City ‘at risk’ with UHRI deal: Labella

Why do Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and his colleagues in the opposition find the P18-billion joint venture agreement (JVA) with Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc. (UHRI) “grossly disadvantageous?”

A lawyer, Labella said that passing the resolution authorizing Mayor Tomas Osmeña to sign the JVA would violate the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

“The project is good, but there could be some legal ramifications that we might be favoring, giving unwarranted benefit to a party, which may be disadvantageous to the City,” he said.

Labella said an existing city ordinance requires interested lo- cators to have a track record of at least three years before it can apply for a joint partnership with the City Government.

Since it was only last November when the City Council endorsed to Pagcor the application of UHRI to develop Kawit Island, Labella said it is a relatively new business.

“It’s putting the City at risk. If we take a look at the JV we have with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI), only one-third has been developed. We have to protect the interest of the city,” Labella added.

He also questioned the 90-10 revenue sharing scheme.

Osmeña, however, said: “They don’t understand. They are asking for a straight lease, same amount for many years. It’s a 50-year lease. If they’re (UHRI) going to pay the same amount every year, what they will be paying 25 years from now would be nothing.” /