Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez, executive assistant of Mayor Osmeña, says in a press briefing in Cebu City the Solicitor General has stepped in to support the claims of the Lot 937 residents.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government will back the claims of the residents of the disputed Lot 937 in Barangay Apas, Cebu City where the families of retired soldiers’ live.
According to Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez, executive assistant to Mayor Tomas Osmeña, the Solictor General, the office that represents the country in court, has filed a contention on court to assert its claim that Lot 937 is the property of the Republic of the Philippines.
“Ilang (Solicitor General) contention is that katong title ni Godinez, Mariano is spurious. Ganahan sad sila makakita ni Godinez kay according to records of the court, wala gyod na siyay appearance,” said Fernandez.
Fernandez said the Solicitor General actually questioned the existence of Mariano Godinez who claimed ownership of the 4.6 hectare lot in 2010.
The Solicitor General also argued that the claims of Godinez were false.
Read more: Soldiers’ families in Apas lot turn to Cebu city gov’t: Help us to prevent demolition of our homes
There were two demolition attempts in 2010 and 2012, both were halted because of the intervention of then Mayor Michael Rama and then Congressman Tomas Osmeña.
Fernandez said that with the claims of the Solicitor General that the lot is owned by the Republic of the Philippines, the residents have the chance to own the portions of the lot they are residing in.
In the nine-year dispute, it is only in 2018 that the Solicitor General contested in court and asserted its claims on the property when another demolition order was released in June 2018.
“If wala ni intervene ang Solicitor General, mo decide man gyod na ang korte who has more rights. Ang mga tawo, wala gyod silay right. Si Godinez ang naay right kung ang kaso eviction,” said Fernandez.
With the contention of the Solicitor General, Fernandez said that the residents would have a chance to fight for their right to stay in their homes.
“Dapat ta malipay nga nilaban sa ila (residents) ang Solicitor General,” said Fernandez.
Lot 937 is a 4.6 hectare lot in Barangay Apas that was bought by the government in 1939 as an area for the soldier’s families to reside in.
The lot currently has 168 households with 200 families. /dbs