City can’t transfer MC Adore land title to its name
FORMER CITY ADMINISTRATION’S SNAFU
Late archbishop filed adverse claims in 1981
P50 MILLION of city funds for nothing?
The city government is now facing legal hurdles for the titling and use of the former MC Adore Hotel, which the Lim administration purchased from the Privatization Management Office (PMO) for P50 million.
The PMO is the agency that took over the functions of the Assets Privatization Trust (APT), the agency tasked to handle foreclosed properties.
MEJIA
The four Transfer of Certificates of Title (TCT) for the properties, copies of which were presented to newsmen on Thursday by City Legal Officer George Mejia, contain entries of adverse claim executed by the late Archbishop Federico Limon who was claiming rights and interest over the properties described in the titles, together with other properties.
The land titles of the four lots formerly owned by the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese was used by
MC Adore Finance & Investment, Inc., represented by Modesta Sabeniano, president/chairman, as collateral when it secured a multi-million peso loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
The TCTs, with number 45417, 45418, 45419 and 45420, executed by Limon in favor of the Divine Word Missionary (DWM), now appear that the properties mortgaged by the MC Adore with DBP was the subject of a second mortgage, this time by MC Adore with DWM.
In his Affidavit of Adverse Claim, subscribed and sworn before Notary Public Leticia de Guia on January 14, 1981, Limon stated that the second real estate mortgage was not registered as they trusted Sabeniano, confident that she will not run away from her obligation, and try to get the titles from DBP, the holders of the first mortgage on all the four above-mentioned/described parcels of land.
The Affidavit of Adverse Claim of Limon tended to show that MC Adore mortgaged the four lots to the DWM even if the titles of the same were the subject of the corporation’s first mortgage with DBP.
“The adverse claims means that there was another person claiming rights and interests over the property and that was Archbishop Limon, based on the memorandum of encumbrances at the back of the land title,” Mejia said.
In his affidavit of adverse claim, Limon indicated that Sabeniano’s corporation ought to pay P39 million to the DWM.
But the adverse claim, based on the laws of the land, is good for only 30 days. If it was filed and not cancelled, possibly because there was a civil case filed.
The presence of Notice Lis Pendens (Notice of Pending Litigation) as another entry indicated that there was a civil case filed by Limon before the court but as to its nature, including name of defendants, is still subject for verification from the archives.
Another entry at the back of the land titles showed that the property was the subject of Notice of Tax Lien with MC Adore Finance and Investment Inc. was under obligation to pay the government agencies of the Republic of the Philippines in the sum of P27,607.48 a percentage tax, plus increments incident to delinquency.
All these now indicate that the land titles covering the MC Adore property were not clean at the time the Lim administration negotiated for it, yet it nevertheless went on to buy it for P50 million for five years to be paid in yearly equal amortization.
Mejia expressed belief that there is no problem with the tax lien as this can be paid even if the amount to be paid may now have ballooned to millions of pesos, including penalties and surcharges.
“We will verify if there was a decision already made in the civil case. But I doubt because the adverse claim affixed in the title remains. It can only be cancelled, if the adverse claim has already been settled,” he stressed.
He said the city may have a big problem if it was not paid since it will now be compelled to pay for it to be able to title the property to its name.
The former hotel, with a floor area of 12,966 square meters, including a theatre building that has a total floor area of 1,823, plus machinery and equipment, was intended by then Mayor Lim to be remodeled to become Dagupan’s new city hall.
He also envisioned the building to become a government center that could accommodate national government based in Dagupan City.
But until he stepped down, neither has materialized.
The property occupied by MC Adore was formerly part of the St. John Metropolitan Cathedral.
Mejia surmised that Sabeniano may have bought the property from the Church but failed to fully pay in full, and despite this, the title was transferred to her name.
He said It looked like Limon executed the adverse claim when he learned that the properties mortgaged by Sabeniano to the DBP was about to be foreclosed.—LM
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