City willing to settle with couple that lost lot to SRP

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday said the City of Cebu is always willing to face its obligation if a couple from Talisay City can prove that part of their lot was affected by the South Reclamation Project and has now become part of the South Road Properties.

But Osmeña said his office has not yet received the documents related to the civil case for recovery of possession of real property or payment of just compensation filed by Alfero Bagano and wife Marita before the Regional Trial Court against the then Metro Cebu Development Project and the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The mayor said once he will receive the court documents he will immediately turn these over to the city legal office for further study and let the city lawyers represent the city in all the court proceedings relative to the case.

The Bagano couple claimed that they own Lots 783-B-16 (127 square meters) and Lot 783-B-13 (148 square meters), but the government failed to pay them the just compensation of the smaller lot which was only worth P222,000 in 1998 based on the market value of the land at P1,500 per square meter.

Aside from the lots claimed by the Bagano couple, the city also paid the just compensation of the property owned by businessman Roque Ting that was also affected by the SRP.

The mayor told the reporters last week that although some parts of the reclaimed properties were underwater when the reclamation project was undertaken in 1998, he believes that these were titled properties but these slowly became part of the sea maybe because of huge waves.

The SRP consist of 295 hectares of reclaimed lots that are now worth P8,000 to P15,000 per square meter.

The city already sold to SM Prime Holdings Corp. the 34.4 hectares of SRP lands in Mambaling side at P2.7 billion, while another 10 hectares of lots was also sold by the city to Filinvest Land Inc. at P1.5 billion in staggered payments.

Apart from the 10 hectares of lands that was purchased by the Filinvest Land Inc., another 40 hectares are also subject to a joint venture agreement where the city will receive 10 percent out of the gross income of the joint venture business. — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP   (FREEMAN NEWS)