CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The city council on Monday, October 2, approved the proposed resolution authorizing Mayor Rolando Uy to negotiate a loan to fund the proposed Cagayan de Oro Government Center and Economic Enterprises and Tourism Site in Barangay Carmen.
Resolution No. 2023-151 authorizes Uy to negotiate a loan with any disputable government banking institution for a loan with terms that are most advantageous to the city government and in the proposed amount of P2.5 billion.
THE 20th Cagayan de Oro City Council conducts its 56th regular session on Monday, October 2. (Franck Dick Rosete)
City Council Majority Floor Leader Edgar Cabanlas said the resolution is a substitute measure for proposed Ordinance No. 2023-310 which contains the proposed amount of P2.7 billion and had been previously tackled and debated by council members.
This was changed to address questions raised by some of the legislators about its propriety and procedure.
The plan to change the measure from a proposed ordinance to a proposed resolution was not tackled in the last committee hearing but Councilor James Judith II said he raised a concern that it should not be called a proposed ordinance since the city government is still not entering into a loan.
“We are simply negotiating. So, why call it an ordinance?” Judith said, adding that he couldn’t confirm if the changes were based on his entire suggestion.
With the revisions, all the attached documents of then-proposed Ordinance No. 2023-310 will not be included in the resolution and approving the substitute measure is the first stage of the action to realize the plan, said Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya, who made a manifestation regarding the matter.
“There’s nothing in the attachments on our agenda that would include the consideration of the substituted measure,” Nacaya said.
Section 12 of the Local Government Code of 1991 states that provinces, cities, and municipalities must make an effort to create a government center where, to the greatest extent possible, offices, agencies, or branches of the national government, local government offices, or government-owned and -controlled corporations may be housed.
However, Councilor Jose Pepe Abbu Jr., one of the lawmakers raising questions about the matter, asked for the basis of the proposed amount of P2.5 billion if all of the attachments – which include the city appraisal committee’s report – were not included.
CAGAYAN de Oro City Councilor Jose Pepe Abbu Jr. answers questions from the media after the city council session on Monday, October 2. (Franck Dick Rosete)
The majority floor leader responded and said the basis of the amount was still the previous proposal of P2.7 billion, but they are now not sticking to the land property in Barangay Carmen, as they wanted to be open to possible offers that are more advantageous to the city government.
“If there are other properties that would be available, why not negotiate? If we can negotiate with the Cid family (the property owner in Barangay Carmen) to reduce the price, why not?” Cabanlas said. “We just did not include that (those attachments from the previously-tackled proposed ordinance) so that we are not tied,” he added.
On September 25, proposed Ordinance No. 2023-310 – which was certified urgent by Uy – that seeks to authorize the city chief executive to engage in a loan in the proposed amount of P1.6 billion for the project was deferred as lawmakers wanted to discuss the matter thoroughly.
The committees on ways and means, and finance, budget, and appropriations conducted a joint hearing on September 28 for further discussions, where the majority of the committee members voted in favor of the proposal.
During the hearing, the proposed amount increased to P2.7 billion after the local finance committee added in the proposal of over P139 million for the second phase of the land development and over P900 million for the project’s construction.
Councilor Agapito Eriberto Suan, who earlier said the transfer of the city hall complex is not an urgent matter, objected to the proposed resolution on Monday, saying that the proposed amount of P2.5 billion can be used for other important infrastructure and programs instead. He moved for the division of the house.
Thirteen councilors have voted yes and four voted no. Councilor Joyleen Mercedes Balaba was not present during the session.
Councilor George Goking, chairman of the committee on ways and means, said once the mayor releases the quotations from different government banks, these will be presented to his committee before the formulation of the proposed ordinance.
Vice Mayor Jocelyn Rodriguez admitted the present city hall is not friendly to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), hence, she backed the proposed measure that seeks to negotiate a loan for the establishment of a government center.
“The only thing on my mind is our PWDs, they have no access. All of the elevators were non-functional. It’s about time to have a change,” Rodriguez said.
The vice mayor stressed that PWDs who have leg impairments are unable to go to her office on the second floor to ask for assistance, saying that her staff still needs to go down to assist them.
Apart from this, the city hall, she said, has no better space for parking, and some of the business people who would want to visit still need to park their vehicles in Divisoria, which is several steps away from the city hall.