Pacman at SRP

12/17/09 - BOXING champion Manny Pacquiao wants to buy a parcel of land at the South Road Properties (SRP), but Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is lukewarm about the offer.
Osmeña confirmed yesterday that Pacquiao expressed interest in buying a property at the SRP, but the mayor advised him to enter into a joint venture agreement with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) instead.

He said the City deals with “wholesale” developers and not retail buyers of SRP land.
The mayor declined from discussing the details of Pacquiao’s offer, saying he always keeps the specifics of proposals involving SRP lots under wraps until these are finalized.
Policy

“He (Pacquiao) has expressed an interest to buy but I’m just encouraging him to do a joint venture with Filinvest because they already have properties there…It’s not that the City won’t sell him lots, it’s just a general policy that we let developers handle these people,” Osmeña said.
In his news conference yesterday, he said a lot of “retailers” want to buy small parcels of land, but the City will only sell to developers to make sure that all developments are integrated and connected to each other.

He also wants to make sure there will be no competition among investors.
“We are selling wholesale. A lot of people want to buy properties at the SRP but we are not in the retail business…We’re in the stage where we’re not even interested in profit,” said Osmeña.
Birthday party

Former Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson’s airplane will drop by Cebu today to pick up the mayor, who will attend Pacquiao’s birthday celebration in General Santos City. But Osmeña said he will not discuss the SRP or the museum he wants to build for Pacquiao at the SRP during the celebration.

The mayor’s plan to put up a Manny Pacquiao museum at the SRP is gaining ground, after the boxing champion welcomed the idea.
Osmeña met with Pacquiao earlier this week, discussed the matter with him and decided to consult experts from the National Museum.

“Okay lang,” he said, when asked how the congressional candidate took his proposal. “It’s very preliminary so I’m getting a consultant who works at the National Museum to work on it. It will take a while to put it together,” the mayor continued.
Following Pacquiao’s victory against Miguel Cotto last month, Osmeña announced plans to incorporate the Manny Pacquiao museum into the water tank and lounge area to be constructed on the SRP welcome hill, which will cost the City some P100 million to build.
The museum will be built as a tribute to the boxer.

(Sunstar)