Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has deferred his decision to take possession of the Arroceros Forest Park, one of the remaining forested areas in the city, from its current caretaker, Winner Foundation.
But Estrada clarified it does mean that the city government is abandoning its plan to recover the 21,428-square meter land, a property bought by the City School Board in 1993 strictly for educational purposes.
“That’s really on our part to extend,” Estrada said in response to the appeal of Winner chairman Regina Roces Paterno to extend the operation of the private environmental group at the Forest Park.
Estrada remin ded Paterno the city government is intent in taking back the property, which it owns under Transfer Certificate of Title No. 214097, since Winner’s contract to manage it has already expired in 2013.
“We’re here to implement the law, not to break the law,” he told Paterno and other Winner officials during a recent meeting at the City Hall.
“For now, you can stay for the time being while we study how best to use that property,” Estrada said.
On July 7, Estrada sent a formal demand letter to Paterno ordering Winner to vacate Arroceros Park within 30 days, “otherwise the City will be constrained to avail of the appropriate legal remedies to protect its ownership of the property.”
“We will push through with our plans,” Estrada stressed. “That land was purchased to serve the students, exclusively for educational purposes such as school facilities. It cannot be used for other purposes. We cannot divert from it.”
Documents released by the Office of the City Legal Office showed the City School Board of Manila bought the property for P65 million from the Land Bank of the Philippines; the fund was sourced from the city’s Special Education Fund.
The Deed of Sale was formally executed on Dec. 23, 1993 by former mayor Alfredo Lim and then Land Bank president Jesli Lapus.
Land Bank agreed to the sale on the condition that the property will be used solely for educational, sports, and recreational and/or public service-oriented projects envisioned by the City School Board, the documents showed.
But a month earlier, Lim and Winner Foundation signed an agreement that authorizes the latter to create and develop a forest park in the property and once it is completed, Winner “shall turn over the same to the control and supervision of the City of Manila.”
Winner submitted a 15-year development plan, which has already expired in 2008 but was extended for five more years, or until 2013.
Under the subject development plan, Winner has two options when the contract lapsed in 2013: (1) turn over the park to the City of Manila and; (2) renegotiate a new MOA for park management.
“The MOA has already lapsed. After that development period, Winner had agreed to voluntarily surrender everything to the city,” City Legal Officer Edward Serapio said during the meeting with Winner officials.
He also pointed out that the MOA signed by Lim and Winner was void because Lim had not been authorized by the City Council to enter such deal and neither was the MOA ratified by the City Council.
As envisioned by Estrada and the City School Board, Serapio said the city government will construct a sports gymnasium in a small 2,000-square meter portion of the property for the use of the students and faculty of the city-run Universidad de Manila.
The facility, according to Serapio, is a requirement for UDM’s accreditation with the Commission on Higher Education.
To address the concerns of Winner and environmental conservationists, Serapio assured the city’s taking over of the Forest Park and construction of the sports gym will not result to the destruction of the thousands of trees and ornamental plants at the nature park.
“Any proposed use or uses must take into consideration the trees and plants in the property,” the city official said.
Located along Antonio Villegas Street (formerly Calle Arroceros), the Arroceros Forest Park is a 2.2-hectare (5.4-acre) urban forest on the south bank of the Pasig River, at the foot of Quezon Bridge.
It consists of secondary growth forest with 61 different tree varieties and 8,000 ornamental plants providing a habitat for 10 different bird species. Despite its small size, it is considered an important feature of the city.
The riverside park lies in a historic area of Manila and has been called “Manila’s last lung”, being the city’s only nature park.