Court bars Osmeña from touching sold SRP lots

Court of Appeals says Osmeña can’t negotiate on SRP lot downpayment since he is not party to the case

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña cannot negotiate for the settlement of the case that a taxpayer filed to stop the City Council from appropriating the P8.3 billion down payment the City received from the three developers that bought lots in the South Road Properties (SRP), the Court of Appeals (CA) said.

This would mean that the City can use the P8.3 billion initial payment from the developers and that the developers can proceed with the development that they want to implement on the lot that they bought, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella said.

So far, Osmeña has yet to issue a comment on the matter.

In a seven-page resolution, the 19th Division of the CA denied the joint motion for a compromise agreement that Osmeña and Romulo Torres filed before the CA.

In 2015, Torres filed a civil petition for declaratory relief and injunction with temporary restraining order in a bid to stop the Council from appropriating funds from the P8.3 billion down payment the City received from the three developers that won the bidding for the SRP lots.

In a resolution penned by CA Associate Justice Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga, the appellate court said the agreement was contrary to law and public policy, which warrants its outright denial.

The CA said Osmeña, who represented the City in the compromise agreement, is not a party to the case.

“Apparently, the terms and conditions of said agreement will affect the rights and obligations of other parties not a party to this case. The compromise agreement will, in effect, declare something which has not been passed upon by the courts. If the courts grant the subject compromise agreement, other individuals or entities, which are not parties to the instant case, will be prejudiced and will be affected by the provisions of the said compromise agreements, and as declared above, will be considered a ‘determination of controversy’ between the parties and has the effect of a final judgment,” read a portion of the resolution.

Named defendant of the case is the Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Cebu, represented by Labella, who serves as the presiding officer, and other members of the legislative body.

The resolution, which was dated Dec. 13, has the concurrence of Associate Justice Gabriel Ingles and Associate Justice Edward Contreras.

In an interview, Labella said he already expected that the compromise agreement would be denied because Osmeña has no legal personality over the case.

Labella, who is a lawyer, said that even the Regional Trial Court ruled that there is no conflict between City Ordinance (CO) 2332, passed in 2012, and Resolution 130418-2014.

The ordinance seeks to protect the SRP and its stakeholders from unlawful and unauthorized transactions.

The resolution, on the other hand, authorizes the disposal of 45.2 hectares through public bidding.

“I was already expecting that because if at all there will be negotiation, it would be between the Sangguniang Panlungsod and Torres. I agree in toto the decision of the CA,” he said.

Last October, the City Council approved with five abstentions from the opposition councilors the resolution requesting Osmeña to negotiate two cases involving the SRP lots.

The resolution covers the request for Osmeña to negotiate the consignation the three giant developers made for the payment of the lots they bought in the SRP and the civil petition for declaratory relief” that Torres filed.