FERNANDEZ
BOTH Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III will soon ask for clearance from the Commission on Audit (COA) to push through with their land-swap deal to resolve the 93-1 lot dispute.
All documents were prepared including the letter request to be addressed to COA Chairman Michael Aguinaldo, Mayor Osmeña’s executive assistant Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez said yesterday.
“Both the city and the province have prepared all documents. The letter will be signed by the governor and the mayor. It will be up to COA since disposal of government properties need COA permission,” Fernandez told reporters.
He said Mayor Osmeña will personally deliver the letter to the COA central office after reviewing its contents.
Under the draft letter request, Osmeña and Davide stated that the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the land swap is “reciprocal and collaborative” since both local government units are givers and receivers.
“The MOA is also beneficial to the 93-1 beneficiaries as it gives them the fresh opportunity to settle their past due accounts and therefore secure their abode,” read the draft of the joint letter.
Based on the land-swap deal that Osmeña and Davide signed in front of several 93-1 lot beneficiaries in December last year, Cebu province will turn over all 93-1 properties located in 11 barangays totaling 32 hectares to Cebu City.
At the same time, the province will also give to the city a 1.5-hectare lot in the Department of Agriculture compound in M. Velez St.; a 2,358-square-meter lot along Gorordo Ave. in Barangay Lahug; and a 577-square-meter property in Don Gil Garcia St. in Barangay Capitol Site.
In exchange, the city government will turn over five properties to the province.
These consist of a 2.5-hectare lot at the South Road Properties (SRP); the 3.3-hectare Block 27 lot in the North Reclamation Area (NRA); the Septage Treatment Plant also in NRA; the Cebu City Abattoir also in NRA; and the nine-hectare Pulpogan property in Consolacion town.
“The above are properties with high development potential that can exponentially add to the coffers of the Province,” read the draft of the letter.
Under the land-swap deal, the city is obligated to “respect” the rights and interests of the 93-1 lot beneficiaries and to implement the city’s socialized housing program over the properties.
Under Provincial Ordinance No. 93-1 that was passed in February 1993, beneficiaries of the 4,363 province-owned lots in Cebu City were given two years to settle their obligations.
The province then approved another ordinance in 1994 which extended the maximum payment period for the beneficiaries for another five years or until May 1999.
But in 1999, the beneficiaries still failed to fully pay the properties.
This led to the provincial government passing another ordinance to extend the payment period until May 31, 2004.
It also stated that those who fail to settle their dues would mean their payments will be forfeited and will remain with the province.
But up to this date, a total of 2,921 home lots, with an area of 32 hectares, are still unpaid. The unpaid obligation totaled P2.9 billion.
Fernandez said once the COA approves the land swap, the titles of the subject properties will be transferred from the province to the city and vice versa.