ILOILO City – Is the city government’s 25-year joint venture agreement (JVA) for the operation of the Iloilo City-Guimaras Ferry Terminal advantageous to the city and upholds public interest?
The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) approved a resolution requesting the City Legal Office (CLO) to review the JVA.
The SP also adopted the report of the committee on transportation recommending the CLO to assess the compliance of the parties to the JVA so as to gauge the possibility of renegotiating or rescinding the contract.
The city government formalized the JVA with the Double Dragon Properties Corporation (DDPC) in 2012. It covers the development, operation and maintenance of the Iloilo City-Guimaras Ferry Terminal and renewable for another 25 years, subject to the sole discretion of DDPC.
The committee on transportation held two hearings on Dec. 13, 2022 and Feb. 7, 2023 after the SP last year passed a resolution seeking a revisit of the JVA. During the hearings, DDPC failed to send representatives.
“Ang mga conclusions as to that one percent (share of the city government in the terminal income), ang exclusivity nga ginhatag naton da for wharf use medyo relatively tam-an kag nubo gid para sa equity sang syudad. In practice… gina-value ang duta, ang development, tapos amo na dapat ang sharing niyo. In this case, ang duta naton is a prime lot pero one percent lang ang ginakwa sang syudad,” said Councilor Sedfrey Cabaluna, chairman of the SP committee on transportation.
Following the committee hearings, the SP resolved to call on the CLO to try to renegotiate the JVA to give the city what is due.
“Ti, kon indi gid, let us see if we can rescind (the JVA) if it’s against public interest and disadvantageous to the city,” the councilor added.
As discussed during the committee hearings, the income of said company relative to the operations of the ferry terminal proceeds from terminal fees, berthing fees, cargo fees, and mall rentals.
The city government is entitled to one to five percent of the gross terminal fee revenues, one percent of gross berthing fee revenues, one percent of gross cargo fee revenues, and one percent of gross rental revenue, all exclusive of value added tax.
According to Cabaluna, the DDPC is required to submit to the Office of the City Mayor an annual report on the commercial operation and maintenance of the ferry terminal.
He said the corporation remitted to the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) P535,591.83 in August 2022 but added that the CTO has no way of checking if the amount remitted is compliant to the provisions of the agreement since it is not furnished the financial reports.
“The possibility of renegotiating the contract to raise the percentage share of the City of Iloilo was pointed out. It was mentioned that given the value of the land owned by the city, vis-à-vis the value of the infrastructure built by Double Dragon Properties Corporation, the city’s one percent share appears to be incommensurate,” the committee report further read.
The JVA provides for three grounds to terminate the contract: if the developer abandons the project, if the developer fails to complete the project, and bankruptcy or insolvency./PN
