MAYOR Constantino Jaraula took up the challenge on City Hall’s controversial P1-per-lot program or “piso-piso,” saying opposition councilors should have their “resign manifesto” signed already to prove they are not engaged in scare tactic.

“If this is a game of scare tactic to frighten us then let’s make it real, if only to expose who are engage in nonsense rant,” he said.

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He even taunted the minority bloc, saying its members may even fall off their seats from the horrors of losing the challenge to the administration.

“It’s interesting to see if they don’t quiver when signing, band they better have their chairs tied to the ground to prevent them from falling off during the signing,” said Jaraula.

Councilor Roger Abaday, one of the three minority councilors, responded by saying the opposition was ready to meet administration officials at the Freedom Kiosk in Divosiria to have the pact witnessed by the public.

There is, however, one potential snag that could derail the challenge: Jaraula wants City Hall to be given “sufficient time” to have the “piso-piso” land titled processed.

“After signing the notarized document containing their pledge to resign, then all they have to do is to inform us at City Hall, including the sufficient time for us to meet the deadline on the distribution of the titles,” the mayor said.

He added: “They might take it that 24 hours is enough time).

The three-member minority bloc vowed to resign early this week if City Hall can produce a single title of its controversial P1-per-lot program. They said they will sign a notarized “resign manifesto” complete with witnesses to prove they mean business.

Councilor Teodulfo Lao, the minority leader, acknowledged the 24-hour deadline was not sufficient, saying they would give City Hall “days” to have the titles ready for the “piso-piso” resettlement sites scattered all over the city.

Twelve years after the P1-per-lot program was established, the councilor surmised City Hall could have the titled distributed to beneficiaries within weeks.

“It is foolish for the opposition or for any beneficiary to wait for another year. Twelve years must be sufficiently fair, as land titling does not really take that long when the property involved is owned by the local government,” Lao said.

The “piso-piso” land resettlement program was started by the Emano administration in 1998. Emano, who is now vice mayor, completed his nine-year stint as mayor in 2007 but the land titles his administration had promised to the indigent-beneficiaries have not yet been distributed.

Families who benefitted from the resettlement program, instead, were given certificates of ownership.

Jaraula, a party mate of Emano, assured City Hall has continued working on the titles for the “piso-piso program” even before the opposition issued the challenge.

Like Emano, the mayor attributed the delays in the distribution of titles to the sheer number of “piso-piso” beneficiaries.