BARANGAY Apas residents are collecting signatures to present to Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro this Monday, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s birthday, when both officials will sign the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the turn-over of the Central Command (Centcom) lot.
Residents and barangay officials will also hold a vigil on the eve of the governor’s 54th birthday outside the gate of Centcom to dramatize their objection to the signing of the MOA.
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Alliance of Barangay Apas Community Association (Abaca) president Ma. Linda Paracuelles also warned the signing of the MOA will have an “impact” on Teodoro’s presidential bid, especially with the soldiers who will be affected.
She said that the residents, particularly the soldiers, have spent a lifetime building their homes through loans, and do not have another lifetime to build another.
Barangay officials feared the return of the Centcom lot to the Cebu Province will “wipe out” the barangay, whose residents are mostly military men and their families.
“Dili ni ma-barangay ang Apas kung wala ang kampo sa Central Command. Mao bitaw Apas tungod sa mga asawa sa una nga mo-apas sa ilang mga bana nga na-assign diri,” said Barangay Captain Ramil Ayuman.
But Garcia assured that just like what happened to the beneficiaries of 93-1 lots, “no one will be left without a roof over their head.”
She also said that the Provincial Government’s objective is to make the area better, especially since it is prone to flooding.
The people, she said, will be given the right and basic facilities and proper infrastructure.
Swap
The Cebu Provincial Board (PB) authorized Garcia to enter into an agreement with Centcom, represented by Teodoro, to swap lands in a special session yesterday.
The land swap involves 80.7 hectares of lot owned by the Province, which they expect Centcom to return.
The 80-hectare Centcom lots were donated by Cebu Province on Oct. 12, 1959 and were expressly specified as a military reservation.
But portions were occupied by soldiers and their dependents that on June 23, 2003, President Gloria Arroyo declared 16 of the 47 lots as socialized housing sites.
Presidential Proclamation 409 declared “certain parcels of land situated in Barangay Apas, Cebu City as socialized housing sites under Republic Act 7279, otherwise known as the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.”
The 1,200 beneficiaries have asked that the land title, which is with the Centcom and the Capitol, be turned over to the National Housing Authority.
Fight
Last Oct. 12, 2008, however, the Provincial Government and Centcom officials signed a memorandum of understanding turning over the property back to Capitol.
Arroyo witnessed the signing of the agreement.
Ayuman said that if the camp goes, the soldiers would also have to leave the barangay, a big portion of which is owned by the Capitol.
In the petition, Ayuman and the signatories confront Teodoro for not siding with the Centcom soldiers and Apas residents.
In a related development, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday reiterated his assurance that he will fight the Capitol to advance the right of the urban poor.
Ayuman said they intend to have all Apas residents sign the petition, arguing that the people were not even consulted when the government agreed to have the Centcom lot reverted to the Province.
Osmeña last year asked President Arroyo to “honor her proclamation” that identified portions of the Centcom lots as socialized housing sites.
In yesterday’s PB session, PB Member Juan Bolo asked whether informal settlers will also be cleared from the Centcom compound.
Provincial Attorney Marino Martinquilla said that it is a separate matter to be threshed out with the Department of National Defense, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Mactan
Martinquilla also said Centcom’s administration building will not be destroyed.
Centcom, he said, asked the Province for lot 951, with a total land area of 5,920 square meters, so they won’t have to destroy the administration building.
It will be swapped with lot 1079, with a total land area of 7,559 square meters. Centcom will also give up lots 1108 and 1035 to match the Province’s property, with a combined land area of 669 square meters.
Part of the MOA says that Capitol will replicate buildings affected by its recovery of the properties at the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base, where Centcom will be transferred.
The swap is beneficial to both parties, he said.
Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez was concerned that Capitol will take away the parade grounds of the military, but Martinquilla explained that this will be transferred to Lapu-Lapu City.
Garcia, however, said she will deal with non-members of Abaca and families of former military personnel later.
She said Abaca has the personality since it is recognized by the HUDCC.
She said that she had already met with the Abaca officials and explained the province’s objective and its commitment to assist the group if they will will stay or will relocate to another province-owned lot, where Capitol will put up road networks and a drainage system.
After the property will be subdivided and distributed equitably to the beneficiaries, the Capitol, she said, will help them take out a loan through government financial institutions or through financing.
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