square meter. The city will have money soon to spend on the repair of our roads and the collection of our garbage.
Am I being too optimistic? The buyer or buyers have not been identified yet. All that Councilor Hanz Abella, who authored the ordinance that granted Osmeña the authority to sell, is saying is that someone has approached the mayor to inquire about the property.
We will soon see. Abella expects interested buyers to show up once the public bidding starts, which should happen soon.
The decision to bid out the three-hectare lot is a little surprising. Osmeña has been critical of public bidding as a mode of selling the city’s properties because, according to him, it creates opportunities for graft and corruption. He wants investors to submit unsolicited proposals instead.
It is not the only apparent change in his preferences. He used to say that he did not want to “retail” the SRP because he does not want to happen to his SRP what happened to his father’s North Reclamation Area. A number of those who bought lots in the NRA were speculators, which explains why the area has not been fully developed until now.
Besides, I remember him saying, what will small lot buyers build in the SRP, an auto repair shop or a funeral parlor?
I am not into the real estate business so maybe selling three hectares is not retail. Or it could be that the buyer will be required to guarantee that he will develop the three hectares within a reasonable time after purchase and that he will not build any structure or run any business that would “cheapen” the SRP.
In any case, the city council authority is, at the very least, a moral victory for Osmeña. He has questioned the sale by former Mayor Michael Rama of huge chunks of the SRP to Filinvest, Ayala and SM, because the latter’s authority to sell was granted only through a resolution, instead of an ordinance.
In passing the ordinance, the city council virtually upheld Osmeña’s view and perhaps strengthened his hand in his efforts to nullify the sales made by Rama. It is worth noting that even Team Rama councilors voted for Abella’s measure, although Rama himself tried to downplay the bipartisan support by saying that his councilors are not obstructionists.
Osmeña’s supporters would probably smirk at Rama’s claim because Osmeña now controls the council and therefore the ordinance would have passed without the minority’s support or even despite their objection. Nevertheless, the show of unity was a rare occurrence in a body that for a long time has been strained by partisan bickering.
I hope that Osmeña will have his money soon. Our roads are in bad shape. Last Tuesday, the city government made its presence felt in the street near where I live by clamping illegally parked vehicles. I look forward to the day when I will see a crew repairing the road where the vehicles used to be. Sooner than later.