CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Port Authority (CPA) deployed 24 security personnel at the Compania Maritima property to regain possession of the disputed premises.
This developed after the posting of enlarged copies of the Writ of Preliminary Injunction for public information.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 10 in Cebu City granted the petition for a Writ of Preliminary Injunction filed by CPA in a 15-page order penned by Judge Soliver Peras, which was issued on December 23, 2022.
According to historical accounts, the Compañía Marítima building or the Marítima Ruins is a neoclassical heritage building built in 1910. It was one of the first buildings constructed in the city's port area.
In July 2015, the CPA represented the State in the filing of a complaint for injunction.
The State, through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed the complaint in a bid to recover the building, which sits on a 42,000-square-meter property behind the executive building of City Hall.
The Republic, represented by the CPA, claimed that the Compania Maritima Area forms part of the Baseport of Cebu, specifically Berths 28 and 33, and as part of the port. It belongs to the State and it is currently under the control of Cebu Port Authority.
The city government, on the other hand, claimed that the CPA does not have the right in esse because “since time immemorial, especially from the time of its creation in 1964, the City of Cebu, through its City Engineer, has been given the power of administration over its territories, including the ports.
“While Republic Act 3857 grants corporate powers and administrative powers to the City of Cebu, including the administration and management of ports, this ceased to be so, upon the creation of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) in 1974,” the court ruled.
The court added that Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is in control of the financing, management, and operations of all public ports throughout the Philippines. However, with the creation of the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA), port management of the Port of Cebu falls within its sole jurisdiction.
The court also disagreed with the argument of the city government that there is no substantial invasion of rights of the CPA.
“The infrastructures or improvements introduced by the City of Cebu within the contested premises constitute material invasion, as this deprives the Cebu Port Authority not only of the physical possession of the property but also binders to exercise of any acts of administration within the same,” said the court.
Unfair?
Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, however, felt the action taken on the Compania Maritima by a government agency that he did not name is “quite unfair.”
Garcia expressed his sentiments in a privileged speech at the City Council’s regular session yesterday.
“My colleagues in government, how dastardly is the act of scuttling an initiative that would have given an opportunity for Cebu City waterfront tourism to flourish?” Garcia said.
Aside from that, Garcia felt it is “wicked and unfair to overpower such landmark development without even putting effort to save such icons.”
“How dastardly is the act of subverting this landmark development, especially by an entity that has not lifted a finger to save this icon of Cebu City heritage despite having years to do otherwise?
“Ladies and gentlemen, how dastardly is the act of hampering a project that supports an industry that can provide better job opportunities for coastal communities, and an avenue for people to work in a decent and empowering environment that enhances their quality of life?”
As a member of the Philippine Bar, Garcia said he is aware of the subjudice rule and cannot discuss the merits of any case pending judicial consideration, but he expressed his thoughts as the chairman of the Cebu City Historical and Cultural Affairs Commission, chairman of the Waterfront Development Commission and a Cebuano.
“I love Cebu City – I know everyone here does, too – and I have no other desire than to preserve, conserve, and protect, all the tangible and intangible elements that make up our shared identity as a people and are part and parcel of the beautiful narrative of how unique we are as a people,” Garcia said.
In the 2000 Cebu Waterfront Heritage and Urban Conservation study, Garcia said, the Compania Maritima building was considered a culturally significant heritage resource for its strategic location being at the apex of the port and its building form conforms to the building envelope of the other buildings in the precinct and provides linkages to the activities of the boardwalk/promenade of the Fort San Pedro complex.
He added that the Compañia Maritima also possesses aesthetic and urban value as a prominent ornate building associated with the development of the Cebu Port area at the turn of the 20th century and a rare example of an early American Era commercial building with its elaborate architectural design.
However, Maritima was later neglected, according to Garcia, adding that the non-Cebuano entity that claimed administration over it did not see its value as an element of shared identity as people of Cebu City and does not contribute to non-Cebuano agency’s revenue generation thrusts and perhaps because its long-time non-Cebuano administrators did not see its value beyond the price of the land it occupies.
“For years, the area known as Maritima, situated just across the Senior Citizen’s Park, was a litter-filled eyesore. Words like decrepit, decaying, and dismal, were used to describe it decades after it was abandoned by its bankrupt shipping owners in the early ‘80s and possessed by an agency of the national government. It was infested by rats and other insects. People living by the docks made it their restroom. You can hardly go near it because of the smell and the filth. Drug-use paraphernalia are regularly found in this area and people passing by feared for their safety,” he said.
Garcia said the inclusion of the area in the Carbon re-development project has paved the way for the area to be cleaned up and dressed and safe for everyone, not only from crimes but also for health reasons.
However, with the latest development, Garcia noted how the place is slowly being littered again.
“There again is the slow accumulation of litter, the presence of potential settlers, the undeniable markers of urban decay,” Garcia said.
Mayor Michael Rama also agreed that such a building is part of Cebu City’s heritage but he said he is leaving it now to their lawyers to handle the matter. He hopes that “everything will still end well.” – JMD (FREEMAN)