CEBU CITY – A criminal complaint has been filed against the mayor of Mandaue City, Cebu and four city councilors after a 9.5-hectare property whose ownership is being claimed by a private individual but was distributed to informal settlers.
MARIA Priscilla Melendres (right) puts up a tarpaulin warning unauthorized individuals to refrain from building structures in an area in Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City that is subject of a court case. (Calvin D. Cordova)
A charge for alleged violation of Section 3 of the Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act was filed against Mandaue Mayor Jonas Cortes and city councilors Maline Zafra, Oscar del Castillo, Jen del Mar, and Cynthia Remedio.
The complaint was filed by Maria Priscilla Melendres before the Office of the Ombudsman in Quezon City.
Melendres also filed separate complaints for “oppression, gross misconduct in office, and grave abuse of authority” before the Office of the President.
She asked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to investigate and “preventively suspend” the Mandaue officials as “the respondents could influence the witnesses or pose a threat to the safety and integrity of the records and other evidence.”
Melendres, a resident of Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, is claiming ownership of a parcel of land in Paknaan, Mandaue that was used by the city government as a relocation site for informal settlers.
She said the contested lot was used to be owned by her grandmother until it was sold to her. Melendres claimed that the transfer of ownership was acknowledged by the city based on a tax declaration that was registered under her name.
The complainant added that the City Assessor’s Office also recognized her as “declared owner” based on a Real Property Tax Statement that she had filed.
Melendres said she also paid the new assessment fee on the lot in the amount of P100,291.50.
She has also filed a separate complaint for illegal entry against Cortes. The case is still pending before the Municipal Trial Court and Cities 2 in Mandaue.
The city has allowed some informal settlers to occupy the lot where over 100 houses have already been built.
Melendres decided to file a complaint against Cortes and four city councilors before the Ombudsman when the subdivided lots were awarded to informal settlers last March 16.
She filed the complaint on march 20, four days after the lots were awarded to informal settlers.
Melendres claimed that Cortes and the four councilors “deliberately disregarded due process” when they allegedly illegally entered the property and awarded the lots to Mandaue residents” even if there is still a pending ejectment case.
Aside from allowing informal settlers to occupy the contested lot, Melendres also complained that the fence surrounding the area was also destroyed by Mandaue City employees.
Lawyer Julius Caesar Entice, the Assistant City Assessor, had said that the city is the rightful owner of the land, adding that a private individual cannot claim ownership of an area that is described as timberland.