Cebu City offers half of P6M in interest sought by lot owners

Cebu City lawyers yesterday offered to pay the families of Matilde Palicte half of the P6 million they demanded as interest of the principal for the lot in barangay Capitol Site the city appropriated for its urban poor project in 2001.

 In yesterday’s scheduled hearing of the city attorney’s motion to lift the court’s garnishment order against the city’s funds in at least four depository banks of the Cebu City government, city legal officer Joseph Bernaldez proposed an amicable settlement of the issue if the city grants them P3 million out of the demanded interest.

But when the counsel of the heirs of Palicte asked Bernaldez if he was authorized to enter into such agreement with the lot owners without the authority of the Cebu City Council Bernaldez quickly said he plans to inform either Mayor Tomas Osmeña or Vice Mayor Michael Rama of the proposal.

The city is willing to pay only for the original amount of the lots amounting to P14 million, but because the heirs of Palicte wanted the city to also pay P6 million in interest, further delaying the payment of the lots that even prompted the court to freeze about P20.6 million of city’s assets in four depository banks to be used as payment for the expropriated lot.

Regional Trial Court Branch 9 judge Geraldine Econg was already ready to rule whether or not to grant the city’s motion to hold in abeyance the garnishment order of the city’s assets in bank, but acting city attorney Rodolfo Golez asked the court to suspend the issuance of the ruling.

Econg granted the request of Golez that he be given a few more days to submit his additional written arguments to convince the court that ordering for the garnishment of the city’s funds in its depository banks is illegal.

Bernaldez said they have already requested the officials of the city’s depository banks not to garnish whatever deposits the city has because they are still negotiating with the lot owners for a possible amicable settlement.

The city officials had requested the heirs of Palicte to waive the P6.2 million in interest that they want to collect and promised to immediately pay the P14 million balance.

The heirs of Palicte claimed that while their parents were religiously paying the real property taxes to the city, the city did not pay them the amount on time that is why it already earned interest.  The lot is now occupied by some 170 families who are beneficiaries of the city’s on-site development project.  — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP