Claimant to "recover" Citicenter

CEBU, Philippines - The owner of the Sto. Niño de Cebu Developers Inc., who earlier claimed ownership of the Citicenter Commercial Complex in barangay Kamagayan, vowed to recover the property from the Cebu City Government who also asserted ownership of the lot and the building.

Baldomero C. Falcone, the claimant, reiterated that his company won the bidding conducted by the Development Bank of the Philippines. He mentioned some lawyers who he said were with him when they participated during the open public bidding. Falcone said he did not see even the shadow of a single a city government representative in the bidding.

Falcone even blamed the city government for its failure to clear the property of informal settlers. He said the city government was allegedly preventing the business establishments occupying the area to pay their rent to them, the original owners.

The Citicenter Commercial Complex is in a 7,281-square meter property in barangay Kamagayan.

Currently, a portion of the building is being used as the office of the Squatters Prevention and Encroachment Elimination Division while establishments and informal settlers continue to occupy the rest.

Falcone said his company will do its best to halt the plan of the city government to develop their property.

He added that he had in fact, commissioned a famous designing office to design an enclave of 10 inexpensive high rise buildings to be built in the area soon. He said it will be sold to low-income earners in Kamagayan, including some Cebu City employees.

“You may say that plans are just plans. Excuse me, not so in our case. I have accessed a funded bank guarantee from the international bank Union Bank of Switzerland, to guarantee an international rated turnkey constructor to start and finish this new CITICENTER,” Falcone said.

The city government, through an opinion from the city legal office, asserted ownership of the property, supported by various documentary evidences.

Falcone’s company still did not present documentary evidence to support their claim.

The city acquired the property in 2003, through winning by default, in the public auction it conducted. The City Treasurer’s Office subjected the property to an auction after the owner failed to settle its tax obligations of over P1.8 million.

In 2008, the city paid the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. P14 million to settle the loan of the previous owner and to finally transfer the ownership of the lot to the city government.  (FREEMAN)