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Saturday, February 21, 2004
Church sued for 33 has. of prime city lot
By Giovanni A. Nilles
CEBU -- Eleven heirs of the late Juan Perpetua have asked the Regional Trial Court to order the Roman Catholic Church to return more than 33 hectares of prime property.
The land is now occupied by the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos and the Pope John XIII Minor Seminary in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
Acting through lawyers Daniel Francis Arguedo and Rolindo Navarro, they asked to be allowed to intervene in an earlier case filed by Julian Taborada, also against the Roman Catholic Church.
The heirs claimed that Perpetua bought the property from the Friar Lands Division of the former Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 1921.
He then allowed the church to occupy the property for as long as he or his heirs would allow it, his heirs claimed.
"(The use) is subject to the promise of the nuns and priests that they would vacate when he or his heirs would use the property. On Jan. 24, 2001, the heirs of Juan Perpetua wrote the Archbishop of Cebu a letter demanding the church to vacate the land...(but until now) the Roman Catholic Church refused and still refuses to vacate the premises," part of the petition read.
Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, however, said in a TV interview that the Roman Catholic Church bought the property sometime in the 1940s and that a deed of sale covered the purchase.
Demands
The Perpetua heirs countered that the transfer certificate of title obtained by the church sometime in 1947 was a product of registration in bad faith.
They claimed that neither they nor Perpetua freely conveyed, donated or sold the property to the church.
Arguedo asked that the court declare as null and void the title issued to the church, including that portion allegedly sold to the Republic of the Philippines by the Asilo de la Milagrosa.
He asked the court to order the church to return the property to Perpetua's heirs.
He also asked the court to order the Register of Deeds of Cebu City to issue a new title in favor of the heirs and for the Catholic Church to pay P250,000 in attorney's fees and litigation expenses.
Regional Trial Court Judge Antonio Echavez has yet to act on the motion for intervention filed by Ramona Taborada; Basilio, Petra and Francisco Jr., all surnamed Perpetua; Eleuteria dela Peņa, Roman Auman, Carmencita Arguedo, Beatriz Inocian, Guillerma Racaza, Milagros Diola and Carlota Racaza.
(February 21, 2004 issue)
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