‘Deal’ reached in 93-1 lot issue

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale said the province and the Cebu City government have finally arrived at a compromise agreement on the province-owned lots occupied by city residents covered under Provincial Ordinance 93-1.

She, however, refused to disclose further details on the initial agreement so as not to preempt Governor Hilario Davide III, who is currently in Russia to renew the “twinning agreement” between Cebu Province and the St. Petersburg administration.

She hinted, though, that the price for the acquisition of the lots is more than the P500 million City Hall had offered.

She also declined to comment whether the agreed amount is lower than the province's counter-proposal of P1.8 billion, which consists of the P500 million offer of the City Hall plus P1.3 billion worth of city property.

Magpale said the agreement would still be subject for approval by the respective legislative bodies of the two local government units.

Sought for comment, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama confirmed that the city and the province have indeed reached a compromise during a meeting two weeks ago.

“Yes, naa nay agreement, (but) maglingkod pa mi. Ilang grupo ug akong grupo. We will not be discussing it (agreed price). Mao na among nasabutan. Ang pinaka-importante karon is we have agreed that we will not be talking about what we have discussed kay daghan kaayo ang gustong mo-apil,” Rama said.

Like Magpale, he also did not disclose what transpired during the meeting with Davide, former Cebu Governor Vicente “Tingting” de la Serna, Magpale, Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, and the city’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor’s Collin Rosell.

Rama said representatives of the city government and the Cebu Province would finalize the provisions laid down in the memorandum of agreement to resolve the long-standing

PO 93-1 covers 51 hectares subdivided into 4,364 home lots in barangays Kamputhaw, Capitol Site, Kalunasan, Busay, Luz, Lahug, Mabolo, Apas, Lorega San Miguel, Kasambagan, and Tejero.

However, only 1,445 of these home lots, which are occupied by city residents, have been fully paid for. Of the remaining home lots, 1,188 are not fully paid while 1,731 have not been paid for at all.

The city has proposed to pay an initial P100 million for the lots and pay P400 million once the certificates of title for all lots will be transferred to its name.

However, the Provincial Board expressed its opposition to the P500-million proposal, with Board Member Grecilda Sanchez, head of the PB’s committee on provincial and municipal properties, saying the offer may not be enough.

In a counter-proposal, Cebu Province asked that the city include the P1.3 billion worth of property at the North Reclamation Area, which was the lot offered to the Capitol by the administration of then mayor Tomas Osmeña during a botched land-swap deal. —(FREEMAN)