Court junks Tomas O’s TRO bid against sale of 45 hectare SRP lot
Former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s proposal to stop SRP sale The South Road Properties has been dismissed. |CDNDigital file P=HOTO / Gerard Francisco
CEBU CITY , Philippines —The Regional Trial Court Branch 10 has denied the application for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) filed by former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña against the sale of a 45-hectare lot at the South Road Properties (SRP).
Osmeña had filed last September a petition for declaratory relief with prayer for temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction against the contract of sale of the property to SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Land Inc., Filinvest Alabang Inc., Cyberzone Inc., Anesy Holdings Corp., IGold Holdings Corp. and Betterfield Phils. Corp.
According to RTC Branch 10 Presiding Judge Soliver Peras in his decision penned December 4, the “petitioner’s claim that he would suffer great and irreparable injury was speculative.”
“The petitioner did not offer proof that the implementation of the questioned contracts would deny him or the City of Cebu of the value or potential of the SRP lots,” Peras pointed out in his decision, a copy of which was furnished by Lawyer Rey Gealon, head of the city legal office (CLO).
Peras said that the TRO application as a provisional remedy for and as incident to the petition for declaratory relief, under Rule 3 of the Rules if Court, ‘has no legal basis.’
The judge also ruled to hold in abeyance the hearing for the writ of preliminary injunction until the motions to dismiss and opposition and other related pleadings would be resolved.
He also directed the parties to manifest within five days whether they were interested or not to appear before the Philippine Mediation Center for possible amicable settlement.
The judge also ordered the parties concerned that motions to dismiss and opposition as well as other related pleadings be submitted for resolution.
“This is yet another victory for the City of Cebu,” Gealon said in a text message.
“The CLO has been sustained of its arguments that there is no legal basis in the relief that he prayed for,” he said.
“As always, the Mayor is ecstatic of this development as Cebuanos won again,” he said. /dbs
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