ON JULY 5, per order from the city government of Bacolod, tenants at the Manokan Country on Fr. Ferrero Street at the Reclamation Area must vacate the place ASAP (as soon as possible).
But 26 of the 30 tenants are bound to disobey Mayor Albee Benitez’s order to give way to the P4-billion, 40-year redevelopment of the 16,685-square meter city government property by the Sy-led SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI).
Instead, the Manokan Country tenants for 41 years now hired former Bacolod councilor, Atty. Joemax Ortiz, as their legal counsel to dribble their vehement opposition against the planned redevelopment of the city and SMPHI via public-private partnership (PPP).
Ortiz, on June 20, penned a letter addressed to the mayor, stressing a legal point that the eviction of his clients would be legally disadvantageous to the city because they still have until December 2024 based on their existing contract.
Beside, Ortiz pointed out that the existing City Ordinance (CO) No. 16, series of 1983, passed during the time of the late mayor Jose Montelavo Jr., has neither been amended nor repealed yet.
CO No. 16 was meant for the establishment of the now-iconic Manokan Country, and the stall rental there per se.
To succumb to a redevelopment of the place, Ortiz argued that the Sangguniang Panlungsod must pass another ordinance for such a purpose.
Only an ordinance and not a mere resolution can supersede an existing ordinance that is still in effect, he stressed.
WILL GO ON
But in response, City Legal Officer Carlos Romeo Ting said the eviction of Manokan tenants will go on as scheduled. Same pronouncement was made Mayor Albee on June 25.
Ting said Ortiz is entitled to his own legal contention, but has no legal standing to block the eviction order of the city.
Besides, he said there’s no existing written contract between the City and the Manokan tenants.
“Only an implied contract,” said Ting.
Ortiz retorted: “An implied contract still has the same legal force as an express contract, which is a contract that is voluntarily entered into and agreed on verbally or in writing by two or more parties.”
In a nutshell, Ortiz said his clients will remain “as is where is” until the city government can secure or show a court order intended for their eviction and subsequent demolition of the Manokan Country.
Sans court order, Ortiz said, a mere order from the city government can’t hold water.
PROCEDURAL LAPSES
Now, Ortiz furthered that the city has blatantly committed procedural lapses in its quest for the redevelopment of an area where the Manokan Country, Vendors’ Plaza and the Bacolod Arts, Youth and Sports (BAYS) Center are standing.
Ortiz raised two legal points that the city government allegedly missed to do prior to the inking of a 40-year lease agreement with SMPHI.
These included:
* No passage of ordinance to repeal CO No. 16 as to whatever purpose the city intended to do with the Manokan Country. [Supreme Court Jurisprudence: Municipality of Parañaque versus V.M. Realty Corporation G.R. 127820, July 20, 1998]
* No passage of another ordinance for the PPP endeavor. Republic Act 11966].
With these legal contentions, Ortiz is pretty much ready for a “fight bite”.
‘LEGAL TURBULENCE’
Question: What will happen to the P131.89 million of SMPHI given to the city on November 20, 2023 as an equivalent to a seven-year advance downpayment for redeveloping the contested area at rate of P21.26 million per year with an escalating 5% interest rate every three years?
If Ortiz’s arguments are legally true, such an agreement between the city and SMPHI will go down the drain. Hope not.
The very purpose of SMPHI is only to redevelop the area by putting a tech-ready multi-level building for business process outsourcing (BPO), retail stores and food hub – still Manokan Country in concept. Noblest, indeed.
But since there is this last-minute “legal turbulence”, there might be an exciting legal derby that could derail the project.
But if it is true the city has committed just a small-time lapse in judgment over Manokan Country and the PPP it entered to with SMPHI, hence, this is worrisome on the part of the developer.
The clock might be ticking now for the SMPHI calendared works. It needs to beat the deadline. In construction business, especially in the corporate jungle, everyday delay means millions of pesos for the proponent.
And the city, supposedly, must have explored all legal procedures to make sure that prior to the inking of a pact with SMPHI, everything is free from legal flaws.
Nonetheless, let’s wait for July 5 and the “legal intramurals” as projected by Ortiz./PN
