Saturday, August 18, 2007 Cebu City asks to be declared lawful owner of Fuente, says Capitol slept on its right
THE Cebu City Government is asking the court to declare it as the lawful owner of the Fuente Osmeña Rotunda and to uphold its right to continue controlling the park.
It also asked the court to dismiss the suit for reconveyance or quieting of title filed by the Cebu Provincial Government.
According to City Attorney Rodolfo Golez, the Province no longer has the right as supposed owner of the park because for 95 years, the Province slept on its rights.
“For 95 years, the plaintiff Province never lifted a finger to question the management and administration by the City over the subject park and for 95 years the administration by the city of Cebu over the subject property has made the same as one of the more recognizable landmarks in the city,” read the City’s reply.
The City cited several Supreme Court rulings that prohibit owners from taking possession and ownership of properties they have neglected for a long time.
It also questioned why it is only now that the plaintiff has shown a sudden interest in taking back the public park.
In its civil suit for quieting of title and recovery of possession, the Capitol had asked the court to declare the titles it is holding as “valid, legal and binding against the City of Cebu and Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña and the whole world.”
The Capitol wanted the court to declare it as the “legal and rightful owner” of the property, to direct the City Government and the mayor to respect the Province’s rights as owner and to turn over possession and control of the property.
It explained that for years, the Province tolerated the City’s administration of the property and maintained that in no instance did it express its consent to such an administration.
Capitol officials went to court amid a dispute with Cebu City Hall that began last year, when a proposed land exchange deal was aborted. Since then, City Hall has sat on permit applications for a Capitol project in Banilad, citing the need to study traffic; for its part, Capitol has closed some roads in the city that fall within its landholdings. (KNT)
