City asks court to deny TRO

The Cebu City government is asking the Regional Trial Court to deny the temporary restraining order (TRO) sought by Barangay Busay councilman Amilo Lopez to prevent the implementation of the joint venture agreement between the city and the Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc. to develop the former Kawit island into a world-class resort and casino.

City Legal Officer Joseph Bernaldez said there is no urgency to issue the TRO and that the relief being sought for is already moot and academic.

According to Bernaldez, there is no urgency because the petitioner and his lawyers were not present during the hearing yesterday. Lopez through his lawyers, however, filed an urgent motion asking for the resetting of the hearing to a later date.

Despite the urgent motion filed by lawyers Floro Casas Jr. and Rey Gealon, the court allowed Bernaldez to hear his arguments.

According to Bernaldez, the urgent motion seeking for the rescheduling of the hearing yesterday was defective. He said it was filed in violation of the three-day notice rule, no formal notice of resetting of hearing, and was unsigned.

“Where is the urgency, they’re not here,” Bernaldez said, adding that it is ironic that the petitioner asked for the immediate issuance of TRO but did not appear during the hearing.

Bernaldez said there is no need for the issuance of TRO or the preliminary injunction because what Lopez wanted to enjoin has already been done. He said the joint venture agreement was already signed on August 17, 2018.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña immediately signed the agreement with UHRI officials in Makati City after the City Council gave him the authority. The members of the opposition, however, questioned the approval of the resolution because it was done after the session was adjourned.

The question of the validity of the authority was among the grounds cited by Lopez in his petition before the court. He likewise questioned the technical and financial capacity of UHRI to undertake the project.

The opposition councilors also warned the city government and the UHRI from implementing the P18-billion development project pending the resolution of the instant case.

Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera said it’s up for UHRI to take the risk and kick off with the groundbreaking of the project considering that the City Council did not give Osmeña the authority to sign the JVA.

“As I already mentioned during our council session, the JV is very disadvantageous to the city government and detrimental to the interest of the people. People should know that the city government will only earn income by 2027,” Pesquera said.

Pesquera said the value of Kawit Island is P10 billion and would appreciate up to P20 billion by 2027. But with the JVA with UHRI, she said the share of the income of the city will remain at 10 percent compared to a straight lease with escalation of five percent each year.

If the rental rate now is for example P100 per square meter, she said the city will earn at least P10 million a month or P120 million a year.

For nine years, she said the city will earn at least P1 billion but with the UHRI JV, the city will earn nothing for the next 9 years.