Urban poor group says Capitol’s counter offer is unconstitutional

CEBU, Philippines – The Alliance of National Urban Poor Assembly Inc.-Cebu and beneficiaries of the Provincial Ordinance 93-1 believe that the counter-proposal of the Capitol in resolving the 22-year-old issue is “unconstitutional.”

In a press conference yesterday, ANUPAI-Cebu second nominee Evangeline Abejo said the Cebu Provincial Board is not solving the issue with its mandate which is to serve, adding that it’s just doing business.

“Maka-consider ta nga unconstitutional kay kun maghisgot og tubo, more on business siya. Ang mandate sa atong mga local government unit kay serbisyo ug angay nilang tan-awon ang kahimtang sa mga tao kon makabayad ba kini sa ilang gihatag nga presyo,” she said.

The city government earlier expressed intention to the Cebu province to pay P500 million for the province-owned lots occupied by city residents under Ordinance 93-1.

The Capitol has agreed for the P500 million offer of the city. However, the Capitol wanted to add a prime property at the North Reclamation Area in its counter-proposal.

Citing that the P500 million offer is “not enough” to compensate the 32-hectare unpaid lots under Ordinance 93-1, the Capitol asked the city government to have the 3.3-hectare area in NRA worth P1.3 billion or a portion of lot at the South Road Properties.

Abejo said the issue should have already been resolved had the Capitol agreed to the memorandum of agreement proposed by the city government.

“Ang katong MOA, naestoryahan nato ni Governor (Hilario) Davide ug Mayor (Michael) Rama. Kun dako og kantidad sa yuta, maglisod pud og bayad ang mga benepisaryo. Ang yuta is beyond the commerce of man,” she said.

Bebe Baleriano, a beneficiary of Ordinance 93-1 in Barrio Luz, appealed to both local government units to give the lots to the city residents and not to include politics in the negotiation.

“Ang original price sa unpaid nga yuta kay P187 million ra unta pero nisugot si Mayor Rama nga himuon og P500 million, pahinumdom lang unta nga dili na angay dungagan og yuta pa kay ang benepisaryo wala’y ikabayad ana,” she said.

Abejo said she got a document from the Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor that at least P232 million is the worth of the unpaid lots in the area.  The Ordinance 93-1 covers 4,364 home lots in the Barangays Kamputhaw, Capitol Site, Kalunasan, Busay, Luz, Lahug, Mabolo, Apas, Lorega-San Miguel, Kasambagan, and Tejero.

Abejo asked Rama to intervene on their behalf by filing a complaint before the court after the “excessive” proposal of the Capitol.

“Ang atong mayor adunay power of imminent domain, puwede siya mokiha sa korte nga ipa-assess ang yuta kay lain ang assessment sa yuta sa private ug sa public. Mura man nuon og ang presyo sa 93-1 nga yuta kay pribado siya,” she said.

She said the members of the Provincial Board and the City Council should help in the negotiation before it’s too late and before their term ends next year.

Rama has yet to meet with Davide and other concerned officials to discuss the Capitol’s counter-proposal. —/FPL (FREEMAN)