He showed interest before in buying a lot in the South Road Projects (SRP).
Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is reportedly interested again to make a purchase if the auction of 9.7 hectares of the government land pushes through in December.
Sheriff Eugenio Fuentes said he considers Pacquiao a “prospective buyer” after a representative approached him and verbally expressed interest in the auction.
“He (Pacquiao) has the money. There is a possibility that he will win if he joins the bidding,” Fuentes told Cebu Daily News.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he is not worried about an auction taking place.
He said City Hall would continue with its efforts to stop the court from selling city government property to settle the city’s P133 million obligation to heirs of the late Fr. Vicente Rallos over a lot expropriation case.
“Let us not fear. We have been doing our job but we cannot tell you (what our next steps are) bcause this is a matter of legal strategy,” said the mayor.
The target lot for sale in SRP is part of the P25-billion joint venture (JV) agreement of Cebu City and Filinvest Land Inc.
Notices for the public auction on Dec. 13 were already posted at the Sheriff’s Office located at the Palace of Justice in Cebu City.
Meanwhile, Cebu City Rep. Tomas Osmeña said he’s not worried if the court will proceed with the auction.
If the court-ordered sale pushes through, the Rallos heirs can take part in the SRP development as a partner of Filinvest.
“We (the city) can sell our rights and they would become the partner of Filinvest,” said Osmeña.
“I’m not a lawyer but I think the Rallos payment should be included in the city budget already because the law says that any statutory obligation of the city should be in the budtet,” said Osmeña, who is considered the main architect of the 300-hectare SRP.
Osmena said the mayor “can continue with the (court) case but must include the payment in the budget.”
“It doesn’t men he has to pay for it.”
Pacquiao had made known long before to Osmeña his interest to buy at least one hectare at the SRP.
But Osmena said he turned down Pacquiao, as he did other real estate speculators when he was mayor.
He said it would be advantageous to Cebu City to wait for property values in SRP to rise after big developers like SM City and Filinvest pursue their projects.
He said the city should not sell small lots to buyers who don’t have “concrete plans to develop it.”
Lawyer Jade Ponce, the mayor’s legal consultant, said they will seek the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Court of Appeals to stop the public auction on Dec. 13.
Ponce said they also wants the appellate court to annul the judgement of the Regional Trial Court which ordered the city to pay at least P133 million to the Ralloses.
He also advised prospective buyers to decide well whether or not to but the auctioned lot at the SRP.
“If I were the prospective buyer, I won’t be in a hurry to bid on something which is problematic. It’s up to them…,” Ponce said.
“Let me remind them, the city will file a case against you. It will come,” he added, including Pacquiao.
The notice of public auction still has to be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, as required by the Civil code. /with Doris Bongcac and Edison delos Angeles