Court injunction stops City Hall, Filinvest from demolishing I.T. Park fence

Ayala wall stays

WALL OF CONTENTION. A security guard watches over the concrete wall along Geonzon Street in the I.T. Park. On the other side of the wall is the fascade of the newly completed Filinvest Cyberzone whose owners want free access to the street.
(CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

A Cebu judge yesterday ordered  the Cebu City government and Filinvest Land Inc. not to demolish the concrete fence on W. Geonzon Street in the Cebu I.T. Park.

The preliminary injunction was issued on Dec. 12 by   Executive Judge Soliver Peras of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court.

 The judge said Cebu city and Filinvest raised a “hollow argument” that the court can’t stop a government project, referring to the Filinvest Cyberzone building, a joint project with Cebu province, which stands on the other side of the  wall.

The petition was filed in October by the Ayala-led Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp. (CPVDC) which operates the I.T. Park.

“… what is most striking is the fact that plaintiff’s action is merely to protect its property and not to interfere in the business or the continued activity of defendants FLI construction of its Cyberzone project,” said the court.

The court noted Cebu’s City’s  “aggressive attitude”   on the status of the perimeter fence when the city and Filinvest insisted it was illegal, a nuisance and should be torn down to avoid jeopardizing a government project.

But the court said this position to gain access to the I.T. Park “ should not prejudice the right of the plaintiffs to  just compensation.”

“Gone are the days when the iron hand of the government simply grabs anything it pleases. The 1987 Constitution, a product of a peaceful revolution, was enacted to prevent a repetition of an incident such as this to happen,” he added.

CPDVC was ordered to put up a P100,000 bond to cover for any damages incurred while the case is pending.

The judge, who had inspected the site, also observed that the old BBRC wall was damaged with big holes in some parts.

He said ongoing construction on the other side of the fence by Filinvest may have directly or indirectly caused damage.

Last October,   CPVDC and Asiatown I.T. Park Association Inc., represented by its president Francis Monera and/or Nerissa Josef, filed a petition in court, seeking a restraining order after repeated  warnings  by Cebu City that it would demolish the wall.

Named defendants in the petition were the City of Cebu; Megawide Construction  Corporation;  Filinvest, Engr. Nazareno Abalos, project manager of FLI’s Cebu Cyberzone Project; and  Engr. Allan Alfon, vice president and area general manager of FLI in the Visayas.

Mediation talks, however, continue through the Cebu provincial government to broker a satisfactory settlement between both real estate giants.

The Filinvest’ Cyberzone building was inaugurated last Nov. 28 but can’t fully open because the wall is in front of the building’s  main fascade and entrance.

Judge Peras noted  Resolution No. 1764-2014 of the  Cebu provincial government that said demolition of the perimeter wall “by force” would be “gravely inimical” to the interest of the province which has a Build-Transfer-Operate agreement with Filinvest for the Cyberzone.

The judge said Presidential Decree 1818 which prohibits the issuance of restraining orders or injunctions  in cases involving government infrastructure projects does not apply  here when due process is not observed.

While the city government had declared the wall a “public nuisance,” the judge said CPDVC was not given the opportunity to explain its side.

“In other words, plaintiff was deprived of due process,” he said.

The judge also noted that locators in the Cebu I.T. Park would be affected.

Nerissa Josef testified that underground fiber optic cables and wires were connected to a metal box owned by Globe beside the concrete fence. Destroying the wall, she said, would compromise  the security of the communication  box, on which BPO companies rely on for service  “24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Any disruption of service would cause massive damage to locators which cannot be estimated, she said.