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Sunday, October 02, 2005
City told: Divide, conquer
By Gingging C. Campa
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
The Cebu City Government must apply immediately for separate titles for each of the seven parcels of land of the South Reclamation Project (SRP), said two public lawyers yesterday.
This way, if the Talisay City Government files a claim in court over 53.44 hectares of the property, it won’t be the entire original certificate of title (OCT) that will be subjected to litigation.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has issued only one special patent for 210 hectares of the 295-hectare SRP.
Special Patent 3693 covers only seven instead of the original 15 parcels that Cebu City has sought titles for.
The Registry of Deeds, for its part, issued only one original certificate of title based on the same patent.
Collateral
OCT 0-3581 will immediately be turned over to the Land Bank of the Philippines, the conduit of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
JBIC had lent the 12.292 billion yen to the City Government for the construction of the SRP.
At the current exchange rate, the City owes Land Bank P6.3 billion.
Section 2, Article 3 of the loan agreement between the City and Land Bank prohibits the City from selling the properties, which also serve as the collateral of the yen loan, without Land Bank’s annotation that the SRP is still under mortgage.
Upon payment of the loan, the annotation will be cancelled and the titles returned to the City Government.
A Cebu City Hall lawyer, who asked not to be named, said that the moment the court grants a petition by Talisay City, a notice of lis pendens would be annotated on the SRP title. That notice will state that the land’s ownership is subject to litigation in court, he said.
Another government lawyer, who requested not to be named, said this is a risk that the City Government will be facing, because no investor will want to invest in a property whose titles bear an annotation or memorandum of encumbrances.
But SRP manager Nigel Paul Villarete said it does not matter now if the Cebu City Government will not apply for the individual titles of the seven parcels.
“What if somebody will buy the whole SRP? Why do we jump the gun if somebody wants to buy (all of) it?” he told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
Villarete said the City will apply for the separate titles only if doing so complements how the Cebu Investments Promotion Center (CIPC) plans to market the property.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña earlier said the City will start to make money in six months, when bidding processes will be completed.
(October 2, 2005 issue)
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