A real estate broker is asking the Cebu City government to start the sale of more lots at the South Road Properties (SRP), saying that unused real estate property becomes a “liability.”
But Eleuterio “Amai” Ong Vaño of the Cebu Real Estate Brokers Association and the past president of the Philippine Association of Real Estate Boards (PAREB) warned the city government against the disadvantage of putting up high rise buildings on reclaimed properties like the SRP.
“There is a disadvantage in putting up tall buildings in a reclaimed land because of climate change. The soil under a reclaimed land is relatively soft,” he told the council in a public hearing held Wednesday morning to discuss a Team Rama proposed ordinance that seeks to repeal City Ordinance 2332 which protects the SRP from unauthorized transactions.
Ong Vaño was the only one from among the four speakers present who approved of the repeal. Other speakers – former mayor Tomas Osmeña, former city administrator Nigel Paul Villarete and Joel Marie Yu of the Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC) were against the repeal of CO 2332.
“Without the approval of the council, the mayor cannot do anything. There may be a political reason why the council will not agree to the proposal of the mayor,” he said.
He asked members of the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) dominated council and Mayor Michael Rama to set aside their political differences which is now “shadowing the public interest.”
Councilor Margot Osmeña offered to furnish Ong Vaño a copy of CO 2332 so he could study the ordinance.
Ong Vaño, a lawyer, said that he understood CO 2332 and the proposed repealing ordinance after hearing the council members’ discussion prior to the start of the public hearing last Wednesday.
He said that the city government should already start to make new sales of the SRP to generate funding and to spur economic activities in the area.
“We believe that it’s time the mayor should be allowed to sell, enter into join venture or lease so the future generation can enjoy the income from the property,” he said.
Former mayor Osmeña said that while SRP lots may only be sold to take care of the city’s loan amortization, new sales should be made to wait until after the completion of the SM development project in the area. With SM already starting their operations in two years, lot prices at the SRP is expected to soar to as much as P60,000 per sq. meters just like the lot prices at the Asia Town IT Park.
Ong Vaño mentioned of the North Reclamation Project (NRA) in Mandaue City which has remained “practically undeveloped” to date “because we failed to engage the services of a real estate developer.”
Selling lots to a merchandiser is far too different from selling this to a real estate developer.
Ong Vaño said that SRP lots should be sold to a real estate developer. He mentioned that the old Lahug airport now occupied by the Asia Town IT Park became very progressive after this was sold to Cebu Holdings of the Ayala Group.
But he cautioned mayor Rama against his plan to sell lot 8-B at the SRP which is now occupied by the San Pedro Calungsod shrine for a floor price of P50,000 per square meter which is very expensive and not attractive to prospective buyers.
A more reasonable floor price is P20,000 per square meters, he said.
The city assessor’s office has set a P16,000-per square meter floor price for the 26.3-hectare lot 8-B while the city’s awards committee has set a P22,000-per sq. meters floor price. If sold, the city will earn P5.4 billion.
Rama said in an interview yesterday that the P50,000-floor price was just his proposal and could still be subject to adjustments.
“But there will always be takers if they have the plan and the money to fund,” he said.