Tuesday, November 11, 2008 Filinvest wants to purchase SRP lot claimed by Talisay
FILINVEST Land Inc. (FLI) wants to buy a portion of the South Road Properties (SRP) that was claimed by the Talisay City Government and the lot occupied by the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC).
But Cebu City Hall will not touch and dispose of the lots to avoid hitches on the sale, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said.
He disclosed that FLI’s offer for an outright purchase of 10 to 13 hectares of land includes titled waterfront lots already occupied by the ABC and a portion of the 60 to 70 hectares of land previously claimed by Talisay.
Decision
Although there is no formal claim or any lawsuit involving the claim, Fernandez said they decided not to include those properties, and that the City will only be selling 10 hectares to FLI.
“Their offer is to buy 13 hectares but the City can only sell 10 hectares. They want the ABC lot and a portion of the lots claimed by Talisay. There is no case filed against the City in relation to the claim and they did not have the title annotated but we don’t want to give our investors a problem so we will not sell it,” Fernandez told Sun.Star Cebu.
He further said that the City does not want any trouble or gray areas, so it will not sell, at this time, lots that are either occupied or those being questioned.
At City Hall yesterday, the City’s Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC) declared FLI an eligible proponent and investor at the SRP and proceeded to negotiate with FLI officials.
Documents
It also received the complete set of technical and financial documents required from SRP developers and investors.
“They are eligible and they have shown that they are financially capable to undertake the project. Negotiations have started today and will resume next week,” said Fernandez, chairman of the JVSC committee.
He said that the proposed purchase of the ABC lot and the waterfront lots near Talisay City could still be included in the negotiations, “but for now, we don’t want to sell it.”
Beside the Kawit Point is a 2,223-square-meter lot where the P10-million ABC building stands.
In 2003, the Talisay City Government claimed jurisdiction over 60 to 70 hectares of the SRP, but the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) rejected the claim for lack of supporting documents, said City Planning and Development Coordinator Nigel Paul Villarete.
Villarete, also the former head of the SRP Management Office, said the entire SRP was already declared, in a presidential proclamation, to be within Cebu City and is owned by the City Government.
He further said that titles were also issued for all the SRP lots and are now with the Land Bank of the Philippines, the conduit bank for the loan for the 302-hectare reclamation project.
The remaining untitled properties are the unfilled Pond A and a two-hectare portion claimed by a private low owner, he said. (LCR)
