AFTER almost three years of legal tussle over the ownership of Paskuhan Village, Premier Central Inc., (PCI) and the City Government of San Fernando have finally reached a compromise.
City Administrator Atlee Viray on Monday, January 27, said PCI has agreed to give a 5,000-square meter portion of the Christmas-inspired village for the city government here to develop.
It also vowed to donate a two-story building and an amphitheater inside the said property, Viray added.
According to Viray, the development can be considered a win for Fernandinos and a singular achievement for the current administration of Mayor Edwin Santiago as it provided a more prompt and reasonable solution to the city government’s concern of preserving the tourism landmark.
“The property was already sold to a private company and the only thing we are holding on to is the right to first refusal. It was the sole basis of Mayor Edwin Santiago to urge Congressman (Aurelio) Dong Gonzales, Jr. to bring the matter to court,” Viray said.
“However, it will take years before we’ll get a final decision from the Supreme Court. The significance of Paskuhan Village might totally be forgotten by then so we had to make a choice,” he added.
He also said PCI initially offered a 200-square meter portion from the property only but Santiago was able to negotiate up to 5,000.
Santiago, for his part, said the location of the donated portion is at the iconic star-inspired building which was once the center of Paskuhan Village.
He said the City Government is set to re-develop the property into a year-round lantern village that will showcase Fernandino’s artistry in parol (lantern)-making.
He added that the property will also serve as a venue to showcase the famous Kapampangan cuisine to local and foreign tourists.
“San Fernando is a city for Fernandinos and fellow Kapampangans and we wanted to provide the platform in promoting our province’s culture and heritage and Paskuhan Village will be the perfect venue for that,” he said.
Santiago vowed to maximize the use of Paskuhan Village in further preserving the city and province’s culture and heritage, and strengthen its brand as Home of the Giant Lanterns, and Christmas and Culinary Capital of the Philippines.
PCI, a subsidiary of SM Prime Holdings Corporation, was able to purchase the 9.3 hectare property from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority for almost P1 billion five years ago.
In 2017, Gonzales and Santiago, through the assistance of the Office of Solicitor General, moved to revoke the sale on the grounds of violating the tourism code.