LIM ADMINISTRATION LOST BY DEFAULT

Backdoor transactions doomed ownership

Just as fast as the Barangay Awai land in San Jacinto was bought by then Mayor Benjamin Lim five years ago, it was immediately lost by the city to the government’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

The 29.993-hectare property that the Dagupan City government bought for P16 million of taxpayers’ money ostensibly for a sanitary landfill had been in fact, subject to compulsory acquisition under the CARP.

Based on documents obtained by City Legal Officer George Mejia from the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB), not even a square foot of the huge property sold on April 11, 2002 to the city by one Jose Mariano Cuna, an alleged business crony of then Lim, has been retained by Dagupan.

Cuña sold the property to the city of Dagupan while the petition for redemption filed by farmer tenants on March 15, 2002 was still pending before DARAB.

The coup de grace for Dagupan was contained in a DARAB resolution dated   July 3, 2003, following an amended petition for redemption filed on August 26, 2002 by eight tenants and or their representatives against four respondents, among them the city of Dagupan represented by then Mayor Benjamin Lim.

Mejia said he was told by a member of the DARAB board that if Dagupan would get lucky and manage to be compensated  for its almost 30-hectare  property acquired by CARP, it can only hope to recover P100.000 per hectare or P2 million for the entire property.

This means, the city shall have lost the P14 million it paid for the entire property in 2002.

Aside from Lim, the other respondents in the case were Estrella Sangalang, former administrator of the 29.993-hectare property, one of the heirs of the original owner, Juan Fernandez; Jose Mariano Cuna to whom Sangalang sold the land on December 18, 2001 for P7 million; and the Land Bank of the Philippines which was impleaded as party defendant as it was responsible in financing the redemption price of the land acquired under CARP.

Only Cuña, Sangalang and Land Bank were cited as respondents in the original petition for redemption filed on March 15, 2002 by tenants Domingo de Vera, Narciso Araos, Inocencio Cayabyab, Ricardo Nitcha, Benjamin Ronquillo, represented by Cecilia Ronquillo, Silvana Sembrana represented by Maria Sembrana, Santiago Ferrer, represented by Degilma Ferrer and Froctuoso Padaoan, represented by Leonora Padaoan.

All the petitioners and their representatives said they were agricultural tenants of the original owner, Juan Fernandez, when he was still alive, as evidenced by their leasehold contracts.

Even after Fernandez died, they continued to pay their lease rentals to Sangalang, one among the heirs of the deceased Fernandez, when she took over as administrator of the property.

As gleaned from the amended petition, the tenants filed before DARAB when they read from reports in the media in February 2002 that Sangalang sold the property to Cuña on December 18, 2002.

Dagupan City, represented by Lim as mayor, was included among the respondents  in the amended petition filed by the tenants on August 26, 2002 when the petitioners learned in July that year that Cuña bought the property for P16 million, representing a P9 million overprice.

NO MOVE
TO REDEEM

Mejia said the Lim administration, although served with the copy of the amended petition, did not file its answer to the amended petition for redemption even after its announced plan to develop it as a sanitary landfill for Dagupan.

A resolution issued by DARAB on July 3, 2003 remanded the records of the case to the DAR provincial office Operations Division for Administrative Compulsory Acquisition of the land pursuant to the provision of CARP under Republic Act 6657.

Mejia said records of DARAB show that no appeal or motion for reconsideration was filed by the City Government of Dagupan regarding the matter, hence the resolution dated July 3, 2003 became final and executory on September 22, 2003.

Furthermore, a Notice of Coverage was sent to the City of Dagupan on March 2, 2004, stating among others that the 29.993-hectare land bought by Cuña is under the coverage of the CARP, and Land Bank is now in the process of determining the land value of the subject landholding.

However, despite the Notice of Coverage, the City did not avail of its right of privilege to apply for an exemption clearance or for exclusion from CARP coverage nor manifested its right to retain an area not exceeding five hectares pursuant to Section 6 of RA 6657.

Mejia said neither did the city submit evidence for determining just compensation of the subject landholding.

NULL AND VOID

Mejia is also of the opinion that the Deed of Absolute Sale executed by and between Cuna and Lim is null and void or ultra vires.

Mejia cited Ordinance No. 1774-2002, enacted during the special session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod on February 7, 2002 entitled “Ratification of   the Deed of Absolute Sale executed by and between the City of Dagupan, represented by Mayor Benjamin Lim and Jose Mariano Cuña for the purchase of the alternative dumpsite for the City of Dagupan situated at Awai, San Jacinto”.

“How can the Sangguniang Panlungsod ratify a non-existent document as the Deed of Absolute Sale executed by and between Cuna and Lim was on April 11, 2002,” Mejia asked.

Nevertheless, the SP enacted Resolution No. 3590-02 in its special session on February 14, 2002 entitled Holding in abeyance the effectivity of Ordinance No. 1744-2002 which ratified the Contract of Sale of land executed by Lim and Cuna in consideration of more than P16,000.

Mejia said that per Resolution. No. 3590-02, ratification for the contract of sale was withdrawn.

Ratification of the contract of sale was necessary since it was one of the conditions set in Resolution No. 3563-2001 enacted by the SP in the regular session of December 10, 2001, authored by Councilor Teofilo Guadiz III, which authorized Lim to search for and purchase an alternative dumpsite for the City of Dagupan.

Ratification is needed because Dagupan is a public corporation based on its charter.

Furthermore, said Mejia, Ordinance No. 1744-02 had not been signed by then Vice Mayor and SP Presiding Officer Alvin Fernandez and therefore had no effect yet.

Subsequently, per the minute of the special session of the SP on April 5, 2002, Guadiz presented to the body Draft Ordinance No. 673 seeking to repeal Resolution No. 3590-2002.

However, he withdrew the same and substituted it with Draft Resolution. No.  674 which resulted in the enactment of Resolution No. 3606-2002 entitled “Authorizing the City Mayor to search for, invest in and purchase a parcel of land even outside the City of Dagupan to be used by the city for investment and general purposes.”

Mejia said Resolution No 3626-2002 did not repeal Resolution No. 3590-02 that held the ratification of the contract in abeyance.

“It is very clear from these documents that then Mayor Benjamin S. Lim has no authority to buy the Awai land because Resolution No.  1744 -2002 was not yet effective, according to the Sangguniang Panlungsod itself,” Mejia said.

Mejia believes that based on all the documents he obtained from SP Records Officer Marita Palaganas, a strong case can be filed against all the officials who engineered the sale  but he said he will await his marching orders from Mayor Fernandez or the  Sangguniang Panlungsod.—LM

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