Friday, January 9, 2009 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
By Rimaliza Opiña
BAD news welcome groups seeking for the reversal of an earlier court ruling declaring as valid the contract and the ordinance, which authorized Uniwide Sales Realty to develop the Baguio public market.
Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. said this would jumpstart the plan of developing the market.
Bautista told Sun.Star that the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) is now preparing the blue print for development, focusing on Rillera building, the burnt area and Blocks 1, 2, and 3.
Development would come in phases, but the same design prepared by the defunct Office of the City Architect and Parks Superintendent (Ocaps) will not be implemented.
The mayor hoped that initial stages of development will be completed at the end of the year.
While the plaintiffs Hilltop Open Market Vendors Credit Cooperative (Homvecsco) and the Baguio Market Vendors Association (Bamarva) could appeal the lower court's decision before the Court of Appeals (CA), City Attorney Melchor Carlos Rabanes said the city can begin improving the market.
"There is no legal impediment for the city to develop the market," Rabanes said.
He added that only the comprehensive development plan prepared by the Ocaps, which was supposed to be undertaken by Uniwide will remain pending.
On July last year, the 12-year market case ended when Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 59 Presiding Judge Iluminada Cabato issued a decision stating that the ordinance and contract for the market's development are valid.
A motion for reconsideration was subsequently filed but in three-page resolution dated December 24, Cabato denied the separate motions for reconsideration filed by Homvecsco and Bamarva.
Copies of the resolution were furnished the parties concerned, only Friday.
The CA said there is no compelling reason to reverse its earlier decision for the evidences submitted by the plaintiffs are reiterations of previous arguments already discussed in court and contained in the decision it issued earlier.
A portion of the resolution stated "the thrust of the motion for reconsideration is to move this court to reverse its decision because the ordinance in question is unconstitutional. This court is not impressed with the arguments advanced by the plaintiffs, and taking them as a whole, they direly want to overcome presumption that Ordinance 38-1995 is presumed constitutional and valid."
The court added that "the plaintiffs failed to clearly and convincingly demonstrate by the facts adduced and the documentary evidence submitted to overcome the presumption of the validity of the ordinance in question. At best the arguments presented in the motion for reconsideration are mere reiteration of what has been presented in plaintiff's memorandum."
Ordinance 38-1995 contained the guidelines for the development of the market at Kayang Street and atSto. Niño compound.
While the plaintiff Homvecsco raised issues concerning their exemption from payment of real estate taxes and improvements introduced in the market, the court said these issues were never raised in pre-trial conference.
It added that the court is not in a position to issue a ruling without basis.
"It would be an error for the court to make a finding where there is no factual and legal basis upon which it would make determination of the issue," it said.