No authority yet for Tom to sign P18B deal
The Cebu City Council yesterday failed to grant authority for Mayor Tomas Osmeña to sign a joint venture agreement with the proponent of an P18-billion development of Kawit Island at the South Road Properties.
In the presence of the mayor, the council instead decided to refer the resolution to the five-member ad hoc committee that was earlier formed to look into the unsolicited proposal of the John Gokongwei-led Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc (UHRI).
This time, the committee will check whether recommendations from its prior study of the original contract and the suggestions of the council have indeed been incorporated in the revised contract.
During the session that lasted nearly an hour, Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia moved to let the ad hoc team check first the amended contract “if it is advantageous to the city.”
When Councilor Margarita Osmeña objected to his motion, a voting ensued.
The result was 8-7-1 -- eight members of the opposition bloc sided with Garcia, seven from Bando OsmeñaPundok Kauswagan were against the referral, while Councilor Sisinio Andales abstained.
Mayor Osmeña, who was present during the deliberations yesterday, said the council’s decision spells another round of delay for the humungous project.
At a press conference before the session, the mayor said he already expected the council to block the project but he also warned the council that UHRI may sue the city for “being malicious” if the project will be blocked.
“If they sue us, it stays in court for 25 years and in the meantime, how can we bring in another investor when the property is in court?” Osmeña told reporters.
Councilor Jose Daluz III commended the executive department for incorporating the suggestions and recommendations of the ad hoc committee and the council.
However, Daluz said he noticed that there are provisions in the amended contract that run contrary to the other provisions.
He cited one amended provision which states that the UHRI acknowledges that all foreshore leases and reclamation in the areas adjacent to the project site shall belong to the city only and that the firm shall not apply or process any foreshore lease or reclamation application without the consent of the city.
Yet the same amended contract still provides that the city would assist the project proponent in securing the rights over the foreshore or miscellaneous leases over the coast lines of the project areas.
“This is one of the reasons why we need the ad hoc committee to check the amended contract to avoid confusion,” he said.
Councilor Osmeña argued that the provision can be amended right away.
But Daluz said the ad hoc committee should review the amended contract in hits entirety to look into other “inconsistent” provisions.
Andales asked the council to let the mayor speak and explain the project during the session, a move objected by Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, which led to another voting.
The house voted 8-8, prompting Labella to break the tie in favor of not allowing the mayor to speak “since the revised contract will be reviewed by the ad hoc committee” anyway.
Labella said he is not against the project but the legislative department should look into the contract more.
If green-lighted, the proposed project will include construction of a commercial or shopping center, integrated resort, casino facilities, hotels and parking facilities on the city’s properties, among others, on the nine-hectare Kawit property.
Demecillo/JMD