Buying property in the Phils. revisited

[don2222]

This is from the SunStar Online

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2003/12/16/marcos.crony.heirs.we.own.3.brys..html

Marcos crony heirs: We own 3 brys.

CEBU -- A land dispute between residents in Moalboal in southwestern Cebu and heirs of a Marcos crony has prompted Gov. Pablo Garcia to deploy more policemen to the town.

About 2,00 families and 50 beach resort owners were asked to moved out because their lands are now owned by at least three holding firms.

Saavedra Barangay Captain Virgilio Sabanate said they were surprised last Dec. 3 when heirs of the late Rebecco Panlilio, reportedly a former crony of late president Ferdinand Marcos, installed checkpoints in their place.

About 25 security guards from Sikatuna Security Agency were deployed by a certain retired Col. Antonio Medejia and retired Col. Lyle Paras.

The guards, Sabanate said, threatened to shoot them if they will pass the checkpoints without clearance from them. They have even put up bunkhouses, the village chief added.

Medija, a former secretary of Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City, could not be contacted as of press time.

Sabanate said the Panlilio group claimed 60 lots, including lot 2535 and the 18-kilometer road traversing Barangays Saavedra, Tuble and Poblacion East.

No order yet

Moalboal Mayor Inocentes "Titing" Cabaron said all parties must settle their dispute in court to avoid bloodshed.

Senior Supt. Maximo Calimlim, Cebu Provincial Police Office director, said he has yet to get word of the governor's order.

He told Sun.Star that only Governor Garcia and Mayor Cabaron were the ones who talked about the situation in the town, about 89 kilometers southwest of Cebu City.

Mario Gupiao, a representative of the Panlilio heirs, sent letters to the families and beach resort owners, informing them that their lands are now owned by Tri-Islands Corporate Holdings Inc., Mango Development Inc. and Universal Holdings Inc.

"The undersigned establishments and individuals, as owners of the real property you are occupying without their consent, are demanding you to vacate and clear the same with your improvements within five days from receipt of this letter," Gupiao said in his letter dated Dec. 4.

Panlilio, who died a few years ago, owned Grand Boulevard Hotel in Manila and Puerto Azul in Batangas. He was accused of financing the 1989 coup by Gregorio Honasan, now a senator, and Billy Bibit, Port of Cebu district collector.

Barangay assembly

Cabaron said the barangay residents will hold an assembly Tuesday to discuss the land dispute.

A dialogue is set this Thursday for residents and representatives of the Panlilio group to settle the problem.

One of the resort owners, Lambert Lim, said he bought his beach lot in good faith, paying P2 million under the name of his company, Cebu Jaya Realty Corp.

Another resort owner, Belgian national Daniel Heindrich, said he also received a notice to vacate from Gupiao. He spent P5 million for the improvement of his beach resort.

Sabanate said he and residents only possess tax declarations of their lands. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources Land Management Bureau did not issue land titles because the land survey was erroneous and has been the subject of petition in court for re-survey.

Mayor Cabaron, meanwhile, said the putting up of checkpoints and the deployment of security guards were done when he was attending a mayors' league meeting in Manila.

Cabaron said the persons who deployed the security guards did not even have the courtesy of informing the barangay and municipal officials about their purpose.

The mayor said he will arrest the security guards if the governor will order him to do so since the checkpoints were set up along the provincial road.

"If they occupied the municipal road, I would have disarmed them and dismantled the checkpoints a long time ago," Cabaron said.

Security guards A.Q. Andog and J. C. Arreglo said they are just following orders from their employers.

"We are only doing this for a living. They should not go after us because we only want to get our wages," Andog said.

Buying spree

Cabaron said that as far as he can remember, Panlilio had a buying spree of lands in Moalboal during the Martial Law period.

However, Panlilio failed to transfer the ownership of the lands in the name of his company because of defective deed of sale and other reasons.

Lot 2535, with an area of 24 hectares, is among those claimed by Panlilio's heirs. The claim was first filed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 24 and was transferred to the Barili RTC.

The governor refused to comment on the land claims because of the cases pending in court. But he said the provincial road cannot be claimed by a private person. With RHM

[Nathan]

... in response to Buying property in the Phils. revisited, posted by don2222 on Dec 16, 2003

Don,

   One more illustration about the farcical potential of
"buying" land in the Philippines. As you know, the three branches of government in the Philippines are incompetence, corruption, and graft.

[Jeff S]

... in response to Re: Buying property in the Phils. revisi..., posted by Nathan on Dec 16, 2003

.. but why is it that people in these countries with all of this corruption put up with that nonsense. A tiny country like Singapore can clean up their act and turn into one of the shining stars of Asia in a mere couple dozen years, while places like the PI, easily potentially a far more economically viable place, wallows in poverty for only that reason, governmental corruption. It's like Mexico, a country with natural resources including oil, excellent farmland, warm water ports in both oceans, a plentiful labor supply, yet the corruption keeps the populace in squalor. Mexico should have twice the economy as Canada, but no, the people keep electing leaders who steal everything and put up with petty nonsense like that. I believe the people to be complicit, or at the very least tolerant of it.

Back when I was running a twin plant operation, we occasionally were busted by the the Mexican border patrol for minor paperwork typos. We could pay the official fine of like $1200 for a truckload, or get the border patrol agents to take care of it for maybe $300. I picked the $1200 every time. Once they tag you as a payer, They find something wrong every week instead of maybe once a year. you don't have to play their silly games. It's the principle of the thing.

I'm not naieve, I realize the power of big money in politics, but if you really think the US is just as corrupt, try slipping a cop, a border patrol agent, or building inspector a c-note when he's about to bust you. This is really the only reason the US economy is booming while much of the rest of the world stagnates - people can trust that people wil follow the law, not random favors.

- Jeff

[Nathan]

... in response to I don't want  to get off on a rant here...., posted by Jeff S on Dec 16, 2003


Jeff,

  When it comes to corruption, you have it exactly right as to the reason it thrives in the Philippines.
  "I believe the people to be complicit, or at the very least     tolerant of it." Most former colonies of Spain have exactly the same mores, and almost all of them wallow in vast corruption, from everyday life all the way to the offices of their leaders. From the Barangays up to the presidents office, the country is run by kleptocrats.
  And you are right...try slipping a c-note to the next cop that stops you in the US and see where that gets you.

[Jeff S]

... in response to Re: I don't want  to get off on a rant h..., posted by Nathan on Dec 16, 2003

Hmmm - "former colonies of Spain" - never thought about it that way, but you're right, they're far more corrupt than say former colonies of England or France.

- Jeff