UP urged to salvage investments in Tacloban property

The University of the Philippines (UP) has not only been missing on the use of a P33.75 million worth of property in Tacloban City donated more than a decade ago, but has also been losing more than P300,000 in security cost annually due to its non-utilization because of the geological hazard its poses, the Commission on Audit (COA) said in a report.

With the meager budget of the premier state university, the COA has recommended to the UP administration to come up with ways to salvage its investments in the property, including the millions of pesos spent on a dormitory and administration building there.

“Donated land and buildings and structures valued at P33.75 million... remained unutilized due to an existing geological hazard on the location, resulting in its continued deterioration and incurrence of P372,000 yearly expense to secure the property,” the COA report stated.

The property, according to COA, was donated by the Department of Health to the UP Manila-School of Health Sciences (UPM-SHS) in April 1994.

The property sits on two parcels of land in Barangays Bagacay and Cabalawan in Tacloban City, covering more than a hundred square meters to be used by the UPM-SHS.

Part of the donation was an unfinished three-story building with a floor area of 3,500 square meters originally intended to be a regional medical center of the DOH. The building was valued at P28 million.

Funded under the Congressional Initiatives Allocations dated July 1997 and March 1998 amounting to P5.75 million, an SHS step ladder dormitory and administration building were constructed in the area.

But a study of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources submitted in July 1999 pointed out the geological hazards of the property.

“The team of geologists recommended in its report that measures to mitigate the geo-hazard risks should be implemented prior to the total utilization of the surveyed property,” the COA report stated.

The UP administration’s “lack of specific and concrete plans,” according to the report, caused the deterioration of the structures and the university having to spend P372,000 yearly to secure the property.

In its comment, the UP management reasoned that the administration of UP Manila has not used the property because of a geological assessment that the “structure sits near a major fault line and is prone to earthquakes and landslides.” 

According to the university, the total cost of mitigating the risks has been placed at around P15 million.

The UP-Manila requested the amount last year, but the allocation was disapproved.

Add to this, the building also does not have necessary documents like a building permit or plan either from the Department of Public Works and Highways or the Department of Health and an environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The university added that past unauthorized quarrying at the basal slope of the ridge adjacent to the property has resulted in rock falls, further emphasizing the geological hazards in the area.

Officials of UP-Manila informed UP president Emerlinda Roman in August 2006 of its resolve not to use the property because of the geological risks. 

The UP-Manila officials cited two options: retain the property without using it and just have it listed as an asset of the state university or entirely give up the property and return it to the DOH.

Dr. Zoraida Leopando, vice chancellor for planning and development of UP-Manila, said the UP Board of Regents last year decided on which option to take.

Leopando, however, could not reveal what the decision was pending a meeting with the DOH.

“There’s nothing final yet (as it will) depend on what the DOH will say,” Leopando told The STAR in an interview.

Since the property was donated to the UP by the DOH, both two parties should reach a consensus.

The meeting, however, has not been set, Leopando said.

Under the contract, Leopando, however, said the property should be returned if the university fails to use it.