A YEAR and six months after the Cebu City Council ratified a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the 93-1 land swap deal, the City Government can now start finalizing the deed of donation and acceptance with the Provincial Government.
The council approved last week the resolution of Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr. authorizing Mayor Tomas Osmeña to enter into and sign the deed of donation
and acceptance with the Province.
Based on the MOA, the Province will give the City 32 hectares of lots spread across several barangays, which are occupied mostly by urban poor settlers. It
will also hand over 1.5 hectares of land in the Department of Agriculture compound along M. Velez St.; a 2,358-square-meter lot along Gorordo Ave. in
Barangay Lahug; and a 577-square-meter lot on Don Gil Garcia St. in Barangay Capitol Site.
In exchange, the City Government offered the Province a 3.3-hectare block behind SM City Cebu in Barangay Mabolo; a 2.5-hectare botanical garden
behind SM Seaside in the South Road Properties (SRP); nine hectares in Barangay Pulpogan, Consolacion; the 1.37-hectare lot where the septage treatment plant stands; and the 2,476-square-meter lot where the city abattoir stands.
The deal also included returning to Capitol the City’s possession of and rights to its zoo, one of the conditions set by the Province.
The transfer of the Pulpogan property, though, is still pending before the Regional Trial Court Branch 9.
Gabuya said it will not be included in the deed of donation and acceptance until the liens and encumbrances are resolved.
Meanwhile, the botanical garden will be handed to the Province through an ordinance. This is pursuant to Section 3 of City Ordinance 2332, which protects
SRP and its stakeholders from unlawful and unauthorized transactions.
In an interview, 93-1 Movement president Emily Mal to thanked the City for the development. She said the homeowners’ next move is to discuss their payment obligations with the City.
“Sukad pa kaniadto, wa gyud sila maglubad sa pagsuporta namo. Labaw sa tanan, ni Mayor Tomas Osmeña kay siya gyud ang nag-push nga makuha ni na lote,” she said. (RTF)