MANDAUE CITY – The long-delayed Mandaue City reclamation project will finally proceed, more than 20 years after its initial approval, according to the Mandaue Land Consortium (MLC), a member of the Wenceslao Group of Companies.

In a statement, MLC said the project, which was approved in 2001 and 2003 under then mayor Thadeo Ouano Sr., is now moving forward under the administration of his son, current Mayor Thadeo Ouano Jr.

The delay began when then mayor Jonas Cortes, who held office from 2007 to 2016, brought in Sultan 900 Consortium, which later assigned its rights to Global City Mandaue Corp. (GMC) led by former congressman Mikee Romero, to reclaim the same area covered by the original deal with MLC.

MLC sought arbitration before the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC) in 2016 and won. The CIAC ruling, which ordered the city to honor its obligations to MLC, was final and executory.

In 2019, then mayor Luigi Quisumbing issued a notice to proceed with the project, in compliance with the CIAC order. However, Cortes, upon returning as mayor that same year, backed GMC. Cortes was dismissed from office by the Ombudsman in 2024.

MLC said the reclamation can now start once permits and documentation are secured. It added that private firms tapped by Cortes sought relief from a Pasig court but failed to inform the court about the prior CIAC ruling and the city’s 2019 notice to proceed.

Though MLC attempted to intervene, it was excluded from the case. The Supreme Court later stated that MLC “is not an indispensable party because its interest in the controversy or subject matter is separable from the interest of Paradigm PH and GMC.”