Interview with CdO City Couselor Reynaldo “Nanding” Advincula
Nanding Advincula has been a Cagayan de Oro City Counselor for 18 years, he is one of the stalwarts of our community. On May 29, 2008, he granted me a brief interview.
Michael Turner: As Chairman of the Committee on Subdivision and Landed Estates, what can you say about the issues or problem of land conversion?
Nanding Advincula: The committee does not really have the authority to convert agricultural lands to subdivisions or residential lands. It is the city council’s responsibility to decide on matters with regard to land conversion.
Michael Turner: Please explain further the law that requires high end subdivision developers to incorporate a low cost component in their housing projects.
Nanding Advincula: There is a law that requires high end developers to set aside 20% of their area to socialized housing. There are some who have not been able to comply with this law yet, but they can choose to work in partnership with the local government to maximize the 20% requirement. Or, high end developers can also opt for giving the equivalent cash instead of looking for an area for socialized housing. The local government can use the money as additional income for its housing projects.
Since the government only gives land to the public, most Kagay-anons take a long time in building their homes. An example is this particular area which has already been handed a demolition order by the court. We are trying to negotiate with the landowner so that the city government can buy the property and help our fellow Kagay-anons whose homes are subject for demolition. The money we will receive from high end subdivision developers can be used to assist Kagay-anons who have been relocated but cannot yet, up to now, build their own homes, especially since construction materials are now quite expensive.
Michael Turner: We have a big volume of homeless families and victims of calamities like fire. Do you think we have enough relocation sites for them?
Nanding Advincula: Our relocation sites are enough for our beneficiaries. Most of them have already been relocated. Of course, we give priority to some families, like the fire and demolition victims. We screen them because we are wary of families who own several houses; these are the professional squatters. We have guidelines to follow so a beneficiary must really fall into the urban poor category. He must not have properties in any part of the country.
This is a transparent program that evaluates applicants. In fact, applicants are actually screened and evaluated by a representative from the Church.
Michael Turner: What will happen now to the previous city administration’s ¬Piso-Piso Program, especially since Emano is not the mayor anymore? Is Mayor Jaruala planning to continue the program?
Nanding Advincula: The mayor is still trying to decide whether to push through with the program or not. It is entirely up to him.
In my opinion, though, it should be continued because it will help a lot of Kagay-anons. Many of our fellow Kagay-anons cannot afford to have their own homes, or keep permanent residences, especially the trisikad drivers, motorela drivers, and sidewalk vendors.
Michael Turner: The current situation of Cogon and Carmen markets involves the participation of a private entity with relations to the government. What will happen now to the City Economic Enterprise1?
Nanding Advincula: At present, the city government is under contract with a private contractor but the market vendors pay their rent to us. Initially, we were worried that the vendors would have a difficult time keeping up with the rent imposed by a private contractor. So the government collects the rent from all stalls while paying a pre-determined rental to the private entity.
There have been problems in this area because not all vendors are able to pay their rent on time and this has resulted in the accumulation of payments. One contributing factor is the fact that there are areas or stalls in Cogon market which have remained unoccupied, especially the big areas in the middle portion. Because of this and other problems, the city government has agreed to buy out or buy back these market structures.
The city council has started negotiations and the proponent has agreed to sell provided that it will be done only after about 3 to 5 years from now. But the city administration is determined to buy out at the soonest possible time so that it can finally assure market vendors that they won’t lose their stalls or means of livelihood.
Michael Turner: Is subsidizing structures like the Cogon and Carmen markets good for the city?
Nanding Advincula: In the past, especially during my first term, the city government subsidized in huge amounts. This was brought about mainly by extensive employment in the market. Then, the city council created the City Economic Enterprise Management Board, which was tasked to examine problems like market cleanliness and failure of management. At that time, they hired many personnel so that the market had almost 100 regular employees. And it meant bigger operational costs.
When Emano took over the mayorship, the city was able to recover these subsidies.
When the city government realized that the market was becoming dilapidated and was even burned down by fire, they decided to put it under the BOT2 law.
Michael Turner: What can you say about comments pointing to the possibility of creating bigger problems by transferring market management from private back to government?
Nanding Advincula: The public market is the government’s instrument in serving its people. This is why public markets are purely for Filipinos and small scale businesses. The city government enters into deals and transactions with the interests of its people in mind; not with the idea of gaining profit. It is like buying land that’s worth millions and then giving these lands to the people for free. In business, this cannot be. But this is what public service is all about.
There is an advantage, though, of awarding public projects to private entities. Work becomes faster and quality is way, way better than national projects. An example is the bridge built by UKC which took only a year to finish as compared to a national project that hasn’t seen completion in years.
Right now, there are new developments regarding the transaction with UKC. The negotiation terms include the cost of money, or the proponent’s loan interest. The government plans to bring the case to the Central Bank to help determine the actual cost of money. Another development is that instead of classifying the deal as a buy out or buy back, it is now classified as a reimbursement. The city government wants to close the deal now so that no additional expenses will be incurred in relation to the cost of money, which is now estimated at P 350 million.
The city government also plans to borrow P 500 million for the reimbursement of the two markets. The remaining amount will then be used for purchasing heavy equipment, and for possible initial work on the boulevard and legislative building projects.
Michael Turner: Will the city government really profit from public markets?’
Nanding Advincula: The government has always depended on profit from public markets. In 1957, when the first public market opened, there were no competing establishments within the market’s area. Profit was easy.
Public markets can be a good source of profit for any government. It all depends on good and efficient management.