Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Soc vouches for landowner
Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez stands by his signature as a witness to an agreement between a businessman and the then Metro Cebu Development Project (MCDP) 3 seven years ago on the replacement of a property affected by the South Reclamation Project (SRP).
Fernandez, when sought for comment on his signature in the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed in September 1998, confirmed that the agreement existed and that he had read its provisions.
According to the MOA, MCDP will replace Roque Ting’s 4,222-square-meter property with an adjacent 4,753-square-meter property.
“I can remember that Roque Ting’s property was to be replaced with a property nearby. But I never knew what happened after that. I could not recall if he was indeed given a replacement. One thing, I can remember is that he was supposed to wait until MCDP can fill up that swampy land referred to as the replacement,” he told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
Fernandez, though, pointed out that the “ownership of Lot C-1 was not determined, so MCDP had no right to use it to replace Ting’s property.”
At 9 a.m. today, former MCDP 3 Project Coordinating and Monitoring Office (PCMO) director Samuel B. Darza and some of his former staff members will face the Cebu City Council, which is studying the proposed purchase of Ting’s P9-million property.
They are expected to enlighten the council on the real situation of Ting’s property during the civil works in 1998.
Insisting that it is a sound management decision, Mayor Tomas Osmeña is asking for the council’s authority to pay for the 4,222 square meters of Ting’s 1.2-hectare property. The portion of his property was reportedly affected by the implementation of the SRP in 1998.
Boundary
It turned out, however, that during the civil works, MCDP excavated soil in the middle to emphasize the boundary between the cities of Talisay and Cebu. As a result, Ting’s property became part water and part land.
This worried the council but not the mayor saying buying the property is like buying a pearl inside an oyster.
“So that water, whatever it is, at least that portion is in our name,” Osmeña had said.
Ting has sued the City Government in court for damages after demolishing his warehouses and other improvements on his land to give way to the SRP.
He also alleged that Darza has not complied with his obligations in the MOA, which is to replace the 4,222-square-meter property with an adjacent 4,753-square-meter swampy lot.
Darza, in previous interviews, denied Ting’s allegations and said that his only commitment to the MOA was his promise “not to object to the businessman’s claim on the lot nearby.”
At the executive session today, the council is expected to tackle whether Darza had the authority to enter into such MOA with Ting and whether the agreement is valid and enforceable.
Darza and the other MCDP staffers are also set to enlighten the council whether or not Ting’s property was not submerged at the time of the taking. (GAC)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 5, 2006 issue)
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