THE NEW Cebu City administration under Mayor Edgardo C. Labella is planning to meet with all investors at the South Road Properties (SRP) to thresh out concerns, including issues over contracts and other legal matters.

SRP Manager Jose C. Daluz III said the local government does not want to block projects and other developments initiated by the previous administration, but to clarify issues. The planned P18-billion complex of Gokongwei-led Universal Hotels and Resorts, Inc. (UHRI), for example, will be discussed in terms of the revenue share of the city. “The mayor’s stand is just to increase the city’s share. We want an increased share of the city nga (that is) across the board,” Mr. Daluz said in mixed English and Visayan. The UHRI project is currently undergoing design revisions after the Office of the Building Official returned the building permit application to correct “deficiencies.”

LOT BUYERS
Meanwhile, Cebu City legal officer Rey M. Gealon has recommended the withdrawal of the civil case filed by the previous administration against the major real estate firms that acquired lots at the SRP. Mr. Gealon said the petition is “fatally defective” in relation to forum shopping. The recommendation was scheduled to be submitted to the city council Monday. Mr. Gealon said he cannot allow his office to be part of the case which is “dismissible on that elementary and rudimentary point of law; devoid of merit, frivolous and dubious; and highly suspect for its timing and intentions… Thus, recommending to the Sangguniang Panglungsod for the withdrawal of this ‘midnight case’ is apt and indispensable.” The case was filed against SM Primeholdings, Inc., Ayala Land, Inc., Cebu Holdings, Inc., Filinvest Land, Inc., Filinvest Alabang, Inc., Cyberzone Properties, Inc., Anesy Holdings Corporation, IGold Holdings Incorporation, and Betterfield Phils., Corp. over the 45.5-hectare lot sale in 2015. Lawyer Romulo Torres earlier questioned the validity of the sale but the transaction was sustained by the Court of Appeals. — The Freeman

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