Friday, July 29, 2011
He has the full support of Rep. Tomas Osmena (Cebu City, south district), who has long pushed for the annexation of Cordova to Cebu City.MAYOR Adelino Sitoy is offering to reclaim 1,100 hectares of foreshore in Cordova and make his town the site of a new international airport.
Sitoy made the offer to the Korean International Cooperation Agency (Koica) during an open forum at a briefing by airport building experts of the the Korean fund agency on the masterplan of the Mactan Cebu International Airport and results of the feasibility study on a new passenger terminal building.
The briefing was held at the Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino Mactan yesterday morning.
Sitoy said Cordova would be the ideal location of a new airport because the land where it would sit is free of adverse claims unlike that of the existing one in Lapu-Lapu City.
Cordova and Lapu-Lapu are contiguous areas.
“If you transfer the airport in Cordova, I can guarantee you of immunity from suit,” Sitoy told the Korean airport building experts headed by Young Ung Kim.
An international airport in Cordova would drive the economy of the depressed coastal town.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza wants to consult her constituents on Sitoy’s proposal, Councilor Harry Radaza said.
Sitoy said yesterday that he has informed Rep. Arturo Radaza—husband of Mayor Radaza and the district representative of Lapu-Lapu—about his proposal.
When the congressman was still the mayor of Lapu-Lapu City, he filed charges against MCIA Authority for the collection of real estate taxes. The MCIAA refused, citing its status as a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) which is exempt from paying taxes.
Sitoy said that if Koica considers his proposal, the foreshore to be reclaimed will traverse Barangays Pilipog, San Miguel, Bangbang and Day-as—areas that face Cebu City.
He said Rep. Rachel del Mar (Cebu City, north district) will file a bill for the construction of a tunnel from Malacañang sa Sugbo in Cebu City to Shell Island, which is part of Cordova, then to the future airport.
Her father, the former congressman Raul del Mar, was present in the Koica briefing. Osmeña was likewise there.
“Because Shell Island and Malacañang sa Sugbo are only 520 meters apart, it will only take 15 minutes for the people of Cebu City to go to the airport,” Sitoy said.
He said the Mactan airport can no longer expand because of the land cases the MCIA Authority is facing in court.
The current airport covers only 300 hectares. Cordova can offer 1,100 hectares, Sitoy said.
For his part, Osmeña said he can gather bankers to fund the reclamation project in Cordova.
He mentioned business tycoon John Gokongwei, who has roots in Cebu.
“The proposal of Mayor Sitoy hits the nail squarely,” Osmeña said.
Sought for comment, Rep. Pablo John Garcia (Cebu 3rd district) said Sitoy should be mindful of the cost of reclamation because the public ends up paying for it.
“It is easy to talk about reclaiming land. Cebu City did it and the people are paying for its over P6-billion debt until now,” Garcia said.
And it is not entirely true that the Cordova reclamation would be “immune from suit.”
“I’m sure he (Sitoy) remembers that the Malayan Integrated Industries Corp. has asserted a claim over that. And the Province of Cebu has a valid claim over that under a 1989 memorandum of agreement with the Public Estates Authority,” Garcia said.
In comparing MCIAA lots and the Cordova foreshore lands, Garcia said:
“Titled land with potential controversy, and we must emphasize potential, is better than land that is not yet there but already with potential controversy.”
Meanwhile, Capitol legal consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda said Sitoy’s proposal would be an option.
“The Koica development plan, however, should not be immediately brushed aside.
Developing another site for an airport takes time. Meanwhile, we may need immediate measures to address capacity issues,” Sepulveda said.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 29, 2011.
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