To talk with Capitol RE 93-1 lots: City forms body for renegotiation

CEBU, Philippines – The Cebu City Government has formed a committee tasked to talk with Capitol on the fate of the families affected by Provincial Ordinance 93-1.

This brings hope to the estimated 5,000 families living in province-owned lots. The issue blew up five years ago when a proposed land swap deal between the city and province fell apart.

Later on this also became the center of a squabble between former city mayor Tomas Osmeña and Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

The province, however, is yet to form its own committee to handle the negotiations with City Hall.

Capitol spokesperson Rory Jon Sepulveda, however, said that both parties can expect "substantial" results in the coming days.

Sepulveda said that it is only Governor Garcia who will determine what step the province will take. 

Garcia, in a previous interview, said that the provincial government has confidence on the new leadership at the Cebu City Government under Mayor Michael Rama.

Garcia has already issued Executive Order No. 3, in 2007, for the creation of Cebu Provincial Review Committee that will determine the status of the parcels of lands covered by Ordinance 93-1 including the status and qualification of the actual occupants.

Since the creation of the committee, Garcia suspended the eviction of occupants on lots covered by the ordinance to create an "atmosphere of good faith" while the Province negotiates with 2,725 affected families.

That moratorium also froze indefinitely the notices of eviction sent to the occupants who failed to pay for their lots before the September 2004 deadline.

Garcia admitted that there is a need to further discuss the issues.  

The affected province-owned lots are located in barangays Apas, Luz, Busay, Mabolo, Lorega, Camputhaw, Lahug, Capitol Site and Kalunasan.

Under Provincial Ordinance 93-1, occupants of the province-owned property were entitled to purchase their lots on installment basis for a period of five years from 1993 to 1998.

This was later extended to May 2004 since many failed to pay their amortization on time. The occupants have asked for another extension, but Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia vetoed the ordinance seeking to move the deadline for payments.

Rama said yesterday that he already sent a written communication for the Cebu City Council to come up with a committee that will be part of the negotiations.

Rama believes that there is "urgency" for the solution of this issue.

Councilors Alvin Dizon and Nida Cabrera, who served as captain of barangay Luz before winning a council seat, will be part of the committee for the renegotiations.

"Maghuwat ra mi sa formal invitation gikan sa Capitol. Ilaha man nang yuta so kita magpaabot lang ta," Dizon said.

The neophyte councilor added that they have already made initial talks with the affected city residents.

"Confident mi nga mahusay ra ang tanan ug mahatagan og kasulbaran ang maong problema," Dizon said.

Under the original term of the solutions presented to solve the problem was a land swap agreement proposed by then mayor and now Congressman Tomas Osmeña. In that proposal, the city would assume ownership of province-owned lands where these residents are living while the province gets to own a prime piece of city-owned property at the North Reclamation Area.

The proposal however could not take off after then vice mayor Rama, in a privilege speech at the city council, called the deal disadvantageous to the city, saying Capitol merely wanted to pass on to the city the problem of collecting the delayed payments from the lot occupants.

Garcia scrapped the original deal, saying the province will only proceed with a new land-swap deal that will this time be based on actual values of the properties involved.

The Capitol properties that are involved in the original deal are worth more than P3 billion while the city property at the North Reclamation Area is worth only roughly half a billion pesos.

After the deal was shelved, a word war erupted between Osmena and Garcia. (THE FREEMAN)