Only 8% of Cebu is flat land and it is depleting very fast. Scarcity drive prices up and with no other option, Cebu’s expansion will be skyward.
Cebu IT Park, then and now
Cebu has a limited buildable space. Only eight percent (8%) of its total land area is flat and this is stretched along the coastline of an elongated island. There are only two growth directions. Go north or move south.
Early days
In the 60’s, southward development began in San Nicolas Mambaling area. Subdivisions like Ma. Gochan with its fruity streets Avocado, Bayabas, Caimito, etc were established for new families.
Today, this area is very near to the city center but in those times, it was considered far. It was the distance of the ‘Parada‘ (Calesa).
Then Labangon, Punta Princesa and Tisa were developed next. Residential structures took over the corn and peanut fields, as demand for new housing steadily increase
The city government of Cebu realized the scarce land resource and the need to address the requirement of a rapidly growing city.
North Reclamation in the 90’s
Plans were initiated for the north reclamation project which eventually became the home of SM City Cebu, the first mall outside Metro Manila.
The 70’s saw expansion crawling towards the barangays of Pardo in the South and Mabolo in the north. Even with the Martial Law, economy in Cebu remained vibrant.
The 1st Mactan bridge
Marcos built the first Mactan bridge which opened up the island for economic and tourism activities.
The 80’s saw major expansion in Cebu, filling the hills of Guadalupe all the way to Pardo.
In the north, Lito Osmena (EMRO Holdings) moved farther north the haven of the ultra-rich, Maria Luisa Subdivision.
Banilad at that time was considered a distant suburb. I remember buying Japanese corn in a sparsely populated stretch in today’s BanTal road, which became Gaisano Country Mall not long after.
Gaisano Country Mall
The 90’s saw an unprecedented growth in Cebu. Dubbed “Ceboom”, the tandem of governor Lito Osmena and Mayor Tom Osmena opened Cebu to opportunities never seen before.
Cebu Business Park, then and now
Manila developers went on crazy shopping for land. Ayala cornered the provincial lot used as a golf course and the Lahug airport property, both of which are now bustling business districts. SM also secured the greatest chunk in the new reclamation.
Residential expansion now extends to Talisay city and Mandaue city. The northward expansion also shifted eastward to Mactan island because of the transfer of the new airport and the creation of Mactan Export Processing zone.
Low cost housing became a hit, selling in the thousands as Pag-Ibig loan facility became available.
The SRP when it was newly completed
Mayor Tom Osmena then floated the idea of a south reclamation project even before the one in the north was completely sold-out.
The early nineties was also called the age of malling as three giant malls opened in Cebu City within an 18-month period. Gaisano Country Mall, opened in 1992 followed by SM City Cebu then Ayala Center Cebu (ACC) in 1993.
How these malls almost killed the businesses in Colon street will be a good separate story.
Vertical Homes
Condominiums started out in Cebu as mere status symbol for the rich. But it was short-lived with the onset of the Asian Crisis in 1997-98.
The slowdown in real estate activities continued into the new millennium although low and mid-high properties continue to sell.
Then there was the second wave of Ceboom in 2006. It just exploded out of nowhere and real estate growth went exponential since then.
Two things happened, residential properties are now pushed farther north to Compostela and down south to Naga city, but traffic also started to deteriorate and became a daily occurence.
Traffic woes and scarcity of space made condominiums a necessity in Cebu rather than an item of luxury as it was before.
Reaching the limit
Areas after Compostela in the north and Naga City in the south are no longer viable as residence for low and mid-income families who commutes daily for school and work in Cebu City. It is a total waste of time, productivity and money.
Metro Cebu
Nowhere to go
This is a clear indicator that Cebu has nowhere to go but up. The future is in the skies.
There are ambitious plans to build highways slicing through the mountain or a viaduct above the sea. Even a mass transport system, probably the rail type is in the works.
But these infrastructures take time to build, and while they help in moving people fast, the scarcity of land remains. It is irreversible.
Developers know its a dire situation. They now scamper hard even for small parcels of land just to be able to churn out projects like pocket developments.
Cebu’s topography is telling us its not just the best time to buy a house now but its the only time left before prices will become exceedingly expensive. Scarcity drive prices up.
If you have money to invest, do not wait and see, for waiting is a costly exercise in real estate. Buy now then sit back and watch the value of your property grow.
When all the land is utilized, Cebu’s future development will be skyward. A true skyscraper city in the making.
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Credit goes to the owners of images used. Special mention Slerz, whose passion for Cebu is unwavering, a fellow Skyscrspercity forumer and a good friend.
Minglanilla, Consolacion and Liloan are municipalities in Metro Cebu that are now on the verge of cityhood based on the qualifications set forth by R.A. 9009, the governing law on cityhood or conversion of a municipality to a city.
Republic Act. 9009
locally generated income of at least ₱100 million (based on constant prices in the year 2000) for the last two consecutive years, as certified by the Department of Finance,AND
a population of at least 150,000, as certified by thePhilippine Statistics Authority(PSA);ORa contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers, as certified by theLand Management Bureau, with contiguity not being a requisite for areas that are on two or more islands
Size
For the territorial requirement of 100 square kilometers, not one among the three Metro Cebu towns can qualify since they all have a smaller land area, with Consolacion having only 37sq.km, the smallest of the three.
So the only way to go is to comply with the two other requirements. Income and Population.
