Lawyer asks DPWH to disclose Lim deal

JUDITH

By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent

THE lawyer who threatened to sue anyone who would facilitate government payment for a controversial coastal property in Lapasan has invoked the Freedom of Information Order to demand details of an apparent deal between businessman cum Barangay 33 chairman Conrad Lim and the Department of Public Works and Highways.

In a letter to Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, lawyer James Judith invoked President Duterte’s Executive Order 2, otherwise known as the Freedom of Information Order, to ask that details of the supposed agreement be disclosed.

Judith furnished this paper a copy of his Aug. 23 letter to Villar following the DPWH regional office’s announcement that Lim has signed an Aug. 10 waiver that allowed the government to knock down the fence built around the controversial property so its contractor could proceed with the construction of a section of the coastal road.

A construction firm started working on that section of the project last week, and the DPWH projected that the four-lane road would be ready for public use by November.

Vinah Maghinay, DPWH spokesperson for Region 10, said she could not say if the property was subjected to expropriation proceedings or not, adding that the matter was being handled by the Department’s legal office.

For years, the property, a foreshore developed by way of a reclamation, stood in the way of the DPWH’s project aimed at providing a major diversion road from Gusa all the way to Igpit, Opol town in Misamis Oriental. The construction of the Lapasan section of the road was stalled because Lim asserted that he has rights over the coastal property.

Local officials argued against Lim’s assertion, pointing out that the disputed property is a foreshore and therefore, it is public domain and cannot be privately owned. Judith shared this position and threatened to file charges against DPWH or any official who would cause the release of public funds to compensate Lim.

Judith said he was informed that there was a memorandum of agreement and permit to enter the property which the DPWH executed with Lim.

He said copies of such documents have not been made available to the public.

“Apparently, these are being treated confidentially. This should not be the case for the people have the right to know,” Judith said.

Part of his letter to Villar reads, “… [We] see no harm or prejudice if they are made public [and] it would therefore be prudent if your office make a full disclosure or confirmation as to the execution of the aforementioned documents if only to dispel doubts and avoid speculations arising therefrom.

“Kindly consider this as our official request that we be furnished copies of these documents as a matter of public interest. Please know that we are invoking the provisions of Executive Order No. 2, otherwise known as the Freedom of Information Order signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on this regard.”