Council wants probe on city hall employees ‘giving’ individuals illegal authority to occupy city-owned lots

Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera delivered a privilege speech during the city council’s regular session on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.| photo by Jessa Ngojo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Council on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, approved a motion requesting the Cebu City Legal Office to investigate the alleged illegal acts of some city hall personnel giving unauthorized rights to individuals to occupy city-owned lots.

The motion came from Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, who delivered a privilege speech on Wednesday about her staff’s discovery of an illegal occupant in Block 27, North Reclamation Area in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.

Pesquera said she recently instructed one of her staff to conduct clean-up operation and mow the surroundings of the Cebu City Quarantine Center (CCQC) in Block 27, when an individual approached one of her staff and told them not to touch the banana trees the said individual said he owned.

Pesquera said that particular person claimed that he owned the property. When asked how he owned the lot, the individual reportedly replied: “gihatagan ko’g authority. Ang naghatag nako ini nga yuta taga DWUP (Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor). Ang pangalan Cheng.” (I was given authority. The one who gave me this lot was from DWUP. The name was Cheng.)

Pesquera said the individual has built a house that also served as a store in the area.

Block 27 now costs P80,000 per square meter, according to Councilor Noel Eleuterio Wenceslao.

Pesquera assumed management of the CCQC located in Block 27 at the NRA in January 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In 2021, I noticed that there was a wooden structure at one of the boundary areas of the property. However, it was not open. There was no activity, and at the same time, at that time, there was yet a gray area whether block 27 is still owned by the Cebu City government or owned by the Provincial Government,” the councilor said.

“We further verified everything, Mr. chairman, and that particular person will really insist that he was given authority by a certain employee at DWUP in constructing her house and using it as a store,” she added.

Whether or not the property is city or provincial government-owned, Pesquera said she is concerned of government properties being illegally occupied.

Upon Pesquera’s motion, the council also agreed to request the Department of General Services (DGS) and the Land Management Office to conduct an inventory of all Cebu City government-owned properties and parcels of land within 60 days from receipt.

The council also requested the DGS to add more personnel to the Cebu City Quarantine Office to ensure that the property is protected from illegal occupants as well as from theft and present to the council an action plan to protect city-owned properties.

The council also requested the Office of the city Mayor and the DWUP to apprise the council of the current status of the swapping agreement between the city government and the provincial government concerning Block 27, in 30 days.