Get a loan or face ejectment: ‘Ultimatum’ for OPRRA

CEBU, Philippines — Occupants of the Capitol-owned lots at the Old Philippine Railway Residents Association (Oprra) Inc. in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City have until March 31 to secure a loan from Pag-IBIG for the acquisition of the properties they occupy otherwise an ejectment case would be filed against them.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia issued the ultimatum to the residents of OPRRA during a meeting at the Capitol Social Hall last Thursday, February 23.

Garcia said residents have until the end of March to decide before the Capitol would start issuing demand letters and eventually take necessary legal action to compel the non-paying occupants to vacate the property.

"Kadtong mga nisunod kuyog mo'g ingon uy alis kayo dyan (those who did not pay) kay kami diri nag tinarong kamo gusto mo mamintaha. Ug inyong huna-huna di nako na buhaton (filing a case), kaila na baya mo nako wa gyud ko mag lipud-lipud, buotan ko kung buotan sad mo," said Garcia.

[Those who obey you have to join in telling those who refuse to pay to get out of the area because you are taking advantage of it. If you think I would not do it, you already know me. I am good for those who also do good.]

During a meeting with the homeowners associations last January, Garcia agreed not to increase the 2019 appraisal value of the lots at P11,000 per square meter to give the residents a chance to buy the properties they occupy through a loan from Pag-IBIG.

OPRRA has three homeowners associations--Old Philippine Railway Homeowners Association (OPRHA), Actual Occupants and Residents of Oprra Kalunasan Inc. (AOROK), and Oprra United Homeowners Association (OUHA)—with about 300 members.

However, Only 100 out of the 300 homeowners have shown interest to apply for a loan while only 35 have met the requirements and 18 have expressed their intent to pay in cash.

The governor clarified that those who will pay in cash could not avail of a discounted rate based on the Economic Enterprise Council's (EEC) decision.

Long Overdue

It was in 1971 when the provincial government relocated the residents from old Philippine railway to Barangay Kalunasan after then governor Osmundo Rama sold the lots they occupy to the Aznar family.

The residents then were assured that the property where they were relocated to will be sold to them. On June 7, 1971, the provincial government signed a sales agreement for 11 parcels of land in favor of OPRRA Inc. at a price of P10 per square meter.

After 10 years, a controversy occurred when then governor Eduardo Gullas issued deeds of sale to some homeowners who had directly paid to the Capitol bypassing the association which had earlier granted the right to handle the disposal of the lots.

OPRRA Inc. then sought the court’s intervention to prevent the provincial government from issuing deed of sale directly to the homeowners. When the late governor Pablo Garcia, Gwen’s father, took the helm at the Capitol in 1994, he tried to come up with a compromise agreement but did not solve the problem as well.

Before his term ended in 2004, the elder Garcia signed deeds of absolute sale for some lots occupied by OPRRA members who had been living there for 33 years.

On April 16, 2012, the Cebu Provincial Board, through Resolution 593-2012, terminated the 1971 sales agreement after the provincial government found out that the association and its members did not comply with the provisions of the agreement they entered into with the Capitol.

On September 10 of the same year, AOROK signed a memorandum of agreement with the provincial government indicating that selling, transferring, and conveying to AOROK the remaining sold and saleable subdivided lots containing a total area of 40,560 square meters was allowed.

In January 2020, Gwen told the homeowners to negotiate directly with Pag-IBIG to settle their over 50 years old obligation to the province.- FPL (FREEMAN)