City may have to evict settlers in private lot

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday said the city may be forced to evict the urban poor families occupying the 2,856-square meter lot owned by the Ortega family in barangay Hipodromo unless they can pay the price of the lot amounting to P31.4 million.

Osmeña believes that the said group of urban poor families cannot afford to pay such an expensive amount and he may be forced to evict them even if it is against his intentions.

He said the city will just give “disturbance fees” to the affected families who will be evicted from the lots owned by couple Ciriaco and Arminda Ortega, but Osmeña did not say how much the city will give to each of the affected families.

It was Osmeña who ordered to expropriate the Ortega lot in 1994 after the Ortega couple managed to secure an ejectment order from the court directing the illegal settlers of their lot to vacate from the place.

While Osmeña was very eager to expropriate the lot, he later sought to back out from negotiations after the Regional Trial Court set the price of the lot at P11,000 per square meter, which he described as too expensive for the urban poor families.

After the eviction of the concerned families, Osmeña plans to convert the place into a mini-market as one way to clear the entrance leading to the barangay from M.J. Cuenco Ave. that is congested with ambulant vendors.

A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the Cebu City government cannot withdraw from the expropriation proceedings to purchase the Ortega lot even if Osmeña described the P31.4-million price of the lot as too high for the urban poor.

The Supreme Court’s 3rd Division ruled that the order of the RTC setting the lot price at P11,000 per square meter has long been final and executory.

The records showed that the Ortega couple owns a 5,712-square meter lot in Hipodromo, but about half of their lot is occupied by squatters that prompted the owner to file an ejectment case in court against the illegal occupants and the court rendered a decision in favor of the Ortegas.

The city only appropriated P3,284,400 for the lot or P1,150 per square meter.

Before the SC ruling came out, there was a sort of compromise agreement that had been agreed in principle by the city officials and the Ortegas wherein the latter will no longer push through with the execution of the order for payment, but with the collateral obligation by the city to clear the property of squatters and relocate them. – Rene U. Borromeo/BRP   (FREEMAN NEWS)