CEBU CITY Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña said the signing of the local government’s joint venture agreement (JVA) with Gokongwei-led Universal Hotels and Resorts, Inc. (UHRI) for an P18-billion mixed-use complex will push through today, Aug. 17, if the court does not issue a restraining order. Mr. Osmeña said on Wednesday that the case for a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed earlier this week by a village official is just “harassment” by members of the opposition party who disapproved the deal. “We will let our lawyers handle that. We’re entitled to answer. It’s just harassment because they will lose the elections if we will have this project. It’s the biggest single employment of the south district. They want to stall it. It’s a matter of political survival for them,” the mayor told reporters. Mr. Osmeña said he invited Vice Mayor Edgardo C. Labella and other opposition officials to attend the JVA signing today. Mr. Labella, on the other hand, said it would be ironic for them to do so after the city council, which he chairs, did not authorize the mayor to sign the contract. — The Freeman

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