QC Council rescinds Paref school land deal

The 26-member Quezon City Council virtually rescinded Tuesday a controversial P1-billion land deal the administration of former Mayor Mel Mathay had forged with the exclusive Paref-Northfield school for boys.

Fourth District Councilor Ariel Inton, who authored the resolution calling off the deal, said the rescission of the contract was made easier by the decision of the school to back out of it and the subdivision developer’s decision to withdraw support for it.

The Council approved on second reading Inton’s resolution. "It’s good as approved on third reading," said the councilor. "Traditionally, a unanimous vote on second reading means no more than a pro forma third reading."

Last Feb. 14, school authorities wrote Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. about their decision to discontinue the project to develop a 3.1 hectare subdivision lot in Green Meadows Subdivision owned by the city government.

The school officials said they could not go on with the project because the subdivision developer, Ortigas and Company, has withdrawn support for it. But officials of the Paref-Northfield private school for boys still insisted the deal it struck with the Mathay administration was above board, saying if circumstances would be "more favorable" in the future, it would be willing "to revisit the project."

"...(And) while we always believe in the project’s noble worth, we will request the Quezon City government that Paref-Northfield school be freed from obligations of the (agreement)...," the Paref officials said in the letter.

The Quezon City Council uncovered alleged irregularities in the memorandum of agreement entered into by the Mathay administration and Paref-Northfield.

The MOA gave the exclusive school for boys the authority to use the 3.1-hectare city property over a 50-year period, rent-free. The MOA also allowed the school to mortgage the property or use it as collateral with private banks. In return, the school would give scholarships to 200 disadvantaged children. Inton said that the deal was anomalous as it was beneficial only to the school.

The current City Council, many of whose members voted to approve the MOA, was compelled to open an investigation after residents of Green Meadows Subdivision expressed strong opposition to the construction of the school in the vicinity, citing its adverse effect on the traffic flow in the area.