Government lands sold to (VIMCONTU)
On June 16, 1966 Congress enacted Republic Act 4694 entitled "An Act Authorizing the President of the Republic of the Philippines to sell portions of the private domain of the national government to the Visayas-Mindanao Confederation of Trade Unions."
The law authorized the President to sell to the Visayas-Mindanao Confederation of Trade Unions for the nominal price of one peso (P1.00) portions of the private domain of the national government which were parts of the area reserved under Presidential Proclamation No. 122 issued in 1955, as amended by Presidential Proclamation No. 378 and further amended on February 21, 1964, by Presidential Proclamation No. 208, and of Block No. 6, Reclamation Area No. 4 with a total area of Four Thousand Five Hundred Sixty-One (4,561) square meters, situated at the Waterfront, Cebu City.
The land sold is a portion of the Old Reclaimed Area, which is bounded on the north by the building site of the Cebu Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (now the site is the office compound of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) and on the Southeast by the Quezon Boulevard and on the West by Lot 1 of Miscellaneous Sales Application of the Visayas-Mindanao Confederation of Trade Unions.
It is composed of two lots (Lot 1 was a portion of Lot 544). It is bounded on the East by the lot applied then under Reclamation Land Lease Application of the VIMCONTU. It contained an area of Three Thousand Two Hundred Sixty Four (3,264 square meters).
Lot 2 which was a portion of Lot 5202, and is bounded on the South of a lot applied under the name of Fermina A. Lopez. It contained an area of Five Hundred Ninety -Nine (599) square meters.
The law is explicit that the conveyance was to be made for the exclusive purpose of enabling the Visayas-Mindanao Confederation of Trade Unions or any subsidiary under its control to achieve its aims and purposes in promoting the welfare of its members and the working people in general.
A provision of the law also said that the title of the land conveyed shall not be transferred by the said organization (referring to the trade unions) to another person without the previous authorization by the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
The final proviso of the law said that in case the Visayas-Mindanao Confederation of Trade Unions is dissolved, or ceases to exist, or for any reason no longer needs the land, or the land is used for purposes other than using it as the site for their Regional Headquarters, the said land shall automatically revert to the National Government together with all the improvements introduced thereon without any compensation. The trade union is known for its acronym VIMCONTU.
The President who signed the bill into law was Ferdinand E. Marcos who became officially president on December 30, 1965 after defeating incumbent President Diosdado Macapagal.
President Marcos gained the support of VIMCONTU in its reelection in 1969. On August 30, 1969, accompanied by his wife Imelda from the Mactan Airbase went to the VIMCONTU Convention. Atty. Democrito Mendoza, the VIMCONTU President presented Marcos a resolution pledging the all-out support of the 250,000 members of the confederation.
In his speech during the convention Marcos recounted his consistent fight in Congress to enhance the rights and freedom, the opportunities and the welfare of workers, as well as of organize labor. He cited his vigorous support of such progressive labor legislation as the Magna Carta of Labor, the Minimum Wage Law, the Land Reform Code, and the Ani-Scab Law. After the convention, Marcos flew by helicopter for Sibonga, where the first rally was held.
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