Province to hand over more 93-1 deeds of sale

CEBU ­– Two hundred more beneficiaries of Provincial Ordinance 93-1 will be receiving the deed of absolute sale from Capitol for the lots that they have been occupying.

Capitol consultant on information and revenue generation Rory Jon Sepulveda yesterday said the province is now reviewing the cases of the close 200 occupants that will receive the title before the end of the first quarter of this year.

Last October, Garcia personally distributed 83 of the 219 Deeds of Absolute Sale to residents in barangays covered by the controversial ordinance.

A month later, 134 more deeds were released.

Sepulveda also urged Cebu City Administrator Francisco ‘Bimbo’ Fernandez to come up with a formal proposal on his pronouncement that the city would act as collector for the province.

Sepulveda said the province will be willing to entertain, but the city government must present first their proposal.

The consultant said that he is worried that this might again bring back the comment about the province receiving the money without working hard for it, which added fuel to the rift between the two local government units.

Capitol, Sepulveda said, was an “equitable human solution” to this problem and will not resort to outright eviction.

The nightmare of the more than 4,000 beneficiaries began when Governor Gwendolyn Garcia announced 2004 that Capitol would retrieve province-owned lots pursuant to Provincial Ordinance 93-1 enacted by the Provincial Board 15 years ago.

The lots covered by the 93-1 ordinance are distributed in barangays Apas, Luz, Kamputhaw, Capitol Site, Busay, T. Padilla, Kalunasan, Lorega San Miguel, Mabolo, Kasambagan and Tejero. They have a total saleable area of 435,991 square meters.

Originally, 4,358 homeowners are covered by the ordinance but only 219 were granted ownership by the committee after review.

It was on February 3, 1993 when the Provincial Board passed Resolution No. 239-93, which enacted Ordinance No. 93-1.

Supported by then Governor Vicente de la Serna, the ordinance laid down the policies and guidelines for the disposition of province-owned lots occupied and or used by other people or institutions. 

At first, the ordinance only allowed interested buyers to pay for the lots in 24 months or two years, on an installment basis.

On January 2, 1995, however, Resolution No. 2449-94 amended the ordinance and extended the payment period to 60 months or five years.

It was amended yet again on June 10, 1999 during the term of then Governor Pablo Garcia who agreed that another 60 months or five years be added to the payment period for as long as it would not exceed May 31, 2004.

But despite of the two extensions, majority of the beneficiaries failed to pay for the lots they are occupying. — Garry B. Lao/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)