As expected, Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim proceeded with the sale of Century Park Hotel for a bargain price of only P1 billion.
This was confirmed to People's Chronicle by Atty. Rey Bagatsing who disclosed that he would soon petition the court to nullify the transaction.
He said the sale should be voided because it was highly disadvantageous to the city government and the people of
City Hall insiders informed the People’s Chronicle that the sale to business tycoon Lucio Tan was veiled in secrecy and no public announcement on the matter was issued either by the Manila Information Bureau (MIB) or the Office of the Mayor.
In a bid to block the transaction, Atty. Bagatsing claimed the price tag of P1 billion was too cheap considering that the five star hotel is located on a three-hectare prime lot owned by the city government.
“The lot alone is already worth P2.4 billion at P80,000 per square meter,” he pointed out. The prevailing selling price of lots in the vicinity of Century Park Hotel and the Central Bank ranges between P80,000 to as high as P120,000 per square meter.
“Lucio Tan was actually handed down a bargain because the building alone is worth more than P1 billion,” Bagatsing added.
The tycoon took over the right to the hotel from the Martel family, the original leaseholder of the property which also included the Harrison Plaza Shopping Complex.
The City of
City Hall insiders claimed Lim need to rush the sale of Century Park Hotel because he has to make good a 2007 campaign promise to build two new hospitals in the city’s 8th and 6th congressional districts.
The City of
In a resolution passed early last year, the City Council has authorized Lim to negotiate the sale of
It could not be confirmed yet if the sale to Lucio Tan was already submitted by the mayor to the City Council for final approval.
1 comment:
Says Solita Monsod, economics professor and former economic planning secretary: “Lucio Tan is a role model for the worst kind of conduct as far as our national economic objectives are concerned. He signals that you can evade taxes and get away with it, pay the courts and get the judges to decide in your favor, get good lawyers and delay your cases. The messages that are given by the kind of treatment that he gets from the government are the antithesis of what we need for sustainable development: an even playing field and government intervention of the right kind.”
Post a Comment