Cebu solon, Mandaue execs sued over land deal

A complaint for plunder and graft has been filed against Cebu Rep. Jonas Cortes and other officials of Mandaue City at the Office of the Ombudsman over the allegedly anomalous sale of nearly 3.6 hectares of reclaimed land for only P1.8 million in 2015.

In a joint affidavit, complainants Abner Quino and Emmanuel Espiritu claimed that the city government of Mandaue was shortchanged by more than P428 million in the land deal, which was completed when Cortes was still Mandaue mayor.

They said Cortes and four of his fellow respondents should be held administratively and criminally liable for facilitating the questionable sale of the property to EC Ouano Development and Management Corp. (Ecodemcor), a company owned by Olga Ouano.

P50 per square meter

Citing official documents, they said Cortes signed a deed of absolute sale in September 2015 for the 35,821-square-meter property, which was sold at a “ridiculously low price” of P50 per sq m.

“As [a] clear manifestation of the grand conspiracy of respondents to ensure the sale of the reclaimed land to Ecodemcor … it is important to note that … [they] did not even bother to  determine first if the subject land has been classified as alienable and disposable,” read a portion of the pair’s Sept. 18 complaint.

Quino and Espiritu said the foreshore property, located at Barangay Looc, was acquired by Ecodemcor way below its market value then of P12,000 per sq  m.

Promise

They said members of the city council, led by then Vice Mayor Glenn Bercebe, should not have authorized the sale based on a “promise to sell,” which was entered into in 2001 by then Mayor Thadeo Ouano with a relative, Ernesto Ouano Sr., in violation of the antigraft law.

The complainants also noted that the agreement between Thadeo and Ernesto did not have the consent of the city council as required by Republic Act No. 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991.

“Being a seasoned and experienced public officer … Cortes should have known better,” the complaint said.

Besides, they pointed out that the original purchase agreement was between the city government and Ernesto, not Ecodemcor.

“It is no brainer that parcels of land appreciate in value over time and Cortes … knows very well that the market value of the subject parcel of land has already increased exponentially,” they added.