Province goes to court to recover TESDA lot

CEBU - The Province of Cebu has filed a civil case to eject the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) from the lot it is currently occupying.

The case was filed after the province failed in several attempts to recover the property via the diplomatic process.

The case was filed before the Municipal Trial Court in Cities to force TESDA to leave the 19,306-square-meter property.

The governor’s move to recover the property was supported by the provincial board in a resolution passed last August 4, authorizing Garcia to initiate the necessary legal action to ensure the recovery of the property.

In a four-page complaint, prepared by provincial attorney Marino Martinquilla, the provincial government asserted its ownership of the property at corner Archbishop Reyes Avenue and Salinas Drive.

The province claimed that it only tolerated TESDA’s occupation and possession of the property.

However, sometime in 2005 the province started asking TESDA to vacate the property because it will be used for other purposes.

The provincial government first sent a letter request in November 30, 2005, subsequent demand letters followed on January 6 and March 20, 2006, respectively.

However, the said letters were allegedly ignored by TESDA officials prompting the province to send its final letter on August 1, 2008.

But despite the demand letters TESDA director general Augusto Syjuco and region-7 director Rosanna Urdaneta allegedly refused to vacate the property.

The provincial government claimed that they have given TESDA 30 days to vacate the property in its final letter last August but nothing happened prompting them to elevate the issue to the court.

The province has asked the court to order TESDA to turn over and vacate the property. Capitol also denied rumors that the province intends to use the lot for a casino.

“We don’t want to dignify that rumor. It’s absolutely baseless,” said Capitol consultant on information and revenue generation Rory Jon Sepulveda.  

Sepulveda said the province has no intention of using the lot for a casino, but instead it’s part of efforts to consolidate provincial properties in the area that were subdivided by previous administrations and assigned to different users.

A day after the announcement of the plan to eject TESDA, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, in a text message from the United States, gave his assurance to the agency and all national government agencies occupying province-owned lots that the city will take legal action so they could stay.

“The eviction of TESDA to pave the way for a reported Casino is consistent with the governor’s anti-poor stance. And to think that most of TESDA’s students are from the province seeking to break out of a life or marginalized farming,” Osmeña said.

But Sepulveda yesterday answered back the mayor’s statement saying “if there are people who wish to be generous, let them start at their own pocket.”

Furthermore, Sepulveda said that the province has no intention to deprive the students who are trained in TESDA and in fact they have offered another lot for them to replicate.

In another text message yesterday, Osmeña said, “The city government will not be a conspirator to the land-grabbing scheme of Gwen (Gov. Garcia).”

This was his reaction to a statement from Capitol that the city should donate a lot to TESDA instead.

Sepulveda said that the province wants the court to decide the issues so that once and for all it will be clear as to who is the real owner of the property.

Sepulveda said that they have stopped negotiations with TESDA after Director General Augusto Syjuco changed his stand on the issue and is now claiming TESDA’s ownership of the lot where the agency is located.

Earlier, Syjuco expressed his willingness to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Province. Under the agreement, the Province will provide a relocation site to TESDA, including the replication of all of its facilities.

The latest letter from the director, however, expressed TESDA’s position that it need not relocate for it has already acquired ownership over the lot.

“TESDA’s position is that we already hold a Deed of Donation. As the succeeding entity of the donee, National Manpower Youth Council NMYC, TESDA has acquired all the rights and interests of NMYC as full owner of the donated land,” read Syjuco’s letter.

But Sepulveda contradicted the statements of the director general, saying that the Deed of Donation for NMYC was never perfected because it was not signed by the President by that time.

During that time, all deeds of donation must be signed by the President.

Also, the provision clearly states that the deed of donation was solely for NMYC’s use. In the event that the lot will no longer be used by NMYC, it will revert back to its donor, the Province. — Fred P. Languido, Garry B. Lao/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)