Singson stakes claim to Payanig property

MANILA, Philippines – Deputy National Security Adviser Luis “Chavit” Singson is claiming ownership of the 18.5-hectare Payanig sa Pasig property in Pasig City.

In an interview with The STAR yesterday, Singson said the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) possesses a mere “reconstituted title” on the property, as compared to the “genuine title” held by Blemp Inc. with which he had entered into a joint venture.

“They are the ones who should explain why they are holding a reconstituted title,” he said.

Singson said the late Jose Yao Campos did not submit the “genuine title” when he surrendered Mid-Pasig Land Development Corp., the property’s owner, to the PCGG.

“How can he surrender the original title when it was not with him? It was already with Blemp because he already sold it to the company,” he said.

PCGG sources said while the commission is ready to “throw (the new claim) out the window,” Singson is pushing for Blemp Inc., a firm where his son-in-law Wilbert Lim is a partner and member of the board of directors.

Blemp, however, has not filed any formal claim in court or registered a notice of a pending court claim before the Pasig City registry of deeds, like the one filed by the Ortigas family.

The Ortigases are contesting the government’s ownership of the property before the Sandiganbayan (not the Supreme Court as earlier reported). They claim they sold the property under duress and for a giveaway price to the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1969.

Aside from the Ortigas family, others who filed a claim on the Payanig property include Ilocos Norte Gov. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who questioned the surrender of the properties by Campos; and Anchor Land of Ricardo Silverio, who claims a portion of the property.

Singson said he has documents to prove that Campos, as Mid-Pasig Land president and general manager, sold the Payanig property to Estrellita Marinas and Benedicto Parchamento of Blemp Commercial on Oct. 15, 1971. Blemp holds the deed of sale, he added.

Singson said he isready to present their documents to anyone to prove they are genuine. “I can face anybody, anywhere, and even in any court,” he said.

Campos apparently kept the sale of the property a secret and had not divulged it to the PCGG when he turned over the property in 1986, Singson said.

Singson first came to the PCGG with the claim early last April when he called for a meeting with the commissioners during their weekly at the agency’s office.

In the meeting, he announced Blemp’s claim over the property and produced the original and duplicate deed of sale allegedly signed by Campos, a close associate of Marcos, and his business associates Mariano Tan and Francisco de Guzman.

The sale supposedly covered the entire Payanig property. The deed of sale, a copy of which was furnished The STAR, showed that a 16-hectare portion of the property was sold to Blemp Commercial for P80 million, and another 2.4 hectares was sold for P11.5 million.

Among the documents submitted by Singson was a certification from Pasig Register of Deeds Oscar Eusebio dated Nov. 21, 1971 certifying that Parchamento and Marinas are the “true and lawful owners” of the parcels of land making up the Payanig property.

However, PCGG sources said the signatures of Campos, Tan, and De Guzman in the deed of sale “greatly differed” from their signatures on official documents they have signed and submitted to the agency, particularly the compromise agreement with the PCGG in 1986 during the time of chairman Jovito Salonga.

After informing the PCGG commissioners of their claim, Singson had also submitted a letter of Blemp Corp. demanding that the PCGG-controlled Independent Realty Corp. (IRC) and its subsidiary, Mid-Pasig Land, to make an accounting of all the money it collected from lessees occupying portions of the Payanig sa Pasig property since they started renting out parcels of the land in 2003.

“They even want us to make an accounting of all the rents we collected and then turn it over to them as the rightful owner,” the PCGG source said.