100M Annual Income
Money seems not a problem these days for Consolacion, Liloan and Minglanilla as they all have annual earnings exceeding the minimum parameter of 100M.
150,000 Population
On the question of population however, not one of the three can make the cut. That is if we refer to the latest census of 2015:
Liloan: 118,753
Minglanilla: 132,135
Consolacion: 131,528
But that is four years ago. These are fast growing urban areas that are averaging 4% to 10% year-on-year growth on its population.
Looking at the demographics, both Consolacion and Minglanilla should have breached the mark already as early as last year (2018), while Liloan will also make it in 2020 or 2021 at the latest.
Cities enjoy greater autonomy from the national government and a much bigger share of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).
But the biggest change of all for new cities aside from the label, is the prestige and distinction it gives to all its residents.
A moment of pride and collective excitement for the milestone in history, when their once sleepy town finally ‘arrived‘ to join the big league.
Of course it is the people through a plebiscite who will eventually decide the fate of any cityhood proposal, but almost always, the excitement and human instinct for self -advancement prevails.
To the people of Minglanilla City, the City of Consolacion and Liloan City, congratulations in advance and please keep your city clean.
This segment, Cebu, sauna ug karon will feature ‘then and now’ pictures of the city showing the changes and transformation that occured through the passage of time.
Here’s I.T. Park, Lahug ( Sauna) 2009
The I.T. Park today. (Karon) 2019
Pictures are sourced online and no copyright infringement is intended.
InfoCebu gives full credit to the owners of these images that truly represent the beauty of Cebu.
“We have been telling the people that this is built by Duros Development Corp. completely on their own.
(A repost from a Sunstar 2015 story)
FOR its 25th anniversary, a construction company turned over to the Archdiocese of Cebu the main venue of an international religious conference in January 2016.
Lito and Fe Barino of Duros Development Corp.
handed a symbolic key to the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) Pavilion during a ceremony last night to Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.
The archbishop said that Duros built the facility for more than P500 million and that it can accommodate about 12,000 people.
“We have been telling the people that this is built by Duros Development Corp. completely on their own. So, from the perspective of IEC, this is totally free,” Palma said.
Because the building is free, he said, the proceeds of a fundraising campaign can be devoted to other expenses like the speakers’ transportation, the liturgy, the congress proper and the seminary.
“If not for Duros, we would not be able to cope with the entire Eucharistic Congress,” Archbishop Palma said.
Huge, beautiful
During the Holy Mass, Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said he believes that the IEC Pavilion is “a miracle from God.”
“I could hardly believe that this would happen, that we have a pavilion as huge as this, as beautiful as this. God has given this and made this a reality. Lord, thank you for giving us this building,” Cardinal Vidal said. “I hope that it will remain forever.”
Archbishop Palma said he believes it would be easy to get bookings for the venue after the IEC in January, Cebu being an attractive destination for events.
“In fact, yesterday, there were a lot of reservations for big events like the Cursillo, and from groups like Couples for Christ and the CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines), among others. We have bookings already for this year and next year, and we are happy to note that,” Palma said.
Future uses
To help Duros recover the cost of building the pavilion, it will be given the right to develop a two-hectare property near the San Carlos Seminary in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
“Of course, that will be subject to a MOA (memorandum of agreement). Like many others, for instance, they can develop properties of the church that are available for lease until they are able to recover their investments for this pavilion,” Palma said.
In a separate interview, Fe Barino confirmed that they spent more than P500 million for the construction of the structure.
After the IEC, the pavilion will be divided into two: a conference facility and a seminary. Its floor area is 25,754 square meters.
The pavilion can accommodate from 12,000 to 15,000 for the IEC proper. But after it is split once the IEC is over, the remaining conference space can still accommodate 8,000 to 10,000 people.
“The church or the IEC did not spend anything for this pavilion. The fundraising was for the IEC expenses,” Barino explained.
Privilege
This means proceeds from the “Piso Para sa Misa ng Mundo” are solely for the IEC operations expenses.
Barino added that the building was 97 percent done, with finishing touches to be added soon, “but the church can already use the pavilion for any event.”
When asked why Duros agreed to build the pavilion for free, Barino said there was a call from the archbishop “and we just said yes because we feel that it’s also a privilege for us to serve the Lord.”
“We have received so many graces from God. We cannot say no. We want to help Cebu and the Philippines in hosting IEC,” Barino said.
She said that the archbishop’s call was also well-timed, because the company had just finished building Padgett Place condominiums in Lahug, Cebu City.
The condominium was completed in October 2014, and the archbishop called them the month after that.
“Normally, it would take one or two years before we can start a project but here, we were able to mobilize in less than two months,” Barino said.
The month of June every year is celebrated as Cebu Business Month(CBM) by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI). Now on its 23rd year, they champion the theme “Innovation in Action” in different events and fora spread across different venues all through out the month.
Innovation in Action
In its 23rd year, this year’s CBM shall banner the theme, “INNOVATION IN ACTION”. CBM 2019 aims to empower MSME’S through innovations that deliver real benefits, drive growth and increase business productivity. CCCI continues to contribute in Cebu’s competitive advantage in the global economy, thereby propelling Cebu businesses to catalyze inclusive growth in the region. This is in line with CCCI’s thrust to “strengthen business and accelerate change.”
Calendar of Events
CBM 2019 Promotional Video
For more information, you may reach CBM organizers here:
InfoCebu 