OPRRA folk get another chance to buy lots

 CEBU, Philippines — Residents of a property owned by the provincial government in Barangay Kalunasan at Old Philippines Railway Residents Association (OPRRA) have another chance at owning the lots they are occupying, an issue that can be traced to as far back as 49 years ago.

Sugbo News, the official news site of the Cebu Provincial Public Information Office (PIO), reported that members of the Old Philippines Railway Homeowners Association (OPRHA), OPRRA United Homeowners Association (OUHA), and Actual Occupants and Residents of OPRRA Kalunasan Inc. (AOROK) can purchase the lots through the Home Development Mutual Fund of Pag-IBIG.

They underwent an orientation with Pag-IBIG at the Capitol Social Hall on February 5, 2020.

According to Pag-IBIG Business Manager Paulino Talacay, the residents can purchase the lots at P10,000 to P11,000 per square meter, based on the lots’ reappraised value.

Engr. Miriam Loren, Pag-IBIG Housing Relationship Officer, said the residents will have 30 years to pay with a loanable amount of P6 million.

Families who wish to avail of the fund must have one member who is active with Pag-IBIG. This family member must have 24 months-worth of savings, is not more than 65 years old on the date of the loan application, and will not be more than 70 years old on the date of the loan maturity. He or she is required to present a valid ID and proof of income.

Payment may be made via collection servicing agreement, post-dated checks, banks, or even payment centers.

On January 20, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia met with the presidents of the homeowner associations – Francisco Pintor Jr. of OPRHA, Valeriano Gallardo Jr. of OUHA, and Ernesto Dakay of AOROK.

During that meeting, Garcia told the association presidents to coordinate with Pag-IBIG on the payment for the provincial lots.

Developments to settle the land dispute issue were initiated back on June 7, 1971 when the Province of Cebu and the Old Philippine Railway Residents Association Inc. signed a Sales Agreement for 11 parcels of land. The value per square meter then was at P10.

Forty years later on April 16, 2012, the Provincial Board terminated the agreement because of the association members’ failure to pay. The province then decided to sell and dispose of unsold properties.

AOROK offered to purchase the remaining 40,560 square meters for P3,273.33 per square meter or a total of P132,766,264.80. Seeing this as a fair and reasonable deal, the province and AOROK signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) last September 10, 2012.

As stipulated in the MOA, AOROK members must pay the amount not later than six months, a deal that the members failed to meet.

Last month, Paulo Entera, Capitol consultant on real estate management, surveyed the 388 unsold lots in the area to reappraise their value. (FREEMAN)