Ombud questions P56M payment to Rallos family

The Rallos lot dispute, which has long burdened Cebu city officials, is being investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas.

Over 10 years after P56 milllion was paid for the land in barangay Sambag II, the anti-graft office is questioning the release of government funds to heirs of Vicente Rallos, the lot owner.

The anti-graft office ordered former mayor  Tomas Osmeña and four other individuals to explain why P56 million in government funds were paid for a property that was apparently  donated to the city government.

It said investigators found “enough basis to proceed with the criminal and administrative investigation” of a complaint filed in 2012 by Jack P. Rallos, who represents  another group of heirs.

Osmeña, his former city administrator Francisco Fernando, court sheriff Antonio Bellonmes, and private individuals Luciano B. Rallos an Maurilllo B. Rallos of barangay Taboc, Mandaue City were given 10 days to submit their counter-affidavits.

The May 6 order was received by the parties only recently. Sought for comment, Congressman Osmeña yesterday said  the case is “being handled by my lawyers.”

Offhand, he told Cebu Daily News he can’t remember having signed any document to authorize P56 million payment.

“The garnishment was a court order.  I had nothing to do with it,” said Osmeña, referring to the court-ordered confiscation of P34.9 million from the city’s bank accounts in 2001.

During his term as mayor, Cebu City paid P56,196,369.42 to the  Rallos family in 2002 and 2008.

The road lot in Sambag 22 was taken over by the city in 1963, and is the subject of a court case on appeal, where the Cebu city government was ordered in a money judgement to pay the Rallos heirs P133 million.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has refused to heed the order to pay, insisting that the land was donated to the city and not expropriated, based on a newly discovered convenio or compromise agreement.

The document dating back to the 1940s was shown by another faction of the Rallos family to prove that the lot was donated by the owners.

The case was elevated to the Court of Appeals where the city government has asked to stop the lower court and its sheriffs from collecting funds or auctioning off city-owned properties.

Lawyer Jade Ponce, one of Mayor Rama’s consultants, said it’s only proper to get back what was paid to the Rallos family.

”We’re happy that the wheels of justice are moving. Although they are quite slow, at least they are moving,” he told Cebu Daily News.

Ponce said the complaint filed by Jack Rallos will validate what the city government, under Rama, has been trying to emphasize.

“The Rallos lot should not be paid by the city government. There is no basis to pay for it. The lot was donated by the original Rallos family in the 1940s,” he said.

Ponce cited a decision by Judge Bienvinido Natividad who approved the convenio or compromise agreement for the donation of the Rallos property to the city government.

“A judgment based on a compromise agreement is immediately executory,” he said.

Ponce said Osmeña should have referred the issue to his lawyers before allowing the release of money to the Ralloses.

“As then chief executive, he has lawyers. With a court decision like that, you have the obligation to show it to your lawyers,” he said.

Ponce said it was also improper to pay the Ralloses since it was never established that they were the actual heirs of Rev. Fr. Vicente Rallos.

“It was never established that Lucina Rallos and the other claimants are the descendants of Fr. Rallos. Their claim of being heir is not established by judicial records. In fact, the two feuding Rallos families have a pending case in court,” Ponce said.

Jack Rallos filed the complaint in December 2012 against Osmeña for releasing government funds to another faction of the Rallos family.

Jack said the respondents should be investigated for violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Jack said he earlier approached Osmeña, when he was still city mayor to advise him not to pay to the heirs of the late priest represented by Lucina Rallos.

He said he knew the property was  donated  to the Cebu city government and that in case Osmeña would go ahead and pay for the lot, Jack said his family should also be entitled to a share.

Jack described himself as the grandson of Francisco Rallos, son of Mateo  Rallos  who was the brother of Victoria  Rallos , the owner of the lot in barangay Sambag II in Cebu City that was used as a public road by the city government.

Associate Justice Gabriel Ingles of the CA’s 18th division issued a writ of preliminary injunction against RTC Branch 9 and the heirs of Rev. Fr. Vicente Rallos, among others.

Since the dispute involved public funds, issuing a writ was needed to prevent “serious damage” to the city.

In resolving the matter, Justice Ingles said he considered the “convenio” presented by the city government only after the RTC decided on the case.

The document was discovered last year by city officials, through former Cebu City councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, showing a prior agreement between feuding descendants of the Rallos family in the 1940s.

The convenio was a decision of the Court of First Instance of the Province of Cebu dated Oct. 18, 1940.

City lawyers only mentioned the convenio during a hearing before the RTC in 2011.

While the convenio was presented, the lower court still didn’t reverse its ruling which ordered the city to pay at least P133 million to the Rallos. /Ador Vincent Mayol and Doris Bongcac