Binangonan landlord wooed by developers but legal woes niggle

FOUR builders have expressed interest to buy into IRC Properties, Inc., but a deal may only be completed once the latter resolves land ownership issues involving its sprawling property in the province of Rizal, the chairman of the listed firm told reporters last week.

IRC Chairman Esteban G. Pena Sy said the company’s management has been in contact with four groups, which are attracted to its main asset of roughly 2,000 hectares ( ha) of land in Binangonan.

“Right now, we are trying to clean our house...We cannot commit because we are still in the process of clearing land,” Mr. Pena Sy said.

IRC has tapped a team of lawyers who will verify claims for up to 70% of its Binangonan property.

“Hopefully, the process will be completed in less than a year. We are trying to accelerate things,” Mr. Pena Sy said.

With land ownership issues out of the way, the company could demand a premium for its shares should it decide to entertain offers by the big developers, the IRC executive said.

In 1991, the Supreme Court affirmed previous decisions by the Court of Appeals and the Regional Trial Court confirming the validity of IRC’s titles over the Binangonan property, but ordered it to consider claimants who had paid the tax declaration.

There are currently three subdivisions on its vast property, the latest of which is a product of a recent joint venture with Japan’s Tamurakenzai group.

Over the long- term, IRC plans to build retail and office developments in the lot to serve the needs of the households, Mr. Pena Sy said.

IRC was originally involved in oil exploration and has drilled two wells in Southern Mindoro and the Sulu Sea, but was forced to cut down on these activities when the world recession hit in the late 1970s.

It acquired the Binangonan property in 1978, marking its foray into real estate development. —