THE defense and military establishments have returned to the Cebu provincial government 16 parcels of land (17.5 hectares), part of the property donated by Cebu officials 63 years ago, after more than a decade of legal battle.
Department of National Defense officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. and AFP chief Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro led the turnover of the property in rites at the Cebu provincial capitol in Cebu City last Monday.
The parcels of land were returned by the DND and the AFP three years after the Supreme Court ordered the return of the property to the administration and control of the Cebu provincial government.
In 1959, the provincial government donated to the military 47 parcels of land, measuring 806,943 square meters or 80.6 hectares, to the Third Military Area, now known as the AFP Visayas Command (Viscom).
The area is now known as Camp Lapu-Lapu, the current home of the AFP Visayas Command.
The donation came with a condition that the land will be reverted to the provincial government in the event they are utilized other than for military purposes.
Earlier reports said a large portion of the donated land had been occupied by informal settlers.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, in a speech during the ceremony, said Cebu filed a case of ejectment before the Cebu metropolitan trial court against the AFP way back in 2005.
“This went all the way up to the Supreme Court, each time the courts upholding the province’s right and possession over the entire 80 hectares by virtue of that condition, that crucial condition in that deed of donation: If any of the lots would be used for purposes other than military, then all of the above will revert to the province of Cebu.
“Now, we see finally the first steps towards the realization of the entire 80 hectares to be turned over to the province. These 16 lots comprise 17.5 hectares, the balance we hope we will be able to receive after we shall have settled the issue of replication. The issue of relocation of the Viscom has already started,” said Garcia.
Garcia said Viscom has initially surveyed 1,050 hectares of land, part of the national government reserve that spans the towns of Tabuelan and Tuburan, both in Cebu, where the Viscom headquarters might be relocated.
Bacarro said the turnover of the lots to the Cebu government came after resolving “some of the impediments in the reconveyance” of the property.
“Today’s ceremonial turnover of the expropriated lots exhibits the noble intent of the DND and the AFP to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court issued last 01 April 2019, which is to hand over the possession, the administration and the control of 16 donated lots back to the provincial government,” said Bacarro.
Bacarro said the series of engagements between the DND, AFP and the Cebu provincial government “highlighted the strong teamwork of our agencies and the diplomatic approach that we all espouse in deliberating the available courses of actions in order to achieve a mutually-beneficial result.”
Bacarro also assured the people of Cebu that the military will remain a “reliable, credible and highly capable partner in protecting the peace and facilitating development in your communities.”
Faustino said the return of the property was made “not only in respect for the rule of law or compliance with the decision of the Supreme Court.”
He said it was made also “on our fervent desire to cultivate a solid relationship for the benefit of everyone, especially the local communities directly impacted by the situation.”
