Bongbong disputes Singson claim to Payanig property

MANILA, Philippines - The 18.4-hectare Payanig sa Pasig property that former Ilocos Sur governor Luis “Chavit” Singson is claiming belongs to the Marcos family, Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said over the weekend.

Singson’s claim that he is the owner of the property “has no basis in fact and in law,” the only son of the late strongman said in a statement, reacting to a story published in The STAR last May 19 which quoted the former governor as saying he was laying claim to the lot surrendered by businessman Jose Campos to the government during the Aquino administration.

The lot is suspected to be part of the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.

With Malacanang’s approval, the Presidential Commission on Good Government had entered into a long-term lease agreement with Singson covering the property, where commercial buildings have been constructed, according to the statement.

The controversial former governor now serves as deputy national security adviser of President Arroyo.

Marcos said Singson’s assertion that he owns the Ortigas lot is “yet another attempt by certain individuals to deprive the heirs of (his father) of their rightful claims to property and other assets.”

“As we have been victimized before, so we are being victimized again by people trying to take advantage of the non-resolution of this decades-old case before the courts,” he said.

“This plot will not succeed. We have all the documents to prove our claim to ownership, and we are confident that the law and our courts will sustain us,” Marcos added.

He urged Singson to present the documents to the Sandiganbayan, where the issue of ownership of the lot is pending, to prove his assertion.

Marcos said Singson is claiming the property based on a joint venture agreement the former Ilocos governor and a firm named Blemp Inc. entered into with Estrellita Marinas and Benedicto Parchamento.

Marinas and Parchamento supposedly acquired the Ortigas lot from Campos, president of Mid-Pasig Land Development Corp., on Oct. 15, 1971.

Marcos said there are no documents in either the Sandiganbayan or the Registry of Deeds of Pasig reflecting the sale to Marinas and Parchamento on Oct. 15, 1971 “or on any other date whatsoever” and the title to the property issued to Campos’ Mid-Pasig Land was issued in 1974.

He said he checked with the Securities and Exchange Commission and that there is no business entity named Blemp, Blemp Inc. or Blemp Commerical, Inc.

He said he also checked with the National Statistics Office and found that Marinas and Parchamento do not exist. – Jess Diaz