BARANGAY Apas residents cried in joy yesterday after getting Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia’s assurance they will be allowed to stay in the barangay.

Garcia said that although there had been misunderstanding, Capitol and the members of the Alliance of Barangay Apas Community Association (Abaca) arrived at a win-win solution after a two-hour closed-door meeting at the Capitol.

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The meeting was upon the governor’s initiative.

But before the Abaca members met with the governor, they talked to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña at City Hall.

After the City Hall meeting, Osmeña announced that the City Government will file a case against Capitol to protect occupants of Province-owned lots in the city.

Osmeña said he has been holding back from suing the Province since last year, but he feels the threat has worsened now that the Department of National Defense (DND) will return the Central Command (Centcom) property to Capitol under a memorandum of agreement (MOA).

City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the mayor decided to take legal action after the occupants of Province-owned lots in Barangay Apas and other barangays asked him to do so.

Assurance

Abaca president Ma. Linda Paracuelles said they were the ones who asked the mayor to file the case because they have nowhere else to go. Paracuelles issued the statement, however, before her group talked to Garcia and got her assurance they would be allowed to stay.

When Garcia gave her assurance, many Abaca members started crying. Joy Cachero, who cried the most, said they are very thankful for Garcia’s consideration.

Garcia said she approved Abaca’s proposal that was most acceptable to Capitol. A total of 12 hectares will be given to them by the governor.

Garcia said Capitol will go back to the area to re-survey it.

“Bisan Cebu City residents mo, ‘di mo kabotar nako, Sugbuanon man sad mo. Mangita sad ko ug paagi nga matabangan sad mo (Even if you are Cebu City residents

who can’t vote for me, you are also Cebuanos whom I should help),” she said.

She said most of the Abaca members will be staying where they are because they chose an area where members are concentrated.

Classification

Paracuelles said that for classification, they labeled the area near Maria Luisa as Lot A and the central part of Apas as Lot B. Lot C is where their barangay hall is located, she said.

With the governor’s approval, she said lots B and C will be retained.

“It’s a good negotiation with the governor. Salig mi sa iyang storya (We trust her word.),” she said.

She said they still need to put into writing everything that was discussed yesterday. They will meet again on Nov. 20.

Garcia said Capitol will shoulder the expenses and will work with the national government and its housing agencies to help those who need to be transferred.

When sought for reaction that Cebu City Hall will file a case against the Province to make sure that Cebu City residents will not be evicted from province-owned lots, Capitol consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda said city officials are “free to make fools out of themselves.”

“They are quite good at this. Meanwhile, we continue to find and implement legal, practical and innovative ways and means to further improve our quality of life,” he said in a text message.

Filing of case

In a phone interview, Osmeña said the case the City will file will seek to protect not only Abaca members but also occupants of provincial properties in other barangays, including offices of National Government agencies.

“This is because of the threat that’s looming over them because of the signing of this MOA, so we have to file a case against the Province now. We were ready to file the case last year, we just held back until this MOA with DND Secretary (Gilberto) Teodoro came. We’re not going to abandon our people now,” Osmeña said.
He said the 180-page complaint is ready to be filed in court, but he has to wait for the council to grant him the authority to do so.

Councilor Edgardo Labella, a lawyer, said he will file the resolution this Friday, to be deliberated on during the session this Wednesday.

He said the City will seek a declaratory relief asking the court to determine what will prevail: the Presidential Proclamation and the UDHA, or the memorandum of agreement between the DND and the Capitol for the turnover of the lot.

The City may also seek an injunctive relief by way of an injunction to stop the Province from developing their properties for commercial and economic purposes, and for the lots to be used only for public use.

Garcia, however, said City Hall can just file a case against them and Capitol officials will just face it.

At the start of my term I already promised, as far as practicable, I will never donate nor sell any of our provincial properties. I will move for the recovery of those who are previously donated or occupied and we will continue with the policy,” she said.

The Province donated 80 hectares of land for a military base, which is now the Central Command. But only a portion was developed by the military and 21 hectares are occupied mostly by urban poor resident, including soldiers and their families.

In June 2003, President Arroyo signed Presidential Proclamation 409 declaring the lot as a socialized housing site based on the UDHA, which allows occupants to own the lots if these have not been developed for more than five years.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 6, 2009.