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Sunday, April 04, 2004
CA reverses Palace, drops cockpit permit
By GIOVANNI A. NILLES
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE Court of Appeals has reversed a decision of the Office of the President issuing a clearance for the establishment of a second cockpit in Daanbantayan, Cebu.
Associate Justice Portia Aliño-Hormachuelos ruled that the office erred when it granted the permit to Leonardo Tan, as the town’s population did not exceed 100,000, as required under Presidential Decree (PD) 449 or the Cockpit Law Act of 1974.
Following this, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) 7 Director Antonio Decatoria has ordered the sheriff of the Regional Trial Court of Cebu City to execute the decision against Tan.
He gave the sheriff 60 days to seize any property that may be used to cover for administrative fines due to the HLURB. His order and that of the Appellate Court, though, did not indicate if Tan was fined.
From the decision, it appeared that Tan applied with HLURB for a clearance for the construction of a cockpit in Barangay Malingin, Daanbantayan on May 16, 1996.
Socorro Pereña, who owns another cockpit in the town, opposed the application, alleging that the cockpit building was only 200 to 250 meters from the Malingin National High School and 100 meters away from the Malingin Day Care Center.
Conditions
She also argued that Tan failed the conditions set by PD 449.
Almost a year later, the HLURB 7 granted Tan the clearance he sought.
Pereña raised the issue before HLURB in Manila. When she again lost, she raised the matter to the Office of the President, which also affirmed the HLURB’s decision.
She then brought her case before the Appellate Court.
In ruling the case, Justice Hormachuelos said Pereña could not claim as basis the distance between Tan’s cockpit and the school because their distance from each other is farther than what Pereña claimed.
It was also established that the day care center was already due for demolition.
But she noted Pereña was correct in saying that to establish a second cockpit within one municipality, the provisions of PD 449 must be followed.
“Per certification by the National Statistics Office, the population of Daanbantayan in the year 1995 is only 64,500. As the records of (this) case do not show that the population has reached 100,000…we rule that the establishment of a second cockpit in the municipality is unwarranted,” part of the ruling read.
Justice Hormachuelos declared as null and void the locational clearance that was granted to Tan.
(April 4, 2004 issue)
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