Lot contracted to Filinvest covered by auction notice

The South Road Properties (SRP) lot chosen by the Rallos heirs to be auctioned off for payment to them is contracted to developer Filinvest, a court sheriff confirmed yesterday.

The  9.7 hectare lot forms part of the P25 billion joint venture (JV) agreement between Cebu City and Filinvest Land Inc.

Court sheriff Eugenio Fuentes told Cebu Daily News that a representative of the Rallos heirs picked the lot as suitable payment for the city’s P133 million debt to them.

A Notice of Execution, Sale and Public Auction was posted by Fuentes at the walls of the Palace of Justice, Cebu City Hall and Cebu Post Office.

Unless the city pays the Rallos heirs P133 million as mandated by the court, the lot will be auctioned off on Dec. 13 at the Sheriff’s Office in the Palace of Justice.

Under the Rules of Civil Procedure notices shall be posted in three public places for 20 days before a public auction.

The notice shall describe the property and area where the property is to be sold.

The public auction shall also be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in one newspaper selected by raffle. The auction will be held anytime from 9 a.m to 2 p.m.

Proceeds will be given to the heirs of Rev. Fr. Vicente Rallos whose lot was purportedly expropriated by the city for a road in 1963.

One of the heirs who requested anonymity for security concerns, said five Chinese businessmen are interested in buying the lot.

“The SRP is a good location for business. I’m 100 percent sure that they will submit their bids for the auctioned lot,” he said.

He declined to comment on the agreement between the city and Filinvest on the lot they chose for auction.

“I will coordinate with our lawyer about it,” the claimant said.

The city government and Filinvest entered into a joint venture agreement to develop 50 hectares of the 300-hectare SRP into a central business district in 2009.
Part of the agreement required Filinvest to purchase 10 hectares and pay the city P1.5 billion within the first three years.

But the Cebu City government is adamant against paying the Ralloses.

The city, through former Cebu City councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, discovered last July a “convenio” or a compromise agreement between the feuding descendants of the  Rallos family in the 1940s.

The compromise involved donating the road in Sambag II to the Cebu City government.

Jade Ponce, one of the legal consultants of Mayor Michael Rama, said the notice issued by the court sheriff was premature and has no legal effect.

“Whatever it is they are doing, without complying with what is required in a Supreme Court circular, the notice is still invalid,” the lawyer said. Ponce said the sheriff should comply with SC Administrative Circular No. 10-2000.

The High Court mandated that all money claims against the government  must be filed before the Commission on Audit (COA) which must act upon it within 60 days.”

The circular also stated that the claimant may elevate the matter to the SC on certiorari if they find grounds to question the ruling.

Ponce said an auction of the SRP lot shall be coursed through COA before it will be implemented.

He also said the mayor has the option to choose which real property to be auctioned.

Ponce said a petition for annulment of judgment will be filed before the Court of Appeals.

Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge James Stewart Ramon Himalaloan upheld the previous Supreme Court ruling mandating the city to pay its debt to the Ralloses despite the presentation of the “convenio” in last month’s hearing.

Roy Rallos, one of the heirs, denied that the family donated the lot to the city.

“What can history do about this case? We should rather talk about the payment. There is already a Supreme Court ruling about the issue,” he said.

Notices of Garnishment were sent to the city’s depository banks consisting of the Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine Postal Bank, Development Bank of the Philippines, and Philippine Veterans Bank.

The same notice was sent to SM Prime Holding Inc., SM Development Corp. and SM Investments Corp. at their offices in the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City, Metro Manila.

At least two of the banks said the city has enough funds to pay the P133 million it owed to the Ralloses.

In an order dated last Sept 23, Judge Himalaloan gave the go signal for the court sheriff to issue a writ of execution against the city government.