The donated Cebu provincial lots to Cebu City in 1964

On February 4, 1964 while Governor Rene Gandionco Espina went to Manila for an official function, his vice governor, Prescillano Durano Almendras and three board members, namely, Nazario Pacquiao, Salutario Fernandez, and Isidro Escario passed Resolution No. 188. The resolution of the provincial board was the donation of 120 parcels of lots owned by the provincial government in favor of the Cebu City Government. The lot donated covers an area of 380 hectares. Vice Governor Almendras who acted as governor, signed the donation and this was subsequently accepted by the Cebu City government through its mayor, Sergio "Serging" Chiong Veloso Osmeña.

The donation done without the knowledge and conformity of the incumbent governor, lawyer Rene Espina, was given the presidential conformity through its Executive Secretary Juan Cancio. President Diosdado Macapagal who was courting the support of Mayor Serging Osmeña for the coming presidential election in 1965 against Senate President Ferdinand E. Marcos agreed to the demands of the former.

The Cebu Mayors League, several taxpayers and Atty. Pablo P. Garcia questioned the validity of the donation. This was however dismissed by the Court of First Instance Branch VI on May 1965 on the grounds that the parties have no legal standing.

Mayor Serging announced that he will sell the lots donated by the Cebu province and on July of 1965, the notice to sell was advertised. Gov. Rene Espina, then hired lawyer Pablo Paras Garcia to stop the sale, the Court of First Instance granted a Writ of Preliminary Injunction on August 6, 1965, the same day it was filed.

On September 9, 1965, Serging filed his Certificate of Candidacy for the Senate, the acting mayor, Carlos Cuizon was then included in the case. In 1972, when the newly elected officials of the province of Cebu favored the action of former Governor Espina, they joined the action for questioning the validity of the donation. They were Gov. Osmundo Rama, Vice Governor Salutario Fernandez and Board Members Leonardo Enad, Guillermo Legazpi and Rizalina Migallos, the group joined the original legal suit of Espina.

On June 25, 1974 the court issued an order directing the city government to return the donated lots, however 11 lots were to be retained, these were: Lot # 1141, 1261, 1268, 1269, 1272, 1273,917, 646-A, 646 A-4 and Lot No. 10107-C. The city was likewise made to pay the amount of P1.5 million to Cebu province. The Register of Deeds was likewise ordered to cancel the Certificate of Titles issued in relation to the donation. The order also specified that the city officials were to be free from any liabilities as a result of the wrongful donation.

Lawyer Pablo P. Garcia, who in 1967 became part of the slate of Gov. Espina in his reelection (Garcia was one of the board members of Espina, the other two were Valeriano Carillo and Reynaldo Mendiola) was granted his attorneys fees as counsel for Governor Espina. This was based on the decision of CFI Judge Alfredo Marigomen on May 30, 1979. The decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court on January 29, 1987.