Access road of Manila bound buses violates donation law

                     Bus company dangled  P2M bribes to dads

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY – The access road appropriated by the two Manila bound bus companies could be subject for litigation as the easement was donated by the Lioanag family to the Chinese community who visit their dead at the nearby Chinese Cemetery.

DONATION VIOLATED. The controversial Villa Costa Road donated by the Liaonag family
 to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Dagupan City that is now appropriated
 by the buses of Victory Liner and Five Star. Photo Credit. Flickr 

The source, who was privy on this transaction, told reporters recently that the access road that the owners of Victory Liner and Five Star buses claimed sold to them by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in this City during the time of the administration of former mayor Benjie S. Lim could be illegal as donation was based on the condition of the donor to the donee.

“The intention of Basilio Lioanag, who owned the land around the two buses companies’ terminal, to donate to the Filipino Chinese for their vehicles to have access road every time they pay visit to their dead at the Chinese Cemetery during All Soul’s Day every November 2, e what happened was that the road was sold by the Chamber to the bus companies. Dapat ibalik na iyang lupa sa Liaonag kasi they (Chamber) violated already the condition of the donation,” the source who was closed to the Liaonag family said.

Civil Code of the Philippines says that “donation shall be revoked at the instance of the donor, when the donee fails to comply with any of the conditions which the former imposed upon the latter.

In this case, the property donated shall be returned to the donor, the alienation made by the donee and the mortgages imposed thereon by him being void, with the legitimations established, with regard to third persons, by the Mortgage Law and the Land Registration Laws.

This action shall prescribe after four years from the non-compliance with the condition, may be transmitted to the heirs of the donor, and may be exercised against the donee's heirs”.

The issues of easement at the back of the bus companies became acrimonious after the two bus companies would not allow Solid North Bus to use the access road by claiming it.

The owners of the bus companies even put concrete barriers at the back of the Solid North’s buses to deprive them of its use.

The easement became a hot issue as its use could ease up the traffic congestion at the national highway in Perez Boulevard where Solid North used it as ingress and egress of its vehicles.

 When this city’s mayor Belen Fernandez called the members of the Lioanag family to inquire on the issue that revolved on the brouhahas of the sale, the mayor learned from this city’s assessor office, Register of Deeds, and other offices that the hierarchy of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce sold to the administration of then Mayor Benjie S. Lim the access road.

“When they were comparing the signatures of Lim on the Deed of Absolute Sale somebody quipped that they were forged. But we did not know if the forging was intentional or real. It should be subject for more investigation,” the source, who asked anonymity, declared.

Upon learning that Mayor Fernandez was gung-ho on the seeming anomalous transaction, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce told Fernandez that they were willing to return to the two bus companies the monies paid to them.

“The problem there if the bus companies disagreed with the cavalier act of the Chamber as they  bought the properties by justifying “good faith” and prescription of four years upon discovery by the Lionag Family of the violation of the donation’s condition. Mahabang kaso iyan,” another source, who did not want to be identified, said.

She cited too that there were alleged two million pesos bribe dangled for the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod from  each of the bus companies to allow their exit through Perez Boulevard for Manila.

But this allegation did not materialize as Mayor Fernandez vetoed that part of the amended traffic ordinance as prejudicial to the public welfare.  The controversial ordinance was approved by the Council last month to allow the three busses to use Perez Boulevard.

The subject provision was Section 4 on “Amendment to Article V, Section 4 (PUBs/mini buses) 13 of Article V is amended as follows: “13. For PUBs, particularly Solid North, Five Star, Victory Liner, shall pass through Caranglaan, Mayombo, enter Villa Costa Road towards their respective terminal. In going out of their terminals (they) shall pass through Perez Boulevard towards their respective destinations.”

“The undersigned respectfully approves Ordinance 2076-2016 x x x x partially vetoing however the following provision on the ground that the same is prejudicial to public welfare,” wrote by Mayor Fernandez to Vice Mayor Brian Lim as veto message to the first regular session for 2017 last January 4 of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

The source compared this alleged scam between the Chamber and the previous Lim Administration who was responsible to the grossly disadvantageous transactions entered by the latter to the purchased of the almost three hectares Awai land in San Jacinto, Pangasinan from Lim’s associate Jose Mariano Cuna for thirteen million pesos and the sale of the seven- storey MC Adore International Palace to the Amb. ALC Holdings and Management Corporation  for one hundred nineteen million pesos only despite it fetched a market price of three hundred million pesos.

“Although the monies involved in this illegal transaction could not equate those alleged scams on the purchased by the Lim Administration of the P16 million land in Barangay Awai, in San Jacinto, Pangasinan where Cuna bought it for seven million pesos and the sale of the MC Adore, you media men should dig deeper on this alleged illegal transaction done between the Chamber and Mayor Lim,” the source exhorted the reporters.

 She also called the media and other stakeholders to look at the Chinese Cemetery since there have been rumors that the remains of the dead there have been transferred by their kin.

“Sayang iyong area kasi mukhang wala na ring laman ang mga nitso doon. Puwedeng gamitin ng city ang area in coordination with the Liaonags”.

She said that the Lioanag family donated to the Chinese the cemetery, too.