Rama wants review of Bigfoot contract

What movies have they produced in Cebu so far?

That’s the question posed by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to Bigfoot Entertainment Studio which occupies one of several lots in the South Road Properties (SRP).

Rama ordered a review of the studio’s lease contract to see if they actually used the lot they’re occupying for its intended purpose.

“We cannot allow a structure standing with nothing being done,” he said.

The mayor said he will call a meeting with City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete and SRP officer-in-charge Roberto “Bo” Varquez to ask for updates on the mayor’s plan to create a special committee to run the SRP.

Rama said he will also ask for updates on the proposed SRP office and master plan for the reclaimed lot as requested by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JICA).

“I would like to remind Atty. Poblete of JICA’s observation on our need to have an SRP office because we are talking of billions worth of investments,” he said.

Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district earlier said Rama’s plan for an SRP committee clearly shows the mayor’s weak management skills.

He said Rama was wrong to say that the SRP doesn’t have a master plan since a master plan was a basic requirement in the city’s SRP loan application with the Japanese government.

Rama said it’s not enough for Osmeña to claim that the SRP master plan is all in his head.

“If he passes way what happens next when everything is on his head?,” Rama said. The mayor said he is especially concerned about the lack of activities at the Bigfoot studio which has a 25-year lease contract with the city that started in 2007.

The P150 million facility consisting of four sound stages that were barely used, Rama said.

Bigfoot chairman Michael Gleissner said during the studio’s inauguration in Nov. 2008 that the Bigfoot studio in Cebu aims to “bring Hollywood to Asia.”