On CH projects at SRP Cebu City officially rejects Talisay CDO

CEBU, Philippines - The city government of Cebu has formally rejected the Cease and Desist Order (CDO) issued by the Talisay City government against a construction project within South Road Properties (SRP).

The legal office of the Cebu City government, in a formal communication prepared by lawyer June Ibones Maratas, insisted that the City of Cebu owns the lot where the projects are being constructed. It also insisted that the area is situated within its jurisdiction therefore no building permit from Talisay City is required.

“(A)s the three constructions are being undertaken within the territorial jurisdiction of the City of Cebu, the Locational Clearances as well as the Building Permits were also secured in the City of Cebu,” the letter noted by Cebu City Attorney Jerone Castillo states.

The communication, received by the office of Talisay City Attorney Alfredo Sipalay on July 23, insisted and reiterated that the location of the project is within its jurisdiction as opposed to the claim of Talisay City.

“With all due respect, we would like to stress as a matter of fact that the three constructions being undertaken by the City of Cebu at the SRP are not only within our own property, they are also within our territorial jurisdiction,” Maratas said.

He added that the Lot 1 and Lot 1 L, which were covered by Transfer Certificate Title (TCT) No. 107-2011000056 and TCT No. PT-13356 respectively, are addressed to Cebu City and not Talisay City.

Because of this, the Cebu City Legal Office pointed out that the claim of neighboring local government unit is baseless.

“It is indubitable therefore that the SRP is owned by the City of Cebu. Moreover, your allegation that these constructions are made within the territorial jurisdiction of Talisay City is unfounded. The technical description of the two TCTs mentioned above states that these parcels of land are ‘situated in the City of Cebu’,” the letter added.

Talisay City government, through its information office, released a statement in response to the latest communication sent by Cebu city.

It reiterated its initial statement that Talisay City Mayor Johnny V. delos Reyes is ready to sit down and discuss the territorial conflict with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.

Sipalay said he is preparing to send a formal invitation to Castillo and Rama regarding the meeting with delos Reyes.

“We (Talisay city) are willing to negotiate. If they want an independent survey to be done by DENR or NAMRIA we are very fine with that. We can even have the media witness the survey,” the statement continued. — (FREEMAN)