By EUGENE ADIONG
BACOLOD City — SM Prime Holdings, Inc. filed another civil case seeking the declaration of nullity of the deed of conditional sale and contract of lease between the provincial government and Ayala Land, Inc.
Edgar Ryan San Juan, vice president of SM Prime Holdings’ legal department, filed the case before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) on May 21. The case was raffled off to RTC Branch 48 on May 26.
In connection with the case, the court issued summons to Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., chair of the capitol’s Committee on Awards and Disposal of Real Properties; committee members Patrick Lacson, Mary Ann Manayon–Lamis, Nelda Generoso, Lucille Pines, Merlita Caelian, Enrique Pinongan and Ernie Mapa; Sangguniang Panlalawigan members; and Ayala Land. The court gave them 15 days to respond.
Court records showed that SM claimed that the province, through Marañon and the committee, fraudulently circumvented the law on disposition and lease of local government-owned real estate by executing the deed of conditional sale and contract of lease in favor of Ayala Land for a 7.7-hectare capitol property.
SM said it has submitted an unsolicited proposal to Marañon to lease the property and use it as site of a world-class business and technology park, which will cost not less than P2 billion.
The property developer filed this new civil case in the wake of the dismissal of several claims and cases it filed against the capitol-Ayala Land agreement.
On March 27, the Land Registration Authority denied SM’s appeal over its adverse claim on the 39 capitol-owned lots covered by the deed of sale and contract of lease with Ayala Land.
RTC Branch 59 Judge Estefanio Libutan Jr. also dismissed for lack of merit the certiorari that SM filed against the provincial government.
SM asserted that it won in the first bidding for the sale and lease of the subject capitol property.
In his decision dated January 23, 2014, Libutan also dismissed SM’s case that seeks a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, and the nullification of Resolution No. 11–001 of the Committee on Awards and Disposal of Real Properties which declared a failure of bidding for the 7.7-hectare property on July 7, 2011.
In the same case, SM sought to be declared the winner in the bidding.
Other cases filed against the land deal have been dismissed by the Court of Appeals./PN
