Council asks for a review of Guba property

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Council has requested the City Legal Office to review the issue surrounding the 29-hectare lot in barangay Guba that the City bought in 1997 at P11.5 million even if the property has no valid documents of ownership.

The 29.9 hectare-lot in sitio Catives II in barangay Guba cannot be titled under the City of Cebu because it is under the watershed area that is being protected by the government under Republic Act 7586.

It was the late Cambinocot barangay captain Eliseo Cosido who offered the property to Cebu City, presenting only a tax declaration when he sold the property to then mayor Alvin Garcia.

In February 1999, Cosido was found lifeless inside his office. Police investigators ruled that the barangay captain committed suicide. Some of his relatives believed that Cosido killed himself because of the land controversy.

The Commission on Audit (COA) had questioned the Cebu City officials’ move to buy the lot, which is protected under the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (NIPA).

Personnel of the City Hall’s General Service Office (GSO) inspected the area last month. They found some 20 houses occupying the area, said GSO head Rolly Ardoza in a report to the City Council.

When the City bought the property 14 years ago, its main purpose was to make the 29-hectare area as a demonstration farm for agricultural products but this was not pursued when COA questioned its purchase.

It was also learned that in 2005, then mayor and now Cebu City South District Rep. Tomas R. Osmeña, with the concurrence of the City Council, donated two hectares from these controversial lots to the Office of the Muslim Affairs.

The condition of the donation was that it will be used as Muslim cemetery for Muslim residents in Cebu City and nearby areas. Osmeña has been acknowledged as the honorary Sultan of the Muslims in Cebu. (FREEMAN)