The Negros Occidental provincial government served 112 families second notices to vacate an about 7,000-square meter property in Brgy 39, Bacolod City, on Thursday, Oct. 31, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson Jr. said.
The 112 families were served their first notices to vacate on Monday and the second on Thursday but they refused to accept them, giving the provincial government grounds to file an eviction case in court, Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. said.
Lacson explained that in 1954, the Lizares family donated the property to the Negros Occidental High School to be used as a school garden.
However, the land was not used for that purpose, provincial and national government offices were built on the donated property that definitely was in violation of the Deed of Donation, he said.
So in 2012 the Lizares family filed a case for cancellation of Deed of Donation, Lacson said.
The court ruled in favor of the Lizares family in 2021, but they agreed to a compromise agreement with the provincial government, he said.
It was agreed that the about 1.1 hectare property on which provincial and national government offices have already been built would remain with the government, while the rest of the property occupied by informal settlers would be returned to the Lizareses, he said.
The agreement was that the 7,000 square meters property be returned to the Lizareses free of any informal settlers, Lacson said.
“That’s precisely why we sent out notices (to vacate). We have to comply with the terms and conditions of the settlement with the Lizareses,” Lacson said.
Lacson said he is not sure if the provincial government needs to provide a relocation site. It would be easier to provide financial aid, he said.
He expects the process that will involve litigation in court to take some time, Lacson said.
“We coordinated with the city government but it cannot help…it is a matter between the Lizareses and the province,” he said.
Barangay Captain Dante Danoy of Barangay 39 said they will have to consult with their lawyer on their response to the move of the provincial government.
They were advised not to accept the notices to vacate, Danoy said.
Danoy said he is not among those covered by the notices to vacate but his son’s house is located on the property in question.*