Court allows Tarlac City to get back P3.5B land

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Tarlac City is set to reacquire seven hectares of land, valued at P3.5 billion after a regional trial court (RTC) ordered a company to return the premises to the local government.

The order of RTC Branch 258 in the City of Parañaque was in connection with a petition for the declaration of suspension of payment, formation and appointment of a rehabilitation committee and approval of rehabilitation plan filed by the city government against the debtor, Uniwide Sales Inc., following liquidation approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The order was released in December and received by the Tarlac City government on Monday.

Records showed that former Tarlac City Mayor Gelacio Manalang leased the lot in May 1996 to Mansteel Corp. for P500,000 yearly. Mansteel transferred the right over to Uniwide that same month. A commercial building and a common terminal exist on the site.

“Accordingly as prayed for, the Memorandum of Agreement dated May 16, 1996, is hereby declared terminated. The court-appointed liquidator is hereby directed to turn over the premises covered by the aforesaid Memorandum of Agreement to the creditor City Government of Tarlac,” Judge Noemi Balitaan said in the order.

Tarlac City Mayor Cristy Angeles said the court decision was “really beneficial” to the city and residents.

Angeles has been recovering assets that were the administration’s crusade to recover the city’s prime assets that were “unreasonably and unjustly” leased. The city government filed cases against leases covering two public markets. /lzb