JOSE Mariano Cuña, a businessman from Dagupan who sold a 30-hectare land in barangay Awai, San Jacinto to the Dagupan City government for P16 million on April 11, 2002 is now on the spot.

City Legal Officer George Mejia said Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. has directed him to write Cuña to ask him to explain whether the subject property was, indeed, already in the process of being covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) when he sold it to the city.

Earlier, Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo, who was on his first term of office when the controversial Awai land was bought by the city, suggested that Cuña be made to return every single centavo of the P16 million he got from the city government.

       Tamayo said then City Administrator Rafael Baraan mentioned nothing about the tenant farmers when he appeared before the city council to defend the proposed purchase.

Tamayo said he was surprised when he read in The PUNCH that the land bought by the City from Awai, San Jacinto is covered by CARP.

Another veteran councilor, Danilo Torio, who was a member of that council when the Awai land was purchased, however, -refuses to issue a statement on the matter.

Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan, former city administrator refused as well to issue any statement when pressed by the local media.

P70, 000 to P16M

Meanwhile, former city councilor Alex de Venecia said the city government must file a case against all the people involved in the transaction because it will create a bad precedent if it will renege in its duty.

Clarifying that he was not yet a councilor yet when the Awai land   purchased, the nephew of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said the administration of Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. should file a case against those involved, including and must not be limited to former Mayor Benjamin Lim, former City Administrator Rafael Baraan and former Councilor Teofilo Guadiz III.

De Venecia pointed out that another disturbing fact about the issue is that the Deed of Absolute Sale executed by and between Sangalang and Cuna submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, obviously for capital gains tax  purposes, indicates that the land was sold for P70,000 only.

However, the Deed of Absolute Sale executed by the two submitted to DARAB showed that it was bought for P7 million.

“Somebody must answer because P16 million is a no sneezing matter,” said De Venecia.

The Awai land was eventually placed under CARP when the decision of the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB), dated July 3, 2003, became final and executory on September 22, 2003 with no motion for reconsideration filed by the city despite due notice.

Mejia, however, said that it appears from the records of DARAB that when Cuña sold the property to the city government, there was already a pending case filed by the tenants before DARAB.

That was the reason why, the tenants filed an amended petition including the city of   Dagupan in their original petition for redemption when they discovered that Mr. Cuña sold the property to the city of Dagupan, he added.

Nevertheless, he said, the city would like to hear the side of Cuña on the matter.

Records of the DARAB show that on March 15, 2002, tenants and their representatives filed a petition for redemption before the DARAB against Cuna, Estrella  Sangalang of  San Jacinto, the original administrator of the property from whom Cuna bought the Awai land, and the Land Bank of the Philippines.

The DARAB was asked to order Cuna to execute a Deed of Conveyance over the subject property in favor of the petitioners.

On August 22, 2002, the tenants filed an amended petition that included the City of Dagupan represented by the Mayor, who at that time was Benjamin Lim, in the petition when they learned from newspaper reports that Cuña sold the land to the city government for P16 million.

Mejia said he is now putting together his findings, which will later be used as a basis whether charges could be filed against those involved in the deal.

Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez said she is amenable to the filing of suit against all those involved in the questionable transaction but leaves this matter to the city council as a collegial body.

She said the council members will likely decide after hearing the report of the city legal officer in their regular session on Tuesday.—LM

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