NO EVICTION or demolition will occur for occupants of the 93-1 lots in Cebu City, Mayor-elect Nestor Archival assured on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
Archival and Governor-elect Pamela Baricuatro said in a news forum Tuesday that they will honor the 2016 memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the land swap deal between the Cebu City Government and the Provincial Government.
“We have an agreement for the exchange. If there’s harmony between the City and the Province, the land swap will proceed,” Archival said.
Baricuatro and Archival won their respective offices in the recent midterm elections.
The MOA, signed by then mayor Tomas Osmeña and then governor Hilario Davide III, seeks to resolve the decades-long dispute over 51 hectares of provincial lots in 11 Cebu City barangays — Busay, Luz, Lahug, Mabolo, Apas, Lorega, Kasambagan, Capitol Site, Tejero, Kamputhaw and Kalunasan.
Under Provincial Ordinance 93-1, enacted in 1993, residents were allowed to buy the provincial lots they occupy.
The 2016 MOA stipulated that the Province would transfer to the City 32 hectares of these 93-1 lots, along with 1.5 hectares in the Department of Agriculture compound on M. Velez St., 2,358 square meters on Gorordo Ave. in Barangay Lahug and 577 square meters on Don Gil Garcia St. in Barangay Capitol Site.
In exchange, the City offered 2.5 hectares in the South Road Properties (SRP), 3.3 hectares behind SM City Cebu in Barangay Mabolo, 2.5 hectares for a botanical garden behind SM Seaside City Cebu in the SRP, nine hectares in Barangay Pulpogan in Consolacion, 1.37 hectares with a septage treatment plant, a 2,476-square-meter lot where the city abattoir stands and rights to the city zoo.
Socialized housing
In the news forum, Archival said the lots will be sold to beneficiaries under an affordable socialized housing scheme.
The City will not use the zonal valuation set by Pag-Ibig Fund, according to Archival.
Pag-Ibig Fund, which was tapped by Garcia to facilitate the direct sale of the lots, appraised the properties at P51,000 to P70,000 per square meter. At least 16 beneficiaries have completed their loan applications as of April 2, with the Capitol receiving checks amounting to P22.3 million.
“We will sit down with the homeowners and we will set the price. We will put a price on what we call the Urban Housing Act on Socialized Housing prices,” Archival said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
Emily Malto, president of the 93-1 Movement, welcomed Archival’s assurance. She said many urban poor residents have lived on 93-1 lots for over three decades. Last March 5, Malto told SunStar Cebu that financial constraints and documentary requirements prevented many from qualifying for Pag-Ibig Fund loans.
The 2016 deal was formalized through a deed of donation and acceptance in November 2018.
Garcia, after winning the governorship in 2019, abandoned the agreement due to alleged discrepancies flagged by the Commission on Audit and pursued a partnership with the Pag-Ibig Fund to sell the lots directly to qualified occupants.
In March 2024, the Provincial Board revoked the MOA and related deeds, citing defects in the lot donations and failed negotiations.
On March 3, 2025, Garcia issued Memorandum 21-2025, setting a final deadline of March 7 for occupants of 93-1 lots to complete their loan applications with Pag-Ibig Fund or lose their chance to secure ownership.
The governor said failure to meet this deadline would be “deemed as a forfeiture of the opportunity” to avail themselves of the program, and any remaining unprocessed applications would no longer be entertained.
Despite the Provincial Government’s moves, Archival said the land swap remains valid and binding.
He said the City had already turned over titles to several lots, including Lot 27 in the SRP and properties in Consolacion.
In exchange, the Province was to transfer the 93-1 lots to the City, according to Archival.
Baricuatro, for her part, said she will honor the previous administration’s agreements and will coordinate with Archival to finalize the land swap, adding that her legal team was already reviewing the MOA. / EHP