Tom still pursuing land swap deal with province

As long as the matter is not brought to court, Mayor Tomas Osmeña is willing to let time pass on the controversial land swap deal with the provincial government.

"I will not force the issue unless the province will file a case for eviction," Osmeña said yesterday.

About 5,000 Cebu City residents are currently squatting on province-owned lots that are supposedly subjects of the land swap. However, the deal was botched after the city council issued "hasty" statements that the swap will only benefit the provincial government because it will solve their problem in collecting amortization dues from lot occupants who have not been able or who have no intention to pay.

But Osmeña is not giving up the deal and continues to renegotiate with the province. He emphasized, however, that he will not force the issue for now unless the province takes legal action that would render the squatters homeless.

Osmeña said he is confident that the deal will be revived as long as the city council will not ridicule the province again.

After the deal was botched months ago, Osmeña took the reins and told his allies in the city council to keep quiet and let him look for the solution. Osmeña leads the Bando-Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan in which all the city councilors are members.

In exchange for the Capitol's 504,055-square-meter property, the city is planning to give the province a 33,737 square meter prime lot in the North Reclamation Area, which is presently being used as a storage space for City Hall equipment.

While the current market value of the province's property amounts to P3.15 billion, the deal is not favorable to the city in financial terms since it will be able to collect a maximum amount of only P183.1 million from the occupants. The market value of the city's property is P415.3 million.

The province-owned lots are located in barangays Apas, Luz, Busay, Mabolo, Lorega, Camputhaw, Lahug, Capitol Site and Kalunasan.

Under Provincial Ordinance 93-1, occupants of the Province-owned property were entitled to purchase their lots on installment basis from 1993 to 1998. This was later extended to May 2004.

The occupants asked for another extension but Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia vetoed the ordinance seeking to move the deadline for payments. - Joeberth M. Ocao