Incoming Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña challenged law enforcement agencies to reveal high-profile personalities linked to Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro. Barok has been committed to the Cebu Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) for gun possession and illegal drugs.
THE 93-1 land swap deal is expected to be settled this December 9.
In his news conference yesterday, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that the memorandum of agreement would be signed in line with the celebration of the Urban Poor Solidarity Week.
Earlier this month, Osmeña assured all the occupants of 93-1 would receive a “very nice Christmas gift” from the city.
The MOA though would still have to go through the City Council, but Osmeña said the process would be faster if it would be signed first by him and Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III.
“Let them (City Council) just change what has to be changed,” he said.
The document would also have to be submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA).
Sought for comment on the plan, Cebu City Councilor Jose Daluz III said they look forward to getting a copy of the MOA and reviewing its contents.
“We in the council also want that the 93-1 issue be resolved already. It’s not for our benefits but for those who are occupying the lots. I’m okay with the idea of a land swap deal, but we still have to review the specifics about it,” said Daluz who heads the City Council’s committee on social services and housing.
It was earlier divulged by both Osmeña and Davide that the city and province will enter into a land swap deal in order to resolve the long-standing 93-1 issue.
Among the properties that the city will be giving in exchange for the 93-1 lots are the city’s septage treatment plant and abattoir, the city-owned Block 27 at the North Reclamation Area, a two-hectare lot in the South Road Properties and the Cebu Zoo.
Daluz said they hope that the MOA that will be submitted by Osmeña and Davide will also contain the specific guidelines and process on how the beneficiaries of the lots can get their titles through the city government which will now be the owner of the lots after the deal.
“It should be included in the agreement so that the beneficiaries will know, and I hope they consulted them before coming up with their guidelines so that they will not be surprised that after the signing of the MOA, it might turn out that the process is actually more difficult,” said Daluz who also heads the ad hoc committee created by the City Council to resolve the 93-1 issue.
He said the ad hoc committee, composed of five other city councilors, will also do consultations with homeowners located in the areas.
Provincial Ordinance No. 93-1, which was approved in 1993, covers 51 hectares of province-owned land that are occupied by city residents.
These are located in Barangays Kamputhaw, Capitol Site, Kalunasan, Busay, Luz, Lahug, Mabolo, Apas, Lorega, Kasambagan and Tejero.
It is subdivided to at least 4,364 home lots.
Solving the 93-1 lot dispute was a campaign promise by Osmeña.