EDITORIAL

A victory for city and province

One of the most controversial issues that have affected the Cebu City government and thousands of city residents for years has been finally put to rest. And it’s a happy ending after all after the city and the Cebu provincial governments come up with a win-win solution.

Yesterday, Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Governor Hilario Davide III sat down and finally signed the land-swap agreement between the province and city. The deal involved lots of the Capitol that some city residents have been occupying for decades.

Under the agreement, thousands of families in the city will now have the opportunity to own the Capitol’s 93-1 lot properties scattered in several barangays. As the land-swap deal takes effect, those affected families can now start processing the titles for their lots.

The city government, for its part, will turn over to the provincial government some of its lots as compensation for the latter’s properties. Part of the city properties given to the Capitol is the 2.5-hectare lot at the South Road Properties.

With this development, city residents occupying the 93-1 properties can now heave a sigh of relief. There’s no more need to seek for relocation as they now have a lot to call their own. Yes, they can now sleep peacefully at night as an eviction threat no longer exists.

The signing of the land-swap deal comes at a time when the city developed a warm relationship with the province. When Osmeña returned to City Hall in 2016, he and re-elected Governor Davide promised to solve the 93-1 lot issue as soon as possible.

Following some finishing touches, yesterday’s event was the fulfillment of their promise. It was a victory for both parties after years of negotiations marred by some verbal clashes with both sides trading insults, the famous of which was the “modawat lang og limpiyo ang probinsiya” statement made by then vice mayor Michael Rama.

The city and province can now move on with the signing of the deal, confining the controversial 93-1 lot issue to the dustbin of history.