MALASIQUI—A Supreme Court decision that invalidated a lease contract for the establishment of a private mall on a public property led to lost job opportunities for the town’s residents.

As many as 300 jobs have been lost, Mayor Armando Domantay Sr. said.

The Supreme Court’s Third Division denied the petition for review on certiorari filed by Magic Group of Companies. The business group initially secured a lease for a portion of a public property here to convert it into its mall.

“We will abide but the lawyers might still have something to do about it,” Domantay said.

Despite the ruling, which was issued on April 14, he said his conscience is clear, insisting that the mall’s construction preceeded with a legal basis.

“Before its full completion, there was a temporary restraining order issued against it but it was denied by the [Regional Trial Court] so we assumed therefore that it is legal and so the construction continued,” Domantay said.

However, the RTC’s decision was reversed after the petitioners elevated the case to the higher court.

The SC resolved that the Sangguniang Bayan’s resolution lacks two third unit of votes to comprise a majority and that there were no public hearings conducted prior to the leasing of the public land.

With the motion for the issuance of right for demolition in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) by the petitioners Mario T. Armas and Osmundo Lambino both residents of the town, Domantay was despondent over the loss of employment opportunities for over 300 employees of the mall.

“It saddens me because the establishment could have given jobs to our townmates in additon to more revenues for the municipality,” said Domantay. (Hilda Martin Austria)

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