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The Department of Agriculture (DA) has agreed to vacate the 63,690-square-meter lot owned by the Province of Cebu on M. Velez Street, Cebu City.
Through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia agreed that the lot be given back to the province in exchange for the province’s support of the DA’s programs.
“As an act of mutual cooperation and support of the priorities and programs of both parties, the Department of Agriculture is willing to vacate its regional and other related offices located in the subject property of the Province of Cebu starting from the execution of this MOA until Sept. 22, 2009,” the MOA read.
The lot, popularly known as the “DA Compound,” was first used by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) during the administration of Cebu governor Jose Briones.
Briones entered into a deed of use and usufruct with the BAI for the lot to be used as the bureau’s animal breeding station.
During a government reorganization, BAI was placed under the DA, placing the lot under the DA’s jurisdiction.
While the DA in Central Visayas (DA-7) uses part of the lot for its regional office, the lot is now also home to the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas, the Register of Deeds, and soon, the Visayas offices of the Supreme Court.
Garcia said she hoped that the return of the lot to the province would serve as an example to other occupants of province-owned lots who continue to ignore notices to vacate.
Yap said DA is no longer maintaining offices in some localities because its functions had been devolved to the local government units.
The secretary said around 31 percent of the lot had been cleared by the time of yesterday’s signing. The DA would fully vacate the lot by September 2009.
Garcia said the DA may transfer to Mandaue City where the agency also has a plant nursery.
Also, Capitol officials were hopeful that they would be able to complete a new building that would serve as the headquarters for the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) on another province-owned lot in barangay Lahug.
The Cebu City government recently issued a building permit for the construction of the P11-million building, which the Capitol has been waiting for since September last year.
Acting Mayor Michael Rama said he signed the application for a building permit since all the requirements had been completed.
He said he did not know Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who is on leave to undergo medical treatment in the United States, had not acted on the application since last year and returned the document to the Office of the Building Official.
OBO officer-in-charge Josefa Ylanan said the application has been pending at her office since May.
Governor Garcia said the CPPO building could not push through unless the building permit was signed since the document was a requirement for other things, such as water connections.
“But the permit was never issued and the project was delayed because,” she said.
“I give full credit to the present mayor because the building permit was finally issued, but it was clear that the project has already incurred unreasonable delays,” she said.
With Rama in charge of Cebu City, provincial officials were hopeful that more of the province’s stalled projects in Cebu City would finally push through.
Among these is the proposed P1.2-billion Cuidad commercial complex in barangay Banilad.
The project did not take off after the City Council imposed a moratorium on all developments along Governor Cuenco Avenue in February 2007.
The outcome of the dealings between the city and the province on the Cuidad project may also determine the outcome of other stalled provincial projects, such as the “bagsakan” center in barangay Lahug, where farmers from the highlands could sell their produce.
The master plan for the bagsakan center had been completed but could not be implemented due to lack of clearance from the city, said Board Member Agnes Magpale.
The planned bagsakan center will occupy a province lot that is currently occupied by the CPPO.
