Thursday, June 07, 2007 Glo signs Banilad Friar Lands Act
AS THE rift between the Cebu City Government and the Province escalates, Mayor Tomas Osmeña is anticipating a lengthy legal battle to protect the interest of occupants of Capitol-owned lots in the city.
Osmeña said the City will exhaust all legal options, especially after President Arroyo signed into law last May 9 the bill confirming the validity of the transfer certificates of title covering the so-called Banilad Friar Lands Estate.
Some of the Province-owned lots occupied by the city’s constituents are said to be part of the 1,900-hectare estate, which lies in the north district.
“I believe the new law strengthens the titles of existing title-holders... We’re exploring other options to protect 93-1 occupants. We’re getting into a situation where we’ll study our legal options; it will be judged based on its merits and legality,” he told a news conference yesterday.
Osmeña admits a legal battle could take time in paving the way for the lot occupants to negotiate with the Province, but the City will do everything to protect the interest of close to 3,000 families who have not paid for their lots under Provincial Ordinance 93-1.
“If we have a chance to question the Province’s ownership of the lot, we will question it... and it will be a lengthy process if we go to court,” said the mayor.
Last February, Osmeña gave President Arroyo a letter informing her that the friar lands bill passed by Congress includes lots claimed by Cebu Province.
Banilad friar lands were brought up because at least 45 titles to be validated by the bill are reportedly held by the Capitol and include properties under Ordinance 93-1.
Capitol officials already said earlier that the Province will not be affected by the new law, since it deals only with friar land occupants whose documents were burned during the war.
The Cebu Provincial Government bought some 600 hectares that were part of the friar lands, but these are not subject to the bill confirming the validity of existing titles, Capitol officials had said.
The Province showed a copy of an executive order dated June 2, 1918, signed by then governor-general Francis Burton Harrison. The order conveyed some 600 hectares to the Province for P32,930.
Former governor and Congressman-elect Pablo “Pabling” Garcia (Cebu, 2nd district), the governor’s father, had said the Capitol is not in the same situation as other landowners who are holding titles that do not bear the signature of the then secretary of interior.
And since the Capitol is holding an executive order that was like “a direct act of the President” and has since been considered equal to law, Congressman-elect Pablo John Garcia (Cebu, 3rd district) had also said that Osmeña would be “wrong” to question Capitol’s ownership. (LCR)
