Tom warns UP: Finish SRP campus or else…

REP. Tomas Osmeña  warned the University of the Philippines to complete the construction of its campus at the South Road Properties in a  year otherwise  he may  move to cancel the donation of five hectares or reduce the area to 2,000 square meters.

The lot  was donated by the Cebu City government to UP during Osmeña’s term as mayor on condition that it would put up a campus for post-graduate studies in three years.

Osmeña didn’t attend last Friday’s groundbreaking rites  of the UP extension campus at the SRP to show his dismay.

“I was very disappointed with their performance. They said they would  catch up and we have given them three years,” said Osmena.

Two years have already gone by.

UP president Alfredo Pascual attended the groundbreaking of the proposed UP Professional Schools, which has an initial P30 million pledge for the first building from the pork barrel of Sen. Serge Osmeña.

Architect Christopher Espina said construction can begin in November for the first phase but that more funds  need to be raised  for the whole complex.

Congressman Osmeña spoke at a press conference at the Chong Hua  Hospital, where he was confined  on Saturday for a high fever caused by an infection.

He recalled that he arranged the lot donation to UP with a view to produce more Cebuaño MBA graduates which would spur the growth of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry  and draw players to the SRP .

“This would make the  city compete with Singapore which is a top BPO destination. I wanted other students  to avail of a UP education to qualify for BPO work,” he said.

He noted that  call centers and other BPOs in Cebu have a hard time finding qualified people and that the acceptance rate is “ very low at four percent.”

“I’m not interested in profit… (I’m interested)  if that would mean we will improve human resources in the city,” he said.

“This would prove that Mayor Michael Rama’ sclaims about the SRP lacking a master plan is wrong,” he said.

He said he made the lot donation with the commitment from the school administration to build the school campus in the area in three years.

But two years have already passed and construction have not yet started.

Osmena said that his absence during the groundbreaking ceremony was his warning to UP officials.

“It’s my way of telling them that the fuse is lit – to put pressure on them. No more wasting time,” he said. /Correspondent Edison A. delos Angeles