CEBU CITY, Philippines - While the cat is away...Capitol officials are exploring how to revive discussions with Cebu City government officials to unfreeze a permit for the stalled province-owned Ciudad project in Banilad. With Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña out of the country to seek medical treatment, Provincial Board Member Victor Maambong said he was confident other city officials “could decide on their own.” “Times have changed and maybe they can already decide on their own,” he said. The P1.2-billion project to develop a Spanish-themed mixed-use commercial and residential complex was left in limbo last year when the conflict between province and city officials worsened over a failed land swap negotiation for Cebu City lots owned by the province. Vice Mayor Michael Rama's comment “dawat ug limpyo” in one council discussion triggered bitter exchanges although he later said his statement was misunderstood. A moratorium was declared for any urban development in the Gov. Cuenco Avenue due to traffic congestion. Maambong said he would sponsor a resolution for Monday's PB session to “appeal” for the issuance of a locational clearance for the Cuidad project. If his appeal is denied, Maambong said he would challenge city officials to debate where they could publicly discuss the grounds of their opposition to the project. A locational clearance is a prerequisite for a development clearance and later on a building permit. “I will be asking for the reconsideration of the city government of their holding back the Cuidad project. Under the leadership of acting Mayor Mike Rama maybe they (city officials) are more inclined to discuss the pros and cons of the project,” he told Cebu Daily News.
He said he discussed the matter of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia over lunch on November 10 and was told “to first discuss the matter thoroughly” with other board members.
Cebu Daily News was unable to reach Rama for comment for this story. He was in Bangkok, Thailand on official business to attend a forum on better air quality from November 12-14. He will then proceed to Dubai to attend an urban waterfront regional conference until November 18. Calls to his mobile phone could not get through. The Cebu City Council passed a resolution on February 14, 2008 calling for a moratorium on any development projects along the Banilad-Talamban corridor where congested traffic is a recurring problem. They asked for a traffic impact study on Governor Cuenco Avenue. With this, the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) put on hold Fifth Avenue's application for a locational clearance. Maambong said he already discussed his proposal with Board Members Juan Bolo, Agnes Magpale, Peter John Calderon and Wilfredo Caminero last Monday over lunch at the Carmen Copper Corp. staff club house. The provincial board was holding an out-of-town session then, which the Toledo City government and Carmen Copper hosted. “We discussed it preliminarily. I asked their opinion. But we need to discuss this even more,” he said. He said Bolo and Calderon support his proposal. Maambong said the Cuidad project would benefit the city in terms of taxes and create jobs. “It is not valid for them to sit on the permit application for a long time and cite traffic problems along the Banilad-Talamban area as reason,” he said. He said that while elected officials may be “whimsical” at times, “there is a time for things to settle down”. He said now is the right time to revisit the issue. Maambong said that his challenge was also be a good exercise of city officials performing executive functions, which Mayor Osmeña boasted about during his State of the City Address on Saturday. “Now is the chance for them to prove to the Cebuanos that they have a different style of government,” the Capitol official said. | 
