Another year of delay

CEBU, Philippines - The end of year 2011 marks another year of delay for the development of Ciudad Project, a P1.2 billion Spanish-themed mixed use  commercial development supposed to rise in a province-owned lot in Apas, Cebu City.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia already had marching orders for the developer, Fifth Avenue, to finish the project within a year.

The project, a joint venture between the Province of Cebu and Fifth Avenue, had been delayed since it was conceptualized in 2006, due to the political bickering between City Hall and the Capitol.

The administration of then Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña declared a moratorium of the development along the Banilad-Talamban road.

Osmeña, now congressional representative of the south district, has been opposing the project, saying it would generate traffic along the Ban-Tal road, the only access to the northern part of the city.

Last May, the project proponent submitted its traffic management plan to address the effect of the project to the traffic situation in the area.

Part of the traffic management plan included the opening of road networks inside the Ciudad project as access to and from the I.T. Park.

The Capitol gave a position paper to the Cebu City Council asking them to abandon the amendment of the city zoning ordinance that bars them from implementing the Ciudad project.

Last June, Osmeña called for a meeting with the members of the City Council at his residence in barangay Guadalupe to discuss the request of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to lift the moratorium on development in the Banilad-Talamban area which affects the planned Ciudad project.

“I just want to reiterate my objection to Ciudad project. He (Mayor Rama) is pushing for moratorium because he is making sip-sip to his godmother,” Osmeña said, referring to Governor Gwendolyn Garcia. 

“There is only one access road going to the Ban-Tal and the entire northern barangays, and the people there have property rights and they want to develop their properties. The people there are paying their taxes to the City Government and the Province does not. So why prioritize (the Cuidad project),” Osmeña added. 

But the developer manifested its interest to pursue and complete the project within the year.

“The governor wants to make sure if they’re really interested otherwise we will look for options or alternatives,” Capitol consultant and spokesperson Rory Jon Sepulveda told reporters.

As this developed, Osmeña warned that should the project push through, the provincial government will violate the law and he is ready to take appropriate legal actions against Capitol.

Osmeña warned Capitol not to push through with the project unless the traffic problem in the Ban-Tal area is addressed.

“We gave them warnings. Pero kung gahi ang ilang ulo, make my day! It’s an illegal construction since there’s a ban on development in the area,” he said.

The developer ignored the warning over the implementation of the project and expressed confidence that the project will be supported by the Cebuanos despite the opposition of some Cebu City officials.

“Ciudad is a development that will allow us Cebuanos to reconnect with our past. The project is expected to attract tourists to Cebu. We are confident that Ciudad will be embraced by the people of Cebu who take pride in our heritage and are proud to be a Cebuano,” Fifth Avenue’s official statement said in response to the statement of some city officials.

A day before his resignation on August 12, 2011, then Department of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim expressed interest in the controversial project after he was briefed by its proponent.

Asked if he will endorse the project, Lim said he will as long as “it complies with all the rules of the city (Cebu).”

Lim said he did not give any suggestions during the briefing but asked about the issue on flooding and the traffic congestion in the area.

“All of these things need to be developed well,” Lim said as he expressed concern about these factors.

Last September, some residents of Barangay Banilad circulated petition letters for the signatures of those who are against the construction of Ciudad Project in Barangay Apas, expressing their belief that it will cause more traffic congestion in their barangay.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said some residents of Barangay Banilad went to his office asking him to sign the petition letter.

“Mipirma ko,” said Young who also claimed that there were some city councilors who signed the petition, although he failed to identify them.

The petition letter came after it was reported that the City Planning and Development Office already issued a locational clearance to the Fifth Avenue Development Corp.

Osmeña earlier threatened to file criminal charges against Planning and Development Officer Alipio Bacalso and the city lawyers who gave a legal opinion that the Ciudad Project can be built at the province-owned lot.

Osmeña said it is very clear in the amended city zoning ordinance that the province-owned lots that were acquired through the Friar Lands Act cannot be used for commercial purposes.

The Cebu City Council requested the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to conduct public consultations before it issues an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to anyone who wishes to construct infrastructure projects within the Banilad-Talamban areas.

The ECC is one of the requirements for the issuance of a building permit from the Office of the Building Official (OBO), said Engr. Josefa Ylanan who heads the said office.

The DENR scheduled a public hearing last October 7 but it was deferred because of the request of Osmeña for another 15 days.

Despite the postponement, the developer went on with the meeting considering that the other stakeholders were present.

“Daghan naman gud mi napahibawo, late na kaayo kung magpahibawo mi nila nga di madayon, mangasuko unya,” said Jonjie Gonzales, the developer’s PR consultant.

During the meeting, the developer assured a hundred of residents of Barangay Apas, who attended the dialogue, of employment and not displacement.

Ciudad project’s developer even put in writing its commitment not to displace residents of Barangay Apas, Cebu City, once the project is undertaken.

The Fifth Avenue Property Development Corp. and Apas Barangay Captain Ramil Ayuman signed a memorandum of agreement to prioritize Apas residents in the hiring of workers during the implementation of the project.

Michael Lloyd Dino, the chief operations officer, said they really mean business when they signed the MOA and they will be providing 2,000 jobs for the entire project. Dino said the workers will be hired once they meet the company’s qualifications.

But before the next scheduled public hearing, Osmeña said that Ciudad’s developer, Fifth Avenue, allegedly applied for an ECC using void titles.

Osmeña said that the two documents submitted by Fifth Avenue for its ECC application indicated two lots which are covered by two titles under the name of the Province of Cebu.

One of the titles, which cover an area of 5.9555 hectares, was reportedly submitted to DENR-7 and was discovered to be void.

However, the said titles were resubmitted to DENR-7 and were allegedly accepted.

But provincial legal officer, Marino Martinquilla said Osmeña is just meddling with an already resolved issue. 

Martinquilla said that the “cancelled” title was the Registry of Deeds’ mistake which was later rectified. 

The public hearing on October 21 was again cancelled after DENR officials failed to show up.

Osmeña, Young and officials of Fifth Avenue Development Corp. were present.

 The south district representative then spoke to the crowd accusing the project proponents of misinformation.

“I’m not speaking against Ciudad but I want to correct the disinformation that they brought up. They said, it will create jobs, will hire workers and open up road? These are all lies,” Osmeña told The FREEMAN before he spoke to the crowd.

Finally, the public hearing was conducted on December 2, 2011 where DENR gave Fifth Avenue Property Development Corp. 20 days to submit the report on the issues tackled in order for them to make the necessary actions and eventually come up with a decision if the developers can proceed with the project.

A day after, the DENR returned the ECC application of the developer for lack of environmental impact study.

But the Fifth Avenue Property Development Corporation said it is ready to submit additional requirements within a week in order to get the ECC.

Rama on the other hand said he will no longer be interfering in the proposed Ciudad project in Barangay Apas as it is now in the hands of DENR. — /MIT (FREEMAN)