CEBU CITY – Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is planning to build a P100 - million museum for Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao at the controversial South Road Properties (SRP), a plan that has already received harsh criticism from the mayor’s political foes.

Osmeña, a boxing aficionado, said Pacquiao deserves to be given a lasting tribute being the “greatest Filipino boxer” ever and the City Government will allocate P100 million for the proposed museum.

However, opposition leader Jonathan Guardo said the mayor must first see to it that basic services are delivered to constituents, saying the P100 million budget for the museum can do a lot to directly benefit Cebuanos.

Guardo said the mayor must instead allocate funds for garbage trucks and the upgrading of the Cebu City Medical Center, among others, instead of building a museum.

“I hope these things would be given priority by the mayor in terms of attention and resources. It’s nice to put up a museum for Manny Pacquiao, but maybe that can take a backseat and I hope the basic services would be given more,” Guardo said.

Osmeña said the city has enough money for the project, saying, “our problem now is how to spend our money.”

Pacquiao over the weekend accomplished what no boxer has ever done in the world: Secure a seventh world title in seven different weight categories when he demolished Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto to take the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The win further cemented Pacquiao’s status as boxing’s best pound for pound and followed two other convincing victories over Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton.

Meanwhile, Osmeña is also seeking the approval of another supplemental budget for this year amounting to P600 million, which he said will be taken from the initial deposit of SM Prime Holdings for the latter’s payment for lots at the South Road Properties.

SM is buying 30 hectares at the South Road Properties worth almost R2.7 billion.

Osmeña said the supplemental budget will be the “equalizer fund” for Cebu City barangays that receive lower cash disbursements. He said the fund will be disbursed for road concreting, water project, bus purchase, and land acquisitions, among others.

In line with this, Osmeña downplayed accusations that the administration will be using the money from the sales of the SRP to buy votes during the 2010 elections.