Thursday, May 29, 2008 City seeks P1M from lot owner By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
A MOTEL chain owner was ordered to stop the development on his 40-hectare property in Barangay Mabini, Cebu City after construction work there caused a landslide last Monday, destroying a portion of the mountain barangay’s main road.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña also ordered businessman Teodorico Adarna Sr. to remove any obstruction from the City Government-owned and maintained road, including the steel gate he put up near his property.
In the cease and desist order Osmeña signed yesterday, the mayor told Adarna and his representatives to stop any construction work in their property in Sitio Luton until they can secure permits from City Hall.
City Councilor Gerardo Carillo also said Adarna will be asked to pay the City P1 million for the damage they caused to the barangay roads.
Blocked
Aside from carving out roads within their property without authority from the City Government, Adarna also allegedly blocked public access to the road, which angered the mayor.
“He (Adarna) is blocking off people from passing through the only access road, where even the barangay captain cannot service his constituents. They have put armed men there and no one can enter, and I heard they enjoy the support of a regional police official,” Osmeña said.
Sun.Star Cebu tried calling Adarna through his office and mobile phones but he could not be reached for comment yesterday.
He was also not in his property when City Hall representatives, escorted by 20 armed Special Weapons and Tactics personnel and other policemen in four police cars, served the mayor’s order at around 3 p.m. amid heavy rains.
Except for a security guard and a caretaker, the property was deserted yesterday although residents said the area is normally busy with heavy equipment operating.
At the site yesterday, no one from the City Hall team could be certain whether the roads Adarna had opened are on City-owned lots.
Permits
An excavator was parked nearby, which was reportedly used to carve out the new roads, causing soil and rocks to slide to the barangay’s main road. The activities do not have clearance from the barangay, development permit from City Hall and environmental clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Although no one was injured, last Monday’s landslide left the asphalted main road covered in soil, making it difficult for vehicles to pass. Soil and rocks from Adarna’s property also covered the the barangay’s drainage.
Although a large “no trespassing” sign and a steel gate stood on the barangay road, it was not closed when the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC) served the order yesterday.
“Dili man ni paagian kay private property man gud ni (We don’t allow anyone to pass through because this is private property),” said caretaker Melchor dela Cruz, giving the same explanation for the diggings and road opening without a building permit.
He declined from giving details on what other development will be undertaken on the sprawling property, which is dotted with mango and other fruit-bearing trees.
In his news conference yesterday, Osmeña was angered by what he said was the City Attorney’s Office’s inaction on the matter. He asked them to review the issue three months ago yet.
Updates
He said that he regularly asked for updates on the investigation and inquired about it again when the landslide occurred the other day.
“This goes beyond the landslide issue because there’s a serious land dispute going on there... and our city attorney seems to be beholden to this guy (Adarna) because nothing has been done. If the city attorney does not do anything about this, I’m going to have to change him,” said Osmeña.
Less than an hour after the news conference, City Attorney Rodolfo Golez finalized the cease and desist order, which Carillo asked the mayor to sign.
Delay
Golez explained that there was a delay in serving the order because he still had to gather some documents and he had to ascertain whether the property owner’s activities had the consent of the City Development Council.
He also said that he does not know the Adarna family.
Adarna reportedly has a dispute with the Seno family, which owns the property adjacent to his.
“And this dispute is now creating a major disturbance in the barangay by blocking off the road by armed men. So it’s more than just a landslide. I talked to Adarna and he agreed to open the road, but apparently he did not... He’s challenging our orders,” an irate Osmeña said.
What upsets him, he said, is that Adarna refused to heed the requests of barangay officials to open the road to the public. Farmers reportedly could no longer pass through when they go down to sell their fruits and vegetables.
