Filinvest hails ruling

OFFICIALS of Filinvest Land Inc. yesterday hailed a court ruling that canceled the encumbrance and notice of lis pendens on the South Road Properties (SRP) lots they are developing.

“The [court order] is not just a victory for Cebu and Filinvest, but the entire Cebuano community as well, considering that Filinvest’s Citta di Mare project will undeniably change the landscape of Cebu and consequently, the lifestyle of Cebuanos,” the Filinvest Land press statement said.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and some city officials yesterday attended a Mass at the Basilica del Sto. Niño as thanksgiving for the court ruling.

The Cebu City government received a copy of the ruling of Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Alexander Acosta of Branch 9 that cancelled the notice on the SRP lots it’s developing in a joint venture with the city.

The notice along with the garnishment order on Cebu City’s deposits were issued by the court as part of the ongoing payment dispute between the city and the Rallos heirs, who owned the property in barangay Sambag II.

Judge Acosta withdrew the garnishment order on the city’s bank deposits worth P133 million as well as the encumbrance”after “careful study of the city’s laws and records.”

But the city’s appeal on the RTC order for payment of P133 million to the Rallos heirs remains pending before the Supreme Court.

Still, Filinvest said it is grateful to the Cebu City government for “remaining steadfast” in the court case and honoring the joint venture agreement between them in developing the SRP lots.

“Just the same, Filinvest maintains and assures all its customers and stakeholders that the titles of the developed portion of Citta di Mare – the Amalfi and Sanremo clusters – have always been clean and was never covered by the lis pendens annotation,” the company said.

Filinvest said it will release the titles of the first Amalfi building soon, following its turnover to qualified buyers last March.

The building is already home to SRP’s first batch of residents, with the second building being turned over to buyers. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac and Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap