New twist in Negros mall land row: Family stakes claim

BACOLOD CITY—A portion of the 7.7-hectare property that Ayala Land Inc.  intends to lease from the Negros Occidental provincial government is being claimed by the heirs of the late Aurelia Gonzaga-Villadelgado.

Swiss national Urs Schlosser, a spokesperson for the heirs, said in a press conference on Thursday that 6,900 square meters of the property, which is along the North Capitol Road, belonged to the descendants of Gonzaga-Villadelgado. His wife, Riza Lambatin, is one of the Villadelgado descendants.

“This total disregard of the pending legal proceedings and the haste in disposing Lot 403-A is not being taken lightly by our side,” Schlosser said.

But Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said the case, filed at the Bacolod Regional Trial Court, “is nothing to worry about.” He said the Gonzaga heirs have filed a similar case that had been dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Jose Ma. Valencia, provincial legal officer and chief of staff of the governor, said he was confident the case would not prosper.

Lorenzo Alminaza, lawyer of the Schlossers, said the family was not seeking to stop the lease of the property, but wanted to assert its claim on the land.

“We are just putting them on notice that a portion of the property they are presently transacting with the provincial government is being claimed by the heirs of the late Aurelia Gonzaga-Villadelgado,” Alminaza said.

According to Schlosser, Lot 403 is covered by a land title —Original Certificate of Title (OCT) No. 2424—covering 63,586 square meters.

The owners’ duplicate copy of OCT No. 2424 in the possession of the Gonzaga heirs remains valid, he said. “Everything is aboveboard and can be counterchecked with public records,” Schlosser said.

He said Manuel Villadelgado Jr., also an heir, had filed a case to recover 2.5 hectares that the provincial government was claiming to own.

Joel Cabalatungan, lawyer of Manuel Villadelgado, said the 6,900 square meters being offered for lease to Ayala is part of the 2.5 hectares where the Pala-Pala Food Terminal is also located.

Cabalatungan said a hearing is set on Oct. 7 for the case filed by his client.

“We are more than confident that our position is undefeatable due to a Supreme Court ruling that the oldest existing title cannot be overruled,” Schlosser said.

Schlosser said he decided to call a press conference to react to a statement quoting the governor as saying that he expected the Commission on Audit to approve the contract on the sale and lease of the 7.7-hectare property to Ayala Land because nothing was wrong with it.