Wednesday, August 06, 2008 Judge to check homes scheduled for demolition
THE court will visit Zulueta St., Barangay Tinago, Cebu City to check if the five houses there that are scheduled for demolition are built atop a drainage system.
Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 58 Judge Gabriel Ingles scheduled the ocular inspection on Aug. 11, just as Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Vicente Mercado, chief of the Squatting Prevention and Encroachment and Elimination Division (Speed), will present their evidence in court.
Osmeña and Mercado are defendants in an injunction suit filed by Tinago residents who are supporters of former mayor Alvin Garcia, an Osmeña critic.
Order sent
Osmeña issued a demolition order against the five houses. The order was sent to the owners of the houses last June 20.
The plaintiffs are Carmen and Bonifacio Montemayor, Lucio Patalita and Jonah John Rodriguez.
Ellen Gonzales was presented in court yesterday, in behalf of her parents, the Montemayors.
She said her father bought their house in the 1990s, but she failed to present a document of the sale. Gonzales, though, presented a tax declaration as proof that the family has been paying taxes for the house.
Application
She also presented a certification of miscellaneous sales application from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), pending since 1994.
During the cross-examination, Gonzales admitted her request for building permit was denied by the Cebu City Office of the Building Official.
Their lawyer Raymond Garcia said clarified the permit was for recent improvements to the house.
The plaintiffs were given a 20-day temporary restraining order.
City Hall lawyers Joseph Bernaldez and Rico Abellanosa will present evidence starting Monday. (JGA)
