Board seeks third party to assess CICC

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu International Convention  Center management board is looking for a third party to determine the market value of the property.

This was after Mandaue City Hall’s appraisal committee came up with a figure that is just a third of what the Capitol said the CICC is worth.

“We appraised the value of the property minus the cost of repair as submitted by the Provincial Engineering Office to us, so we got about P200 million plus,” said lawyer Carlo Fortuna, Mandaue City’s consultant for district affairs.

Fortuna also represents the city in the management board of  the CICC, which is owned by the Capitol but sits on a lot Mandaue City Hall owns.

After the 7.2 magnitude earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda damaged the center last year, the Capitol assessed that it would need P160 million to repair and upgrade the facility.

The Capitol appraisal committee also placed the value of the CICC in its current state at P600 million. Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino earlier said the assessment covers not only the building itself but also the site where it stands.

Fortuna said since the values the city and the province came up with vary, the management board decided during its meeting last week to seek third party intervention so they could agree on a common market value for the building.

He said they are eyeing either the Commission on Audit or the Bureau of Local Government Finance.

“It would be difficult to meet the suggested amount (of P600 million)…. Kung unsa ang value sa third party, we will see kung kaya ba mainat namo or if willing ba ang probinsya monaog (Let us see what the third party would come up with, if we are willing to accept a higher valuation or if the Capitol is willing to lower down its own assessment value),” Fortuna said.

He said the management board would work on this concern in the next two weeks.

The CICC was constructed by the provincial government in 2006 at a cost of more than P850 million during the administration of then governor and now Cebu third district Representative Gwendolyn Garcia.

Mandaue City government had expressed interest in buying the facility, assuring that it would shoulder the expenses for the repair since Mayor Jonas Cortes was planning to establish there a one-stop-shop center that would display the city’s products.

Cebu Governor  Hilario Davide III earlier disclosed that the CICC would no longer serve as venue for the Asia Pacific Economic Conference next year and the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in 2011 since the repair cannot be done in time for these activities. —/RHM (FREEMAN)