Philippines Sgmas Oversight Tender

A more than 15-year old land dispute ended for more than 3200 families in Cebu City after the House Oversight Committee on Housing convened by former President and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was able to gather all stakeholders to waive their claims over their property in their favor. Speaker Arroyo had convened the Oversight Committee on Housing chaired by Rep. Alfredo Benitez 3rd District Negros Occidental to resolve the land dispute in Brgy. Apas Cebu City to enable the urban poor housing beneficiaries mostly composed of families of soldiers to get their titles over their property.During hearing held at the Central Command in Brgy. Apas Monday afternoon Speaker Arroyo personally invited Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to sign the compromise agreement in favor of the informal settlers. It was the last act required to make the compromise agreement effective. It was earlier signed by the Provincial Government of Cebu as owner of the land and the City of Government of Cebu which has jurisdiction over the residents. The signing was witnessed by Speaker Arroyo to the jubilation of the hundreds of residents who attended the hearing.The land in Brgy. Apas has been owned by the Cebu provincial government since 1918. In 1959 the province of Cebu donated a portion of their land to the Armed Forces of the Philippines AFP consisting of 47 parcels of land. The donation had a condition that in case of abandonment non-use or use other than military purposes the ownership of the land shall automatically be reverted to the provincial government. It was later discovered that only 14 of the 47 lots were being utilized by the military. The remaining lots were occupied by informal settlers.In 2003 then President Arroyo issued Presidential Proclamation No. 409 which declared 18 of the 47 lots in Barangay Apas as socialized housing sites and for disposition to their legally qualified occupants that consisted of retired military officers and personnel. Despite the presence of the Proclamation the DND and the Cebu provincial government with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources DENR and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council HUDCC signed a Memorandum of Understanding MOU transferring the 18 lots back to the Province of Cebu.In addition a Memorandum of Agreement MOA was also carried out to supplement the MOU and to provide a framework for the turnover. However the Cebu City government and the Alliance of Barangay Apas Community Associations ABACA filed a court case seeking to declare the MOU and the MOA as null and void for being unconstitutional in the presence of Proclamation No. 409. Late last year the provincial government and the city government of Cebu agreed to end the dispute as they signed a compromise agreement over the socialized housing property in favor of the informal settlers in Brgy. Apas.Thereafter the Office of the Solicitor General as counsel of the DND requested that the department also sign the compromise agreement. With the signing the OSG during the hearing promised to immediately file a formal comment before the court to expedite the granting of land to the socialized housing beneficiaries. The National Housing Authority for its part vowed to begin the process for the titling and awarding of titles to residents.Speaker Arroyo expressed elation over the new development. It is a good day for the residents here in Apas who composed mostly of soldiers who have long been wanting to get security in housing. I am glad we have given that to them today she said. In the meantime involved agencies including the HUDCC are already zoning the area to determine the cost of the properties.