Residents ask Magpale’s aid

CEBU, Philippines - The Old Philippine Railway Residents Association (OPRRA), Inc. of Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City, is requesting acting Governor Agnes Magpale for the recall of a Provincial Board resolution that was earlier approved during the term of suspended Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

PB Resolution No. 593-2012 dated Apr. 16, 2012 approved the recommendation of the committee on provincial and municipal properties to terminate the sales agreement between OPRRA, Inc. in favor of another association called the Actual Occupants and Residents ofOPRRA Kalunasan (AOROK), Inc.

The said resolution also authorized Garcia to enter into a memorandum of agreement with members of AOROK, Inc. for the sale of the remaining parcels of land occupied by members of OPRRA, Inc.

In his letter dated Jan. 29, 2013, OPRRA, Inc. President Francisco Pintor Jr. asked Magpale for the revocation of the said agreement earlier entered into by the Province of Cebu.

Magpale’s endorsement of the said request was referred to the PB committee on laws headed by its chairman Board Member Peter John Calderon.

OPRRA, Inc. earlier filed a civil case against Garcia, Provincial attorney Marino Martinquilla, the Provincial Board and the officials of AOROK, Inc. represented by Jack Rallos.

The complainant claimed that Garcia refused to continue signing the remaining deeds of absolute sale in favor of OPRRA because the AOROK offered to buy the lot at a fair market value.

The complainant said that since 1967 they have been occupying the 11 parcels of land owned by the Capitol in Kalunasan.

They claimed that their possession of the lots was based on the sales agreement entered into by their former president Francisco Pintor with the provincial government.

On June 7, 2005 the governor started signing the deeds of absolute sale in favor of the members of OPRRA, Inc.

The governor signed a total of 143 deeds of absolute sale until December 2010.

However, when OPRRA Inc. officials met with Garcia to ask her to sign the remaining deeds of absolute sale, the governor did not sign them anymore.

It was allegedly because another residents’ organization offered to buy the lot in a fair market value.

AOROK offered to buy the lot occupied by each of its member at P3,273.33 per square meter.

The OPRRA Inc. members only offered to buy the lot at P10 per square meter because of the sales agreement that the organization has previously entered into with the Capitol.

The complainant also asked the court to nullify the memorandum of agreement between the Province of Cebu and AOROK and to recall the order of termination of sales agreement between them and the Province of Cebu.—/BRP (FREEMAN)