THE TENANTS of a condominium in Quezon City which was forcibly taken over by a realty company have gone to court to retrieve their belongings, as the building remained guarded and inaccessible.
Armed men of Millgos Security Agency under the employ of Laverne Realty and Development Corp. seized Kaimo Building at 101 Quezon Ave. in October.
Guards from the same agency and the owners of Laverne—Alexander and Elizabeth Catolos—were arrested earlier this month after trying to take over another property in Caloocan City.
The Quezon City police had deployed some of its men to the building to maintain peace and order but they did not intervene when the building staff was detained and the units were padlocked by Laverne’s guards, according to Gerardo Kaimo, the building co-owner.
Laverne had claimed to be the new owner of several pieces of property sold in auctions held by the city government due to the previous owners’ tax liabilities.
In Kaimo’s case, the warrant of levy was addressed to his father who died in 2006 and he learned about the sale only in 2013 when the court sheriff ordered them to vacate the building. Laverne’s writ of possession, however, was quashed by a Quezon City court on the basis that the building has various unit owners.
“We will also file for damages [against Laverne] because we were suddenly unable to practice our profession, our bread and butter,” said one of the tenants who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.
Another tenant, lawyer Justiniano Panambo Jr., secured a court order to get his things through a replevin case filed in the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court.
Other tenants, which include a dental clinic and a restaurant, have since followed suit.
“We tried to convince Elizabeth Catolos to let us get our things since her dispute is with Kaimo and she doesn’t have a right to our belongings,” one tenant said. “She said she would have to schedule it and only one unit at a time. But it’s been two months.”