What overprice?

Bencyrus Ellorin

THE Business Dictionary online lists five essential elements of sale: (1) competence of both buyer and seller to enter into a contract; (2) mutual agreement on the terms of the sale; (3) a thing capable of being transferred; and (4) a consideration in money (or its equivalent) paid or promised.

Sale of land to be used as resettlement area for Typhoon Sendong survivors is the meat of City Ordinance 2016-1. It has been almost five years since Sendong and yet, here we are still stuck in a debate on a very basic issue of providing resettlement for some of the victims.

Good enough, the government of Japan donated materials good for 722 houses intended for some victims of Sendong. Sendong, as we know, left over 10 thousand Cagayanons homeless. It would not only be ungrateful to refuse the donation of 722 houses from a friendly neighbor, it would be incompetence.

Last year, because of this incompetence from the local government–yes, collective incompetence–the government of Japan intimated it will no longer proceed with the housing donation because of the failure of the local government to provide land where these 722 houses will be built. Somehow, they had faith in the electorate to change the obstructionist city council–they bought time.

The first term of Mayor Oscar Moreno ached so much from the “babag” city council that refused almost every measure that would make him serve the people. Among the measures they blocked was the ordinance authorizing Mayor Moreno to buy the land for the houses donated by the government of Japan.

City hall found a suitable land for the 722 houses from Japan, the 10-hectare Gador property in Barangay Lumbia. The problem was that even if the city government has the money, it cannot be dispensed without the city council authorizing the mayor.

Among the roles of the city council is to provide check and balance to the executive. Fiscalizing is a role done by the local opposition. But the previous city council had overdone this fiscalizing duty, it had become an obstructionist–with the single motive of making the Moreno administration fail.

But the people of Cagayan de Oro have spoken. They booted out head of the obstructionist city council and elected people whom they thought are reasonable and have genuine public service in their hearts.

While we expect Councilor Leon Gan and the remaining Padayon councilors to be fiscalizers, they should listen to the vote which said, among others, that they do not want an obstructionist city council.

Gan and Co. may have blinked into voting for Ordinance 2016-1. They have exposed themselves as poor parliamentarians who cannot decide independently. Worse, it looks they are influenced by self-confessed briber William Guialani so they changed their minds on the ordinance a week after voting for it.

Now, they are saying the selling price of the Gador land at P265 per square meter is overpriced. Their reason, among others, is that the BIR zonal value for the land is only P155 per square meter. BIR’s zonal valuation is primarily for taxation purposes. The zonal valuation cannot dictate sale price. We are still a free country where transactions, like sale, are governed by the meeting of the minds of parties, not by any undue dictation by government.

At first glance, Gan’s argument looked tenable. Scrutiny however exposes his omissions.

1) The Gador and adjoining lands in Lumbia used to be agricultural, but converted to residential. Thus it’s zonal valuation should be higher.

2) The City Assessors Office assessed the land at P420 per square meter.

3) An appraisal made by the Philippine Appraisal Co. Inc. on the Gador property for the National Housing Authority placed the value of the property at P32,541,600 as of June 14, 2013.

This makes P265 per square meter or P27.5 million, which we understand is the price both the land owner and the city government agreed to, reasonable and favorable to the city government. Meanwhile, let’s wait for the review of the Committee on Finance and the mayor who will either sign in approval or veto the measure.

For his omissions, Gan’s allegation of overprice is at most a conjecture.

Good enough, the city council majority stood its ground and refused to be swayed by Gan’s antics.

I have seen very astute fiscalizers in the city council like the late Manolo Tagarda. He thought on his feet. His relentlessness was based on sound reasoning. He debated based on facts and law. He studied the legislative agenda. As for Gan and the Padayon remnants, it is obvious.

E-mail: bency.ellorin@gmail.com