Cebu City evaluating values of 93-1 lots for land swap

By: Delta Dyrecka Letigio - 3 years ago

Beneficiaries of the 93-1 staged a silent protest during the Charter Day celebrations on February 24, 2022.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City is now evaluating the value of the 93-1 lots that will be exchanged in a Landswap deal with the Cebu Provincial Capitol.

Councilor Raymond Garcia, the chairperson for housing, said in a press conference on March 9, 2022, that he has met with Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to discuss the 93-1 Landswap.

Garcia said that the ball is in the city’s court since the city government needs to evaluate the lots it wants to exchange with the Capitol for their current value.

The deal must also be approved by the Commission on Audit (COA) or else the city will once again be flagged by the state audit, as the 2016 Landswap Deal did.

“For any local government unit nga kung magexchange ug yuta, sakto sa value, dapat ma appraise og tarong sa COA aron dili alkansi ang gobyerno. Value per value gyod dapat atoa,” said Garcia.

Once the city has already the value of the lot for exchange, it will then be submitted to the City Council for approval.

Garcia said the governor is focused on swapping only the 32 hectares 93-1 properties and the city is now trying to match the value of those lots for the swap. That is what the city government is currently evaluating.

“Sa side nalang gyod sa Cebu City, laktud nga pagkasturya, the ball is on our side,” he said.

As for the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), Garcia said they are now working on it through multiple consultations with the more than 5,000 beneficiaries.

Only when the landswap has been successfully made can the beneficiaries avail of the socialized housing program of the city which will allow them to pay for the lot.

“Unahon sa gyod na ang landswap. Pero we need not only an IRR but an actual ordinance unsaon pagdispose niining 93-1 properties. That is the next step,” said the councilor.

Garcia assured the beneficiaries that the administration of Mayor Michael Rama is working on the promise of finally distributing the 93-1 properties.

The mayor has given the deadline of March 25 for the deal to be proposed to the City Council and Garcia is confident that they can meet that deadline.