Monday, June 09, 2008 Barangays want to bypass city engineer By Rene H. Martel Sun.Star Staff Reporter
CEBU City barangays are clamoring to do away with passing through the City Engineer’s Office when implementing their own projects.
The office, some officials said, requires numerous documents, including deeds of donation that could no longer be found, causing a significant delay in the completion of projects.
They also argued that the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) already has its own technical staff that evaluates each of their projects and prepare the programs of work and estimates.
But it was learned that the office had good reasons for the requirement. Some barangay captains admit that their multi-purpose buildings and barangay halls still have no
building permits although the structures are already being used.
City Council
Assistant City Engineer Kenneth Enriquez told the barangay captains in last Saturday’s ABC general assembly that it is not within her power to grant the request.
She said it might require an approved measure from the City Council, as she was merely following the procedure set by then city engineer Antonio Sanchez.
Among others, her office requires barangay clearance, land titles, lot tax declaration, sketch plan, deed of donation, and locational clearance.
In particular, Basak San Nicolas Barangay Captain George Rama complained that they wanted to repair a road and its drainage but were told by Enriquez’s office to present the deed of donation, which could no longer be found.
“Ang giingon kay gibabagan ni (What we were told was that it was blocked by) Kenneth Enriquez,” he said.
That prompted a curt reply from Enriquez, who said it is not her habit to block projects but to help work out a solution so they could proceed.
Guadalupe Barangay Captain Eugenio Faelnar, ABC president and city council ex-officio member, promised to bring the barangay captain’s concern to the council.
Pahina Central Barangay Captain Sisinio Andales, ABC vice president, also said that many do not know that their respective buildings have no permits.
Documents
They end up not knowing what to do when renovating or expanding their barangays halls.
Mambaling Barangay Captain Rodolfo Estella, on the other hand, said that they know that their covered court and barangay hall are built on a donated lot. But the problem is they do not have the required documents.
Rama likewise said that an owner is taking back a property donated as a park and they fear that they will lose the lot because the donation was not fully consummated because of the failure to pay the donor’s tax.
However, lawyer Julius Entise, ABC legal counsel, said that under the Civil Code, a donation could not be revoked by the mere non-payment of donor’s tax.
He said that if the action has been “duly accepted by the donee, it is already a perfected donation.”
