[ sunstar.com.ph ] November 22, 2008
CEBU CITY –- City officials are ready to provide the province with documents related to the South Road Properties, but they cannot negotiate with Capitol until they finish negotiations with Filinvest Land Inc.
City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said Friday they are legally bound to accept Capitol’s proposal to challenge Filinvest Land Inc.’s (FLI) bid to develop a 50-hectare portion of the South Road Properties (SRP).
But he said that according to the City’s ordinance on joint venture agreement guidelines, they are not allowed to negotiate with other parties until FLI’s unsolicited proposal is published for bidding.
“We are legally bound to accept their offer but we can’t talk to them yet... Wala ta nahadlok sa ilang (We are not intimidated by their) offer and bisag nahadlok pa ta, we don’t have a choice but to accept it because the law says that we have to,” Fernandez told reporters.
During her visit to the SRP Friday morning, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia asked for copies of the land valuation and technical description of the lots that FLI is planning to buy.
SRP Chief Operations Officer Nagiel Bañacia, who received the governor, said they can provide the documents anytime but the request will have to be coursed through the office of Acting Mayor Michael Rama.
“Yes, she’s serious about their offer to invest in the SRP. In fact, she brought with her Capitol’s appraisal committee and asked them to evaluate the property. We will give them the documents they asked for, but I think it will have to be formally requested from the office of the mayor,” he said.
Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña was also informed of the governor’s visit to the SRP, and Fernandez said the governor and anyone who wants to visit the SRP may do so anytime.
“He didn’t say anything, he just asked if she came in her costume,” the city administrator said.
The Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) tasked to review the unsolicited proposal of FLI to make an outright purchase of a 10- to 13-hectare lot at the SRP is expected to finish negotiating with FLI next week.
If the offer is approved, the committee will proceed to publish their proposal and invite other developers to challenge the offer through a competitive bidding.
FLI is required to pay the city a proposal security of one percent of its estimated project cost before the publication of the bid.
Fernandez said they can only entertain formal offers from other parties after publication, and they will also have to deposit one percent of their proposed estimated project cost when they submit their proposals.
The governor ordered Friday the Capitol’s appraisal team to coordinate with the SRP management so that the province can arrive at a fair market value for the property it is considering at the reclamation area.
“As we can see, it is a very prime property. We can do a lot on this property,” Garcia told reporters after her stopover.
The governor and some Capitol department heads dropped by the SRP and went inside the Sugbo building on their way to the Capitol tourism caravan “Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo: Southern Heritage Trail.”
She was greeted by Banacia and several members of the mayor’s management team. In jest, the governor introduced herself to Banacia as “Governor Gwen Garcia, alias Tandang Zorra.”
The party went up to the Sugbo balcony and viewed the SRP lots, particularly those in foreshore area. Banacia also briefed the governor about the facilities.
“The possibilities are tremendous. That certainly increases our interest (to invest in the SRP),” said Garcia, reiterating that the Provincial Government is serious about its proposal to buy lots at the SRP.
From the SRP, Garcia proceeded to Talisay City for the Province’s three-day tourism caravan in southern Cebu, which officially kicked off Friday.
The Capitol is preparing to challenge Filinvest’s proposal to buy a 10 hectare portion of the SRP and develop 40 hectares under a joint venture with the City Government. (LCR/GMD/Sun.Star Cebu)
