Palace to respect Mile Long ruling

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday vowed to respect a recent Court of Appeals (CA) ruling that dismissed a case filed before lower courts by the owners of Sunvar Realty Development Corp. to stop its eviction from a property in Makati City.  

“On the Court of Appeals ruling versus the Rufinos, Prietos in Mile Long, we respect the ruling of the court,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a press briefing yesterday. 

The Rufino and Prieto families own Sunvar and newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer, which was accused by President Duterte of biased reporting.

Duterte has vowed to recover the Mile Long property in Makati from the two families, believing they got the prime lots because of a sweetheart deal with previous administrations.  

The government and state-run power generator National Power Corp. (Napocor) leased the lot to the Technology Resource Center Foundation Inc. for 25 years until 2002. The foundation subleased the property to Sunvar, which put up commercial establishments Premier Cinema, Mile Long Arcade, Makati Creekside building, Gallery building and Sunvar Plaza.

In 2008, the Office of the Solicitor General asked Sunvar to vacate the properties but the company refused, prompting the government to file a complaint. 

In 2016, the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 59 issued a temporary restraining order that stopped the eviction of Sunvar. The CA, however, ruled that the lower court had no jurisdiction over the case.