What to do with Camp Lapu-Lapu

I heard a news report over my car radio that the Cebu City Council approved a resolution seeking the removal of the Central Command from their present site at Camp Lapu-Lapu so it could be used to improve traffic conditions around that area. I hope I heard that newscaster correctly. While this looks like the right thing to do, it is not an easy task. You just cannot get rid of the military base in Camp Lapu-Lapu without giving the military a host of options where they can go. 

Mind you, a plan to move the 3rd Infantry Brigade to Panay was discussed years ago during the time of then Pres. Fidel V. Ramos but nothing came out of it. At the height of the series of coups against then Pres. Cory Aquino, the political establishment also sought for the removal of the Air Force Base in Mactan so that it can never be used by coup plotters. But that was the past and there have been no new talks on this issue hence.

But there are lessons to be learned from that 1995 concept by FVR called the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) that eventually became the Bonifacio Global City, which was originally won by Metro Pacific but bought by Ayala Land, Inc. and Evergreen Holdings Inc. in the year 2003 and has been eventually called the Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation (FBDC). Today, this place is subject to a territorial dispute between the City of Makati and the City of Taguig.

In my book, the BCDA was a total failure as it did not result in greatly benefiting the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the long term. Sure they were paid for all that land, but if you look at the value of that property today, in hindsight, one would say it would have been better off if the AFP leased the land for a long period to the private sector.

In fact during my stint as a director at the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), I was privileged to be part of the negotiations between the Aboitiz Group's Acoland for a joint venture with what is now the Mactan Export Processing Zone II (MEPZ-2) which entailed getting back land under the control of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to be turned into an industrial zone. This was to be a build-operate-transfer scheme.

The key word in that deal was "replication" whereby the joint venture partners would replicate any buildings that it would take over and that included a hospital and yes, millions were spent to finish that deal. The hardest part of the negotiations was that the Air Force officials you talked to were often transferred to new assignments and you had to start all over again. It was a long and arduous process that took years to complete.

But in the end, it was a successful venture because it brought foreign direct investments (FDI) to Cebu and added hundreds of well-paying jobs to Cebuanos. One company was Lexmark that wanted to lease land for a long term; longer even than the joint venture between MCIAA and Acoland. This problem was solved by the MCIAA board at that time. Today Lexmark has put its mark in MEPZ II and they also invested in buildings inside the Ayala Business Park. Another very well known locator is that Japanese model manufacturer Tamiya which sells their products worldwide.

So back to the issue of Camp Lapu-Lapu, it is easier said than done. More so that the military today isn't as happy as you think. We saw those video footages of the fighting in Zamboanga City that went viral in the social media networking sites, showing a soldier with a rotten shoes and those soldiers eating their meager food using a banana leaf given by residents who too are in the midst of the fighting there. This is why we civilians whom the soldier protects with his life must ensure that our soldiers are getting their due. After all, their job is to protect us or worse to die for our country!

While we can't solve the problems of the military, I still believe that the Camp Lapu-Lapu can still be of good use for Cebu City. That is if we truly revive the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). I submit that I had good memories of my ROTC days in Camp Lapu-Lapu, especially when then Pres. Fidel V. Ramos asked me if I was part of the Military Police (MP) during my ROTC days. He didn't forget that I used to serve him coffee during our MP days. But I even forgot that it was FVR I was serving. 

Now as far as the Cebu City Traffic Operations and Management (Citom) is concerned, perhaps a letter from the Mayor requesting the officers of Centcom to use portions of the road during the rush hour might be a good start. But then again, this is a mere band-aid solution to our traffic problems.

I suggest that we bring this matter to the folks handling Mega Cebu to truly plan a new road network in the surrounding areas that would help ease the traffic congestion in the Banilad Road. It is most important to find out where the choke points are and find ways to untangle them.

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