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CEBU, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay was in Cebu yesterday hoping to find a “happy compromise” on the plight of the occupants of province-owned lots in Cebu City, but South District Rep. Tomas Osmeña said that there will never be a solution as long as Governor Gwendolyn Garcia is in power.
Osmeña thanked Binay, who is also chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, for putting pressure on Garcia to release the deed of sale of occupants who have already fully-paid their obligations to the provincial government.
“I do not foresee any universal solution to this problem until the governor is changed from office,” Osmeña said.
Osmeña attended a luncheon meeting with homeowners associations covered by Provincial Ordinance 93-1.
Binay, Mayor Michael Rama, former Rep. Raul del Mar, and officials of other shelter agencies were also present in the meeting.
Osmeña also hit Rama when he recalled how the then vice mayor compromised the land swap deal that he tried to negotiate with Capitol.
In a privilege speech at the city council, Rama called the provincial officials as “dawat limpyo” in the deal as the city will be the one to collect the payment of the beneficiaries. The proposal was to give the province parcels of land owned by the city at the North Reclamation Area.
“The issue here now is not whether we can make a happy compromise. The issue here now is the credibility of whether the governor will be willing as she has agreed already with a land swap to come up with any kind of compromise,” Osmeña said.
Irrelevant
Commenting on the statement of Osmeña, Capitol consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda said that the congressman is an “irrelevant person trying to be relevant on the matter.”
“There are persons whose interest really is not the resolution of the issue but to promote own interest,” Sepulveda said.
Sepulveda has been tasked by Garcia to sit down with Cebu City Administrator Jose Mari Poblete to discuss the resolution of the 93-1 issue.
Sepulveda is hoping that the discussion be geared towards early resolution of the issue and not to go far.
Meeting
Binay met members of the homeowners associations yesterday to ask their ideas and suggestions on how to come up with a solution following the move of the Capitol for a just compensation of the properties involved.
“Help us to come up with happy compromise in so far as your interest is concerned,” Binay said.
The 93-1 Movement composed of 43 homeowners associations submitted to Binay a copy of their joint resolution requesting Garcia to dispose the occupied province-owned lots to the program beneficiaries before her term ends.
There were 5,000 urban poor households covered by Provincial Ordinance 93-1 but only 1,410 occupants have fully paid while 1,215 have partially paid until the provisions expired in 2004.
The movement asked that payment of those who partially paid that was forfeited be considered as advance payment and the valuation of the unpaid area shall be subjected to 50 percent increase as set in the ordinance while 75 percent for those who have not paid.
While the Province of Cebu offered the current market value of the property, Sitio Anagan Homeowners Association in barangay Apas, Cebu City president Emily Malto said the group agreed to request Garcia to sell to them at the original price.
“Current market value is not good for the urban poor,” she said.
Malto signified that they are willing to pay the six percent per annum interest for the past 10 years if they are asked to.
Binay assured occupants to come up with a solution considering also the position of the Province of Cebu.
“We are on the process of getting all the ideas and suggestions that solve the problem,” Binay added.
Abaca
Members of the Alliance of Barangay Apas Community Associations, Inc. found new hope to hold on to from the promises of Vice President Binay, who vowed to have their case be looked into and worked on until they have come up with an appropriate solution.
Though the vice president did not promise anything concrete at the moment, ABACA members said that the gesture alone of holding a dialogue with the affected families is enough for them to think that they are being taken care of.
Binay was in Cebu yesterday to meet the representatives of the eight homeowners associations occupying the province owned lot in barangay Apas, this city.
The vice president heard the sentiments of the affected families and told them that yesterday will not be the first and the last dialogue that will be conducted.
“This shall not end here. We request all of you to give us proposals that help us face the obstacles that’s preventing us from coming up with a solution,” Binay said.
But residents said that the former Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council Chairman also promised them the same thing but nothing happened.
“Huwag po kayong mag-alala. Si Jejomar Binay po ang kaharap nyo,” Binay said citing a similar case that they were able to solve in Makati when he was still the city’s mayor.
Marlene Paracueles, ABACA president said that they know it will again be a long process, but they are pinning their hopes to the president, which is their only choice at the moment.
She said that the case their filed in court is still pending because the assigned Judge was recently transferred to the Court of Appeals.
Rep. Osmeña said that the efforts made by the vice president so far are encouraging. “He’s doing the job very well.”
Binay said that in the case of ABACA residents, they will still study the circumstances surrounding and digest all inputs to come up with a solution.
He said that it may not happen overnight since they are starting from scratch but it will definitely have a closure.
The lot, comprising of 18 parcels, being occupied by ABACA members is part of the 47 parcels of lot covering 80 hectares that the Provincial Capitol, through then governor Jose Briones donated to the military in 1959 to be used as a military reserve.
However, the then Visayas Command only used a portion of the property. In 2003, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared some 32 hectares of the 80 hectares as a socialized housing site under Presidential Proclamation 409.
PP 409 was created so the military personnel assigned in the command can build their houses near the camp and get to live with their families again.
In 2007 however, the Provincial Government announced its plan to claim the lots back since it is no longer being used as a military camp.
In October of the same year, the province signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of National Defense, the Department of environment and Natural Resources and the HUDCC where the DND agrees to transfer the military and the HUDCC agreed to the terms of capitol to relocate the residents if not to be evicted.
In 2008, the province created a Technical Working Group to study the case then came up with a relocation scheme which the residents strongly opposed.
Paracueles said that the province proposed to relocate them in an area with a danger area because it is a rolling terrain covering only 10.8 hectares.
In 2009, the province, the DND and DENR finally signed the MOA giving back the ownership of the lots to the province. A month after this in November 2009, the residents, represented Osmeña filed a case against the province to protect the eviction and displacement of the families. — With Jessica Ann R. Pareja/NLQ (FREEMAN)
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