RTC asked to junk case stopping P18B SRP deal
The Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc. (UHRI) has asked the Regional Trial Court to dismiss the case filed against it and the Cebu City government by a barangay official seeking to stop the P18-billion project at the South Road Properties.
In a 37-page memorandum, the UHRI said the case filed by Busay Barangay Councilman Amilo Lopez should be dismissed for lack of merit.
“Contrary to the claim of the petitioner (Lopez), the JVA (Joint Venture Agreement) and/ or the project will not cause grave and irreparable injury to the petitioners and the constituents of the City of Cebu, but, rather, will contribute to the economic growth of the City of Cebu,” read a portion of the memorandum filed on September 29.
Earlier, Lopez has asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or writ of preliminary injunction to stop the city government from entering into a JVA with UHRI.
Lopez said UHRI does not have the technical capacity to undertake the project provided under the Joint Venture Ordinance.
He said the firm does not have the financial capacity to undertake the project prescribed under the ordinance and that the City Council did not give authority to Mayor Tomas Osmeña to sign the JVA with UHRI officials.
The court has already denied the TRO and the writ of preliminary injunction. It also asked the UHRI and the city government to submit their memorandum on the issues raised by Lopez in his complaint.
In its memorandum, UHRI said that the petition is devoid of factual and legal basis for the issuance of injunctive relief, as Lopez failed to establish the requisites for the grant of a writ of permanent injunction.
UHRI also said that the court is prohibited under Republic Act No. 8975 from issuing any TRO and/or preliminary injunction against national government projects like the P18billion Cebu Integrated Resort and Casino Project.
Contrary to the claims of Lopez, UHRI said it has the technical and financial capacity to undertake and develop the P18 billion project as its affiliates – the Gokongwei Group of Companies and the Robinsons Land Corp. – have executed memorandum of cooperation for the utilization of the affiliate's technical expertise and financial resources to develop the project.
“The sharing scheme is not disadvantageous to the Cebu City Government as it is determined by the percentages of gross revenues from each component of the investment and not computed based on the aggregate,” the UHRI added in its memorandum.
The city will get 10 percent of the gross real estate rental revenues to be generated from the retail lease of spaces in the commercial, shopping center and the parking slots; 10 percent of the gross real estate revenues from the wholesale lease of the gross bare-shell spaces in the integrated resort, 15 percent from the bare-shell spaces in the casino facility; and 10 percent from the lease if spaces in the hotels if leased to hotel operator but 2 percent if UHRI operates the hotel's gross room and food and beverage revenues.
As to the issue that the City Council did not authorize the mayor to sign the JVA with UHRI, the UHRI believed that the validity of the questioned resolutions is outside the jurisdiction of the court to decide as the procedures of the council are within the purview of the Department of Interior and Local Government.
UHRI also accused Lopez of forum-shopping as the same case was also filed by eight councilors allied with Barug-PDP Laban. These councilors are Garcia, Jose Daluz III, Jocelyn Pesquera, Pastor Alcover Jr., Erik Miguel Espina, Joel Garganera, Renato Osmena Jr. and Eduardo Rama Jr.
The opposition councilors filed the declaration of nullity of the two resolutions with prayer for temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction.