Friday, May 23, 2008
Province lukewarm on City land deals
INSTEAD of reacting to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s statements, Capitol will just resume negotiations with occupants of Province-owned lots in the city.
The Provincial Government will no longer mind whatever Osmeña will say on their negotiations with the occupants, said Rory Jon Sepulveda, Capitol consultant on information and revenue generation.
“We will go crazy if we continue minding him (Tomas),” Sepulveda told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview yesterday.
Open
Osmeña said last Wednesday that the City Government is still open to negotiations with the Province for the proposal to swap properties for the sake of the residents.
But the mayor also warned that if Capitol starts evicting the occupants, the City will also be willing to spend for the legal fees the lot occupants will incur when the matter reaches the courts.
“To me, I’m open (to a renegotiation). But, you see, the Provincial Government has planted itself in a corner and wants a value-for-value exchange,” the mayor had said.
“We intend to protect the welfare of 93-1 beneficiaries,” he continued.
Notices
The Province has so far issued notices to vacate to some occupants, particularly those in Barangays Luz and Lahug, but the occupants have appealed to the Capitol for reconsideration.
Sepulveda said the Cebu Provincial Appraisal Committee has completed the appraisal of Province-owned lots in 11 barangays in Cebu City.
He said the reviewing committee will present its report during the meeting of the Cebu Provincial Economic Enterprise Council, which is chaired by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.
The appraisal was initiated after the Cebu Provincial Board approved an ordinance asking the committee to conduct a regular appraisal of the lots every three years.
Some of the lots are under dispute for nonpayment of the homeowners’ dues.
Of the 4,358 home-owners covered by Ordinance 93-1, only 1,440 occupants have reportedly paid their obligations.
History
Provincial Ordinance 93-1, which authorized the disposal of and sale of Province-owned lots to its actual occupants, was passed during the administration of former Gov. Vicente de la Serna in 1994. The payment period was set at five years.
The ordinance covered at least 8,000 families, most of whom were not able to pay for their lots in full.
The committee conducted an ocular inspection and gathered the data needed in determining the current fair market value of the properties and submitted them to the Provincial Assessor’s Office.
Apart from the data gathered, the committee will also take into consideration the physical characteristics, location, accessibility, slope, size, terrain and economic use of the lots.
Deal
Under the original terms of the land swap agreement, the City was supposed to turn over to the Province a 33,740-square-meter property at the North Reclamation Area worth some P415.3 million.
In exchange, the Province would hand over 435,991 square meters of land scattered in 11 barangays, which Capitol claimed is worth P3.15 billion.
The City Council had expressed its reservations on the proposal, as the City would only be able to recover some P183.1 million if it is able to collect all the unpaid dues of the lot occupants. (GMD)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 23, 2008 issue)
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