ANGELES CITY – Two interrelated resolutions were passed by the sangguniang panlungsod here on Tuesday, Oct. 17, giving authority to Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. to resolve the land dispute in Barangay Anunas affecting some 500 families.
Resolution No. 10972, S-2023 authorizes the mayor to negotiate with Clarkhills Properties Corp, for the purchase of parcels of land in Sitio Balubad, Barangay Anunas for the city’s socialized housing project.
A safety net of sorts is Resolutions No. 10973, S-2023 that authorizes Lazatin to initiate expropriation proceedings for the properties located at Sitio Balubad “subject of the failure of the negotiations with the owner – Clarkhills Properties Corp…”
Both resolutions sponsored by councilor Atty. Arvin Suller, chairman of the committee on human settlement and urban development, were unanimously approved during the council session held on Oct. 17.
The resolutions came in the wake of the reported failure of Clarkhills management to abide by the agreements arrived at in the dialogue brokered by Lazatin between the indignant tenants and Clarkhills represented by its president Oscar A. Torralba.
In a previous press statement to the media, Lazatin that on Sept. 15, “it was agreed upon that the scheduled demolition will be put on hold and status quo shall be observed until such a time that Clarkhills presents their development timeline to the city and the relocation and distribution of financial assistance to the affected families to be provided by Clarkhills, has been carried out.”
The mayor furthered that he, Torralba, and the tenants were scheduled to sit down anew to finalize relocation proceedings but the Clarkhills management now refused to sit down in the negotiating table.
On Oct. 13, Sheriff III Elizabeth Marasigan of the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) notified Lazatin that the demolition will be implemented on Oct. 16-19 in Barangay Cuayan at 9 a.m.; and on Nov. 6-10 in Barangay Anunas also at 9 a.m.
On Oct. 16, Lazatin sent a letter to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. seeking his assistance “in calling for a halt in the demolition of the properties in Barangay Cuayan and Anunas, Angeles City so that we may return to the negotiating table and renew our discussions with Clarkhills and the (DARAB).”
“The undersigned duly acknowledges the court order for the demolition; however, for humanitarian considerations, we are only appealing for more time to discuss the assistance and relocation for the families that will be adversely affected before the authorities proceed with the demolition,” the mayor noted in his letter
Referencing the notification of demolition from DARAB, Lazatin told the president: “We were left blindsided by this development and, on the same the day, the undersigned wrote to both Mr. Torralba and Sheriff Marasigan requesting to hold in abeyance the scheduled demolition and to have another meeting with them so that we may discuss the matter of providing assistance and relocation for the families that will be adversely affected by the demolition.”
On Monday, Oct. 16, the Anunas residents battled it out with the demolition team who were sent to enforce the court order to clear some 500 households. A truck was burned down in the melee.
The Clarkhills management is reportedly trying to take control of 73 hectares of the property in Barangay Anunas where the tenants are located, reportedly with their certificate of land ownership awards (CLOAs) given to them in 1998 during the administrations of Presidents Fidel V. Ramos and Joseph Estrada, and transfer certificate of titles (TCTs) under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Punto News Team/Angeles CIO
