Capitol legal officer awaits guv's move on eviction case

Provincial legal officer Marino Martinquilla yesterday said he is awaiting instruction from Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on the eviction case to be filed against the occupants of the Capitol lots located in barangays Lahug and Luz.

Martinquilla said his office has all the necessary documents needed in the filing of the case as the 30-day eviction notice issued to at least 1,000 affected families in barangay Luz in August has already lapsed.

In addition, the same eviction notice issued last month to the affected residents in various sitios in barangay Lahug, including sitio Kamagong, is about to lapse anytime this month.

However, Martinquilla said he has yet to receive instruction from the governor to write a letter to the Provincial Board requesting authority for the governor to file the eviction case against the illegal occupants of Capitol lots under PB Ordinance No. 93-1.

The situation of the affected families were part of the talks on the aborted lot-swap deal offered by Mayor Tomas Osmeña shortly after the 2004 elections to save his constituents from being dislodged.

The Capitol has land properties located in 11 barangays in the city that were identified for socialized housing project by virtue of PB Ordinance No. 93-1.

But after several extensions of the amortization, a large number of the beneficiaries still have to pay their dues, prompting Garcia to veto a PB measure that would extend the amortization period in 2004.

This was in line with Garcia's thrust to recover previously donated lots of the provincial government in order for the Capitol to make them as "economic enterprises."

In view of the negative comment from the City Council regarding the proposed lot-swap deal, the governor opted to cancel the deal.

But Osmeña never gave up and repackaged his proposal by offering not only Lots 27-A and 27-B at the North Reclamation Area to the Capitol but also for the province to take over the management and operation of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).

The positive response from the CCMC personnel on the proposal has somehow gladdened the governor, who said "perhaps" she might accept the offer.

The governor said her desire to address the concerns of her poor provincial constituents regarding health care services would also "weigh heavily" in her ongoing talks with the city government over the CCMC takeover. - Cristina C. Birondo