Palma seeks dismissal of case

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma sought the dismissal of the injunction case filed by a couple over a road right-of-way.

Spouses Adora and Michael Casey had filed cases for injunction and damages against Palma, the Holy Cross Parish in Basak, Cebu City and parish priest Henrietto Visitacion.

However, Palma and his co-defendants denied that there was a road right-of-way adjacent to the lot of the couple.

“The road right-of-way is located on the opposite side. When facing from the main highway, the road right of way is located on the left side,” Palma said in his counter affidavit.

He added that they hired an engineer to survey the lot, which confirmed their stand.

“The existence of an alleged right of way, located at the right side of 5754-C-5-A, as now claimed by the plaintiffs to be four meters wide, was never in existence,” they said.

Meanwhile, the defendants asked P200,000 from the couple for moral damages due to the unwarranted filing of the case that besmirched their reputation.

They also asked for P50,000 in attorney’s fee and P20,000 for litigation fees.

The couple bought a parcel of lot in Barangay Basak which was adjacent to the lot owned by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cebu.

The couple said before they bought the said lot, they had the assurance from the former owners of the said property of a four-meter road right-of-way.

However, the couple alleged, the parish priests of Basak ordered the construction of a concrete wall that traverses the road right-of-way starting from the main road.

“The construction of the concrete fence has effectively narrowed the passage to about one meter wide - barely enough for two persons to pass through side by side and an impossible route for a four-wheeled vehicle,” the couple stated.  (FREEMAN)