Calixto seeks ‘common ground’ with council

CALIXTO

Saying the recent turn of events could send “mixed signals to would-be investors,” Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto is extending a hand of peace to the city council in connection with the 300-hectare Manila Bay reclamation project he had signed with SM Land Inc. (SMLI).

Calixto on Friday said he would be meeting with council members to “find common ground” and discuss the issues they raised in Resolution No. 3059, which on Wednesday recalled three earlier resolutions endorsing the P54.5-billion joint venture agreement between Calixto and SMLI.

The council withdrew its support from the SMLI-led project and asked Calixto to “correct” supposed flaws in the bidding procedure, as pointed out by two other interested bidders, Ayala Land Inc. and S&P Construction Technology, in a session last week.

“While we maintain that the joint venture agreement between the city and SM is already a perfected and legal document, we don’t wish to send mixed signals to would-be investors, thus the mayor is leading the way or taking the initiative to resolve the matter,” Pasay City Public Information Officer Jonathan Malaya said in a statement.

“At the end of the day, we believe that both the mayor and the councilors have the best interests of the City of Pasay at heart, thus we are confident and hopeful that this matter will be resolved soon,” Malaya

said.

Malaya noted that “there is common ground as starting point for discussion,” referring to a statement earlier made by Councilor Allan Panaligan, chair of the council’s committee on land use. Jaymee T. Gamil