On dispute over city zoo and MCWD, Tom challenges Capitol: Sue me

Mayor Tomas Osmeña was at his wit’s end already when he dared provincial government officials to sue him over the disputes on the Cebu City Zoo and the Metropolitan Cebu Water District.

The mayor said he was tired already of listening to statements of Capitol officials threatening to file a case against him and the city government.

“Threaten to file… Then file. No one is stopping them. They are just good at talking. Just do what you want. We will just defend ourselves,” he said, adding that nothing stops the Capitol from going to court.

Provincial attorney Marino Martinquilla recently said the Capitol will go to court if the city touches the City Zoo, which is among the properties that the Capitol has wanted to recover from the city government.

Martinquilla made the statement after Osmeña announced earlier that he had been discussing matters with businessman Robert Yupangco, the man the mayor wanted to develop the City Zoo located in barangay Kalunasan.

In response to Martinquilla’s threat, the mayor explained to the media that the provincial government could not sue him in court because his plan to improve the City Zoo did not violate the agreement that the city had with Capitol when the latter donated the seven-hectare lot to the city.

“That was the basis for the donation in the first place that it has to be used as a zoo. So they (Capitol officials) have no grounds because we are just being consistent (with the agreement), and it’s going to be a much better zoo,” Osmeña said.

On September 18, 1969, Capitol donated Lot-1298 in Kalunasan to the Boys Scouts of the Philippines for the latter’s campsites. Seven hectares of the property, specifically a gully in the area, were however excluded from BSP’s use because that part was set aside for the zoo, which was at Fort San Pedro at that time.

Osmeña said he has been trying to explain to the Cebuanos that when Capitol donated that part of the property to Cebu City, one of the conditions was to use it as a zoo.  Martinquilla countered however that the lot area where the City Zoo is now located remains a property of the province because it was never donated either to the BSP or to the Cebu City government.

Osmeña would not buy this argument though, insisting that he has never been threatened if the Capitol decides to bring the matter to court. He said he is now more determined instead to improve the City Zoo, especially now that Yupangco has already prepared the proposal for the development and management of the place.

The City Zoo now has 91 animals, including 30 pigeons and 13 monkeys. When Yupangco finally takes over the zoo, it will be home to tigers, lions, giraffes, bears, orangutans, and other wild animals, Osmeña said.

He added that the city will also earn additional income from the place because Yupangco had proposed to charge visitors with entrance fees, part of which will go to the city coffers. 

Osmeña further reacted to the Capitol’s earlier threat to file contempt charges against Osmeña for appointing Joel Mari Yu into the MCWD Board, while there is a pending case in court on Capitol’s questioning the mayor’s authority to appoint someone to the board of directors of the water district.

“The provincial government has this mentality of acting like a judge...that when they file a case, that means you are guilty already. Just like on MCWD: They said they will file case against me… sue me for what? File a case against me for contempt? If I disobey them, they will put me in jail? Yabag. And to think that they are supposed to be lawyers,” Osmeña said.

As of yesterday, Capitol officials have yet to issue their comments over Osmeña’s challenge. -/RAE