City dad to FLI: Be transparent

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera has challenged the Filinvest Land Incorporated (FLI) to be more transparent about its plan on the 40-hectare prime property, which is under a joint venture agreement with the city government.

The city and FLI entered into an agreement about 10 years ago for the development of the lot at the South Road Properties (SRP).

The firm reportedly developed more than 10 hectares of the total property.

But Garganera said only three buildings were constructed, way behind the proposed eight buildings that were included in FLI’s master development plan.

“They said that they are at pace sa ilang master development plan of which nga akong gi-reiterate nga wala pay development makita sa second phase kay murag more on open space lang,” he told reporters.

In a May 4-letter addressed to FLI, Garganera requested the company for a copy of the development plan and the project timeline.

To revisit the JVA and to shed light on the issue, the City Council held a closed-door executive session on April 24.

Garganera, however, said many of his questions were left unanswered during the session owing to time constraints.

He said there is really a need to carefully look into the agreement considering that the market value of the property is increasing.

On the other hand, Garganera said FLI Senior Vice President Tristan Las Marias assured the council members that the city government will continue getting 10 percent of the gross sales from each phase even after the structures are done.

However, Garganera said the agreement is silent about the continual shares.

“Hence, if the city and Filinvest will continue to work in its current pace, the city will only be receiving the minimum guaranteed amount of P1 billion per phase or P4 billion in total for the 40 hectares,” read a portion of Garganera’s letter.

He said it would be disadvantageous to the city if there would be no developments made.  He said he just want to make sure that all agreements entered into by the city and private entities are beneficial to the Cebuanos.

Moreover, FLI is set to hold a site visit for members of the City Council so they can personally check on the developments.

The ocular visit at the City di Mare was originally scheduled last May 18 but it did not push through. — KBQ (FREEMAN)