The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability is bent on nullifying the P940 million sale of the 10-hectare Christmas Village property situated at Barangay San Jose, City of San Fernando over alleged irregularities in the sale and acquisition of prime lots.
Pampanga third district Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales called for a congressional inquiry on the questionable sale of Paskuhan Village citing irregularity in the bidding process and blatant disregard on the mandate of the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) now Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
Gonzales even filed a manifestation calling for the Land Registration Authority (LRA) and Registry of Deeds not to transfer certificate of titles of the disputed properties within the Paskuhan Village.
“In the meantime that the committee is conducting congressional inquiry on the questionable sale of Paskuhan Village property, the registry of deeds not to transfer certificate of title to the name of the buyer,” said Gonzales.
Gonzales said he would like to find out if there was collusion between officials of TIEZA.
TIEZA disposed the property through a “negotiated “bidding. At least four private firms participated in the process. Among the bidders are SM Development Corporation, SM Prime Holdings Corporation, Premier Central, Incorporated and SEJ North Premier Holding Corportation.
Lawyer Guiller Asido, Chief Operating Officer of TIEZA, said all the bidders bought the documents at the price of P50,000 each, but only the Premier Central, Incorporated showed up during the actual bidding process.
The sale took place sometime on January 1989 at the price of P80.00 per square meter with a total amount of P940 million.
Gonzales said the committee will invite the solicitor general to shed light on the legality of the sale and for the recovery of the property in the event that the acquisition is establish by the committee as illegal of ultraviris or both.
The 10-hectare Paskuhan Village property was donated by the Lazatin family through a deed of donation to PTA now TIEZA during the time of late Governor Bren Z. Guiao on condition that the place will be of use for the majority of Kapampangan.
“The facility symbolized the Kapampangan native lantern and partly because the sale has shelved away the only showcase facility for tourism in Pampanga,” said Gonzales in his opening statement.
“Paskuhan Village showcased the best Christmas inspired Filipino arts and crafts including demonstration on how these products were made,” Gonzales added.
Former TIEZA manager Mark Lapid and all the board of directors will be invited in the next committee hearing. –With the reports of Marna Dagumboy-Del Rosario