LBP chosen to assess CICC value

CEBU, Philippines - The Capitol is now awaiting the result of Land Bank of the Philippines’ evaluation of the current market value of the Cebu International Convention Center  after Mandaue City picked it as “independent” third-party appraiser.

The CICC management board sought a third party assessor after the Mandaue City Hall’s appraisal committee came up with a figure on how much CICC is worth, which was just a third of that of the Capitol.

The Cebu Province’s appraisal committee valued the CICC in its current state at P600 million while the Mandaue City put it at just over P200 million.

Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino said Land Bank’s evaluation is also necessary for the post-audit process should the province decide to dispose the property.

“There was a request from Mandaue (City) to get an appraisal from the Land Bank. We are waiting on that,” he told reporters during a Provincial Information Office-organized Kapistorya forum last Friday.

The CICC building is owned by the provincial government while the lot where the facility stands is registered under the Mandaue City government.

The building suffered severe damage after the October 15 earthquake and the November 8 super typhoon Yolanda in 2013. The facility would reportedly need around P160 million to restore and upgrade it.

But Tolentino said the province is no longer inclined to continue the operation as well as repair of the facility because the Capitol is not earning from it.

The administration of Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III remains firm on its stand that the province will not spend a single centavo for the CICC’s repair.

CICC was built during the time of former governor Gwendolyn Garcia for the 2007 Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit at over P800 million in public funds.

However, the Office of the Ombudsman launched a formal investigation on Garcia and six other Capitol officials for alleged violation of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) following reports that the building was allegedly overpriced.

As to how to go about the repairs for the facility, the province opened the possibility of selling it to Mandaue City or entering a public-private partnership agreement.

If the CICC is sold to Mandaue, the city will then shoulder the repairs since it is planning to establish in there a one-stop-shop center, where city products would be displayed.  (FREEMAN)