Lot occupants threaten barricade

CEBU - At least 20 heirs of the owners of a disputed lot in sitio Salvador, barangay Tanke, Talisay City, have threatened to barricade the lot after the alleged claimant revealed plans to fence it off.

Renato Borces, one of the heirs, said that they are willing to barricade their property if it will stop claimant Virgie Inocencio from fencing it off. 

Inocencio claims ownership of a 5,000 square-meter portion of the 36,000 square-meter lot originally owned by Bernabe Reyes, Florencio Abapo and Pablo Labrida, among others.

Borces alleged that for the past 10 years, Inocencio has been claiming the property and even rented it to a certain Jimboy Gillana for his dried fishing business. 

Yesterday, he said, that the owner, represented by his son Julius, wanted to start fencing off the property.

Borces said that unlike the Inocencios, they have documents to prove they are the rightful owners of the property which were passed to them by their late grandparents.

A decision dated October 31, 1997 penned by Regional Trial Court Branch 7 Judge Ramon Codilla Jr. declared the two documents contesting the ownership of defendant Rufino Abapo “non-existent” and “null and void”.

In that case, Basilio Abapo, Silvestre Abapo, Felipe Abapo, et al, filed the declaration of nullity of two deeds of absolute sale, and damages, against Rufino, with regards to their two parcels of lots: Lot Nos. 2192 with a total area of 21,547 and 2193 totaling to 16,334.

The documents were the two deeds of sale of the two lots notarized by former fiscal Loreto Abarquez. The first deed of sale was notarized on February 23, 1954, for the sale of Lot. No. 2192 for P900, while the second one notarized on March 25, 1954, was for the sale of Lot. No. 2193 for P450.

The decision was based on the compromise agreement of the two parties, which agreed to drop all claims and counterclaims following this agreement.

“The compromise agreement shall be a waiver, release and/or cancellation of all other claims by some relatives, heirs, successor-in-interest, assigns, legatees, devises of the herein plaintiffs and defendant on the said parcels of land,” the decision read.

Although that compromise agreement is already binding, Borces said that no one in the family sold the property to Inocencio.

Photocopies of TCTT Nos. 7605 and 7606 show that the two parcels are still under the names of the original owners, Borces said that he got the copy last October 8.

And like all the heirs present yesterday, Borces said they will object to whatever developments the Inocencios will have in their property.

Policemen were sent to the area yesterday, but Talisay police chief Sr. Supt Henry Biñas said his men are just there to maintain the peace and order. — Liv G. Campo/BRP   (THE FREEMAN)