City Hall urged to review Capitol’s claim on Ciudad

With the province pursuing the P1.8-billion Ciudad project, a retired police official asked the Cebu City government to “seriously consider” the ownership of the lot where the project will stand before granting any permits or clearances.

Rico Palcuto, a former chief of the Regional Security Unit of the PNP, reiterated his claim over Lot 3-A-1-B, saying that the Cebu provincial government’s claim over the lot is null and void.

He said the lot and 299 other lots of the Banilad Friar Lands Estate, were reserved by Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison in 1918 through Executive Order No. 20.

The order exempted the lots from lease, sale or other disposition in favor of the province, Palcuto said.

But in March 1957, Palcuto said then-Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay issued Proclamation No. 94 which revoked the executive order and declared the lots open to disposition.

“There is no showing that Proclamation No. 394 has been repealed by another presidential proclamation or executive order. Thus, it is crystal clear that the titles of the province over these 300 lots, including the lot where Ciudad project is to be built, have no more legal basis for their issuance and existence,” said Palcuto in a letter he sent toCebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo dated October 3.

In 2011, Palcuto filed a civil case against Fifth Avenue Property Development Corp., the private developer for the project, the province of Cebu and the regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for declaration of nullity of the certificates of titles for the lots.

The case is now pending before Branch 23 of the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City.

Palcuto claimed that he is a bona fide occupant of the lot for 55 years now which qualifies him to have the preferential right to buy the lot from the government through the DENR.

“It is very important to consider the status of these titles before any commercial project be given any permit, otherwise, there would be an influx of civil actions to be filed by concerned parties which may involve the City Government,” Palcuto’s letter to Carillo read.

Palcuto said he wrote the letter to Carillo after the councilor said the application for development permit for the Ciudad project should already be submitted to the City Council for deliberation. A copy of the same letter was also given to Councilor Margot Osmeña, wife of former mayor Tomas Osmeña.

Palcuto mentioned that it was the former mayor who “vehemently opposed” the Ciudad project.