Council seeks update on Cebu City-FLI deal

The Cebu City Council wants Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to make known the status of the plan to rescind the sale of 19.2 hectares in the South Road Properties (SRP).

In an approved resolution, Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia said that both parties have expressed the intention to rescind the sale but after it, no further move has been made.

“A mutually-agreed rescission of the Filinvest consortium’s purchase will allow the City to reacquire the 19.2-hectare property and sell the same to interested buyers at P110,000 per square meter at the cheapest,” reads a portion of the resolution.

In June 2015, the Cebu City Government sold three parcels of lots in the SRP, with a combined area of 45.2 hectares.

Of the lots sold, some 26 hectares went to the consortium of Ayala Land-Cebu Holdings Inc. and SM Prime Holdings Inc., while FLI bought 19.2 hectares.

Last year, Tristan Las Marias, FLI senior vice president for Visayas and Mindanao, announced that they have agreed, in principle, with the City to rescind the contract for the sale of SRP lots worth P6.8 billion.

Las Marias said that the City has failed to fulfill its obligations under the sale contract, including the failure to release the lot titles even if they won the public bidding in June 2015 yet.

Because of the matter, Osmeña earlier said that the City will refund the P4 billion FLI made as a down payment for the 19.2-hectare property it purchased.

Earlier, Osmeña said he would revoke the sale of 45.2 hectares in the SRP, which took place during the previous administration, because he believes that the transaction is illegal.