OFFICIALS of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Northern Mindanao on Monday, May 15, said they have yet to file the expropriation case against a property supposedly owned by businessman Conrad Lim which has long stalled the coastal road project.
In the Cagayan de Oro City Council session on Monday, DPWH-Northern Mindanao officials were questioned over the long-overdue project.
Lawyer Melanie Enopia, legal officer of the DPWH-Northern Mindanao, said they are still preparing the cost of the materials to be used on Lim's property before they can proceed with the filing of the case as required by the Office of the Solicitor General, the implementing agency that would initiate the expropriation.
It can be recalled that the DPWH-Northern Mindanao has identified Lim's property as one of the major road right-of-way problems which is stalling the coastal road project.
Councilor Ian Nacaya questioned why the expropriation proceedings still haven't started, when the project has been going on for almost 10 years.
"Why is it that you only met with the SolGen once, and it was only last week, when this project has been going on for almost 10 years? Are you really serious in getting this property? Because if you are, I think we could have used this area five years ago," Nacaya said.
While Lim has been accused of illegally occupying the property, Enopia said Lim was able to secure a clearance from the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) to reclaim the foreshore area fronting his property in Barangay Lapasan.
This was when the City Council had also approved a resolution in 2007 that endorsed Lim’s application for reclamation to the PRA.
The resolution faced a backlash, City Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr. recalls, as Barangay Lapasan's constituents opposed Lim's plan.
Engineer Leowald Pecore said they are still hoping to face Lim personally to sort out the dispute, but added that they expropriation case will continue.
Pecore said they still cannot give a timetable for the completion of the project since it will still undergo court proceedings.
Pecore, however, said the project is already 83 percent complete.
He also assured the public that once the court will give them go signal to demolish the property, funds are already available from the demolition process, paying Lim the cost of his property, to the road construction itself.
Pecore said the government has already released another P300 million to be spent this year for the project which has a total estimated cost of about P4 billion.
City officials have been prodding the DPWH-Northern Mindanao to complete the coastal road project to help decongest the CM Recto Avenue.
The coastal road project is a 12.77 kilometer stretch of road from villages Gusa to Puntod in the eastern section and Barangays Kauswagan to Igpit in the western side of Cagayan de Oro City.
The coastal road project began its construction in 2008.
The City Council also invited the Solicitor General and PRA officials to shed light on the issue of the delay.
Pecore said they are expected to arrive in the city first week of June to discuss the problem.
