Friday, September 26, 2008
Settlement on land row evades Capitol, Magnos
THE Provincial Government yesterday refused an out-of-court settlement with a family that claims ownership of a big chunk of land in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.
The heirs of Prudencio Magno had asked the court years ago to return to them portions of land, upon which stand parts of Gorordo Ave., the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) pump and the University of the Philippines Visayas-Cebu Campus (UPVCC).
The Magno property also allegedly includes the Lahug Elementary School, barangay hall and fire department.
All the properties in Lahug being claimed by the Magno clan constitute Lot 911, which, according to the Magnos, was declared private by an Oct. 4, 1910 Land Registration Authority decree.
Also laying claim to parcels of Lot 911 are South Seas Corp., the Palacios clan and the Velez clan.
After an attempt at mediation between the Magno heirs and the defendants, lawyer Donato Villa Jr. said that Cebu Province will not opt for a settlement.
“The Province is not willing to negotiate because this pertains to public property and the Province cannot just give it away,” Villa said in an interview.
Likewise, South Seas Corp. refused to settle through mediation. “South Seas Corp. said they will not settle. They will just wait for the case to go on,” said Salvador Solima, co-counsel for the Magnos.
The Palacios, for their part, wanted to see a copy of a deed of sale that would prove the Magnos’ claim.
Solima said that he has a deed of sale to prove that the original owner of Lot 911 sold it to the late Prudencio Magno. He added that the Magnos have been paying taxes for the lots, as shown in a tax declaration.
The civil case regarding Lot 911 is being tried before Regional Trial Court Judge Sylva Aguirre-Paderanga, who will hear the case today.
The complainants are Magno kin Bernardita, Natalio, Angelita, Roberto, Eduardo, Rosario, Cayetano, Hermenia, Celedonia, Irenea Maghanoy, Celedonia Estrera and Deodita Paring. (KAB)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 26, 2008 issue)
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