Zambo Sur gov, Pagadian mayor clash over land sold for P1B
PAGADIAN CITY—-A squabble between the leaders of Zamboanga del Sur and this city, the provincial capital, over a 3.7-hectare property threatens its attractiveness to future investors.
Gov. Victor Yu and Pagadian Mayor Samuel Co had clashed over the sale of the property at the heart of this city’s urban center, which is now currently undergoing commercial development by Robinsons Land Development Corp.
In August 2020, through a bidding process, Robinsons Land acquired 2.5 ha of the property for P655 million. The following year, the remaining portion was sold to KMC Realty Corporation, on behalf of supermarket chain PureGold, for P323 million.
Construction of the Robinsons Mall is set to be completed in the next few months and slated to open by the end of the year, raising hopes that it would stir more commercial development in the city.
‘Irregular’ sale
But Councilor Maria Alicia Elena Ariosa, the governor’s ally in the city council, filed a case before the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao against Co and 11 former members of the 13th City Council, and the two buyers of portions of the property, for alleged graft stemming from the sale.
Yu, while not directly a party to the complaint, said that because it is a property awarded to the local government by the national government, it should only be used for public purposes.
With the commercial development, “there is irregularity” and the land sale was “an illegal transaction” unless approved by Congress, Yu maintained in a press briefing here on Tuesday.
Yu then insisted that the title to the property, in its entirety, must revert to the local government since the transactions were illegal.
‘Anti-development’
But Co said that the “recent action by Governor Yu sends a bad signal to future investors in the city. That is why I brand this act as anti-development.”
“Just imagine the hassle that this harassment suit would bring to Robinsons and PureGold. Their business masterplan in the city will ground to a halt,” Co added.
He added that the sale transactions were also covered by authorizations from the city council which, eventually, were also approved by the provincial board.
The mayor said the governor should have raised the matter before Robinsons began its construction.
Co said this “unwarranted squabble” could douse cold water to the interests of property developers, like Ayala Land and SM Properties, to invest in the city.
City Legal Officer Georgina Ariosa-Lopez provided the Inquirer copy of the Original Certificate of Title No. 0-3,376 which was decreed by Regional Trial Court Presiding Judge Harun Bagis to be issued to the city government in 2006. The title was eventually issued by the Land Registration Authority on Oct. 18, 2010, signed by Administrator Eulalio Diaz III.
Lopez noted that the property was first claimed by the city government before the court on January 16, 1967. In 2011, the provincial government, through then Governor Antonio Cerilles, filed its petition claiming the land parcel.
However, the court favored the city government, said Lopez.
