SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The sale of the reclaimed land in Barangay Looc, Mandaue CIty, near the foot of the Sergio Osmeña Bridge, was illegal and the local government should be sued, said a Commission on Audit (COA) report.
The state auditing agency recommended that the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) file charges against Mandaue City government officials over the sale of the 35,821 square meter property for only P1.8 million.
COA said the property was created through illegal reclamation by the city government through a private company without authority from the PRA.
The property was sold in September 2015 to real estate firm E.C. Ouano Development and Management Corporation (Ecodemcor), for what would be the equivalent of P50 per square meter.
The current Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes was the city’s chief executive at the time the property was sold. He was unseated by Luigi Quisumbing during the 2016 elections.
Cortez, however, returned when he topped the mayoralty race last May.
Rappler reached out to Cortes’ office for a statement but has not received a response as of posting time.
According to COA’s audit report, there was no record that the property had been appraised or recognized as alienable and disposable land before its sale.
“The City Government of Mandaue or any private entity has no authority to reclaim and to sell the reclaimed land located in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City, Cebu. PRA has not regulated nor authorized the reclamation as it is yet to conduct inspection,” the audit team said urging the reclamation authority to investigate the sale.
The auditors cited Opinion No. 162 issued on August 26, 2015 by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) to support its opinion that the city government’s authority to reclaim land within its territorial jurisdiction has been revoked by Presidential Decree No. 3-A which said only the national government had the power to reclaim lands.
The PRA management, said in a comment issued in March that its team had surveyed the area and found portions of it were already occupied by informal settlers, while other parts were being used as shipbuilding and maintenance facilities.
They are in the process of collecting documentary records on the transaction of the sale to trace titles and other papers used to support the deed of sale.
The agency said that it had been notified that Mandaue City has filed a civil case before the regional trial court asking to annul the 2015 sale of the property. – Ryan Macasero/Rappler.com
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.