Mike, Tomas trade blame over lot swap mess

CEBU, Philippines - The blame game over the delay in the resolution of the Provincial Ordinance 93-1 issue has been revived.

Representative Tomas Osmeña reminded the public during a public forum yesterday that Mayor Michael Rama caused the delay in the resolution of 93-1 issue involving families threatened to be evicted from the province-owned properties in different barangays in Cebu City.

Osmeña blamed Rama for upsetting the Provincial Capitol, which backed out from the proposed land swapping of a city-owned property in the North Reclamation Area and the lots of the 93-1 beneficiaries who failed to pay the province.

But an infuriated Rama told the media yesterday that he is ready to counter all of Osmeña’s accusations because he believes he did nothing wrong.

Rama insists that he was doing his job as a prudent public official when he opposed the land swap.

“Ang value gud sa property sa Block 27 kaniadto P500 million na daan, unya i-swap lang sa property na tag-P187 million? Dako unta kaayo ta’g alkansi ato,” Rama said.

Rama said that the congressman and some of his allies ought to explain their true intentions in insisting on the land swap that he believes is clearly disadvantageous to the city government.

“Kung nisugot pa ang konseho ato, nangakiha namo,” Rama said.

He said that the Commission on Audit would never have allowed such a transaction because of the obvious disparity in the values of properties proposed to be swapped.

“Ila man gyud gi-insist na 5,000 pa ang naa’y utang, but when then councilor Joy Pisquera investigated it, gamay na lang diay kaayo ang wala kabayad,” Rama said.

Of 5,000 beneficiaries of Provincial Ordinance 93-1, only 2,000 remain delinquent when the province declared that it would like to recover its property from delinquent beneficiaries.

Rama said he only apologized to Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for political purposes, but he also later explained that he did not mean to insult the province when he delivered his privilege speech before the City Council in 2008.

Now, the governor and Rama are working with the office of Vice President Jejomar Binay to put an end to the issue.

The city government has already appropriated P50 million as a downpayment or “goodwill deposit” to the provincial government. The residents will then have to pay for their lots under a Community Mortgage Program.

Rama said that he already instructed the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor to fast track negotiations with the province. –(FREEMAN)