Vice Mayor Young upset: ‘Who’s helping Ciudad?’

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young and the Cebu City Council will scrutinize today the opinion of the City Legal Office, which favors the controversial P1.2-billion Ciudad project.

“We will investigate this. I want to know how they came up with the idea,” Young said.

“It’s like a city official is helping Fifth Avenue.”

The vice mayor warned that action will be taken against parties trying to twist the law to allow implementation of Cuidad, a joint venture with the Cebu provincial government.

While Mayor Michael Rama is trying to cooperate with the Capitol, the Osmeña-dominated City Council is bent on blocking it.

The project contractor attached a copy of the City Legal Office’s favorable opinion.

The City Council has yet to receive one.

Vice Mayor Young said he already requested the City Legal Office twice for a copy but has yet to receive it.

Fifth Avenue Development Corp. already also attached a copy of the opinion in their application for development permit with the City Planning and Development Office.

The City Legal Office said while friar lands in the area were declared by a city ordinance as intended for public use, the proposed Cuidad project can also be classified as intended for public purpose.

When the opinion surfaced and drew fire, City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete said he was the one who sought the opinion to guide discussions of the zoning board, not Mayor Rama.

Vice Mayor Young called for a meeting with several councilors to assess the City Legal Office opinion. The council will discuss this in today’s legislative session.
“Off hand, I find it ridiculous. We have to know what is its legal basis,” Young said.

Young said he couldn’t believe Poblete’s statement that the legal opinion does not bind the mayor.

“At least do not say that it was a personal request. He (Poblete) asked for it officially. He cannot deviate his personality from being city administrator,” Young said.

Young said city government lawyers would have to answer for the issuance of the legal opinion.

“We will study that. They are not the only lawyers. I think they will be in trouble for that. The legal opinion was ridiculous and it was not based on solid jurisprudence,” he said.