2,000 heirs of airport lot owner demand payment

CEBU, Philippines — The 2,000 heirs of the late owner of the lot currently occupied by the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) are demanding payment of their equitable share.

Mario Jumao-as, one of Teodora Tampus’ heirs, said they want an equitable share of the P2 billion payment made by Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) to Chinese businessman Richard Unchuan last March.

According to Jumao-as, Unchuan represented the heirs of Tampus, the owner of the 23.26-hectare contested lot.

“Unchuan did not give an equitable share to the heirs. He would only release the 10 percent of the sales if the heirs agree to his conditions,” Jumao-as said at a press conference yesterday.

The fourth generation heirs are expected to receive at least P100,000 each.

Jumao-as said Unchuan wanted the heirs to lift all the annotations and encumbrances or liens, as well as to withdraw their letter-complaint filed before the Office of the President.

Jumao-as claimed that Unchuan duped some heirs so he will be given a special power of attorney as broker of the property.

Jumao-as added that the heirs were also made to sign a deed of absolute sale sometime in December 2008.

The heirs are calling the Office of the President to investigate MCIAA over the P2 billion payment.

“Why MCIAA paid the amount to Unchuan when in fact the title of the 23-hectare lot is still in the name of Tampus and there is an adverse claim on the lot title?” Jumao-as asked.

In 1958, Atanacio Godinez, one of Tampus’ six children, sold the said property to MCIAA for P26,610, but this was questioned later on as there was allegedly no consent from the remaining five heirs.

Unchuan contested ownership of the lots that were bought by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), the MCIAA’s predecessor, from Godinez, the supposed attorney-in-fact of all registered owners and heirs of the lots.

Unchuan filed in 2004 the complaint for partial declaration of nullity of the deed of absolute sale with Plea for Partition Damages and Attorney’s Fees before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) against the MCIAA.

Unchuan said in his complaint that he was the rightful and legal owner of Lots No. 4810-A and B with the former having an area of 177,176 square meters and the latter having an area of 2,740 square meters.

Unchuan claimed that he bought the two lots from the surviving heirs of the registered owners through several deeds of absolute sale dated Dec. 7, 1998.

RTC ruled in favor of Unchuan on March 2006, dismissing MCIAA’s motion to dismiss filed in April 2004.

The MCIAA appealed the decision but on Nov. 29, 2007, the Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC decision.

The MCIAA filed a motion for reconsideration on December 2007 and its supplemental motion for reconsideration on January 2008.

But on March 2008, the CA denied MCIAA’s Motion for Reconsideration.

The MCIAA elevated the case to the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to reverse the CA ruling.

The SC, in its earlier decision, said Unchuan is the true and legal owner of the portions of the Lot 4810-A and B, spanning close to 150,000 square meters and are located in Barangay Buaya.

Both lots are open spaces, most of which are within the 797-hectare airport complex but a portion is publicly used for the Mactan circumferential road.

Aside from recognizing Unchuan as the true and legal owner of the lots, the Supreme Court also ordered the MCIAA to pay rental for the use of the property at P20 per square meter from the time of the filing of the complaint until the final payment. — KBQ (FREEMAN)