Part 1
When my parents and I were in Bacolod last week to bury my mother's brother, the local dailies here in Cebu ran a story on the ongoing demolition in Barangay Apas (beside IT Park), and upon our return to Cebu, we were told that my late grandfather's name was dragged into it. No one tried to get our side of the story so I immediately asked for a back issue of Sun.Star Daily (March 11, 2014 issue; "Hospital 'to rise' on Apas demolition site") to confirm, and true enough, he was in fact mentioned in the news article.
"According to Ayuman, the lots are owned by Generoso Lopez. Two of his heirs, Myrna Lopez-Terol and Roberto Lopez, have already given up their share," the Sun.Star article wrote. Apas barangay captain Ramil Ayuman was referring to several lots owned by my grandfather, lots adjacent to Lots 942 and 947 where the demolition was happening.
Ayuman raised the matter since there is another set of families, over a hundred families, who would soon be affected by a pending ejectment suit covering lots 943, 944, 945 (beside the present demolition site) filed by Richard Unchuan who filed it a few years ago on the strength of the combined shares he procured from my father's siblings Myrna Lopez- Terol and Roberto Lopez who have long since sold their pro-indiviso shares to the properties in the area. My grandfather has six children.
"Rosalinda Leogan, president of the homeowners' association, believes Unchuan has no right to have them evicted since the Lopezes are not the rightful owners of the four properties. Based on records of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, the four properties are owned by Quintin Vercide.
Leogan said the homeowners' association has a pending case questioning the Lopezes ownership of the lots. The case dates back to the 1990s yet, she said. Ayuman said he will ask the City Government, through the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor and the Land Management Council, to look for and negotiate with Vercide."
I am almost always forthright with my opinions on practically anything, whether in conversations, on Facebook, and here in my, well, opinion column. But I have never ever publicly written about these lots mainly because, of all the properties my grandparents have acquired, disposed of, and retained throughout their lifetime, only the Lahug lots (as we refer to them in our family) have caused a chasm to prevail over the Lopez siblings. A cursed land is what I believe that area to be. When I was growing up and we were still living in Manila, the Lopez siblings were always very close and would gather in fantastic dinners and lunches on special occasions, weekends, or whenever possible. But, upon my grandfather's passing, when they finally had to deal with the Lahug lots, the epic Lopez family feud commenced. Epic because it's been a two decade old fall out, reaching no less than the august halls of the Supreme Court, wounds I've been moving heaven and earth to try to mend the past two or so years.
It pains me that I have to write about this, especially because Mrs. Leogan and the other settlers and I parted on okay terms, but I also feel that I have the obligation to speak up in defense of my dead grandfather who can no longer defend himself (he would be dead twenty years next month). I understand that the settlers only wish to defend their homes, and God knows how we helped fight to keep them safe the past two years, but it is utterly disrespectful and inconsiderate to even allude that my grandfather had false claims to the land titles which bore his name, to besmirch the honor of the dead this way, just so they can have their way.
Captain Generoso Lopez is not even given enough credit for his contributions to society, to Philippine history, now this? He was a World War 2 veteran who fought in the United States Air Force, who fought gallantly and bravely for his country, apart from being the most senior among the country's first commercial pilots - a true Asian pioneer in civil aviation and a first class aviator. On top of what he and his wife, our grandmother, Caridad Duterte Del Mar- Lopez, inherited from their respective families, Papang Osoy as we fondly call him, was a good provider and worked hard for his family as a commercial pilot.
His land holdings in the Lahug-Apas-Banilad area (a big chunk of the area in between where IT Park and Gaisano Country Mall now are) used to cover several hectares, over one hundred thousand square meters, and were subsequently sold separately, part by part throughout the years, and a considerable portion was expropriated for the use of the old Lahug airport-with the condition that he could buy these back when not used for the purpose anymore. So he was able to recover everything that was in the possession of the Airport Authority soon after the airport moved to Mactan, save for the portions he had already sold to some friends of the family (the Pastranas, Chiongbians). (Part 2 of this article will come out next Saturday.)