Does a homeowners association have the right and
power to stop the government from putting up structures such as a barangay hall
inside their village?
This issue was put to test when “over 1,000 subdivision
residents have slammed the Quezon City government for allowing the construction of a barangay
hall inside Greenmeadows 3 ‘without
consultation’” according to the The Manila
Standard Today.
Mary Anne Vargas, Board Chairwoman of the Third Greenmeadows
Homeowners Association Inc., said the site of the barangay hall is in a private
property.
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| Greenmeadows Clubhouse |
“Traffic, garbage, peace and order, and our security are our concerns if a public facility is put up inside our private property...” she said.
The Manila Standard further reported “William Espina, assistant head of Greenmeadows administration, other officials, and residents, including retired police generals are all opposed the construction”.
Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, for his part, refused to make a statement. “No comment for now,” he told the Manila Standard in a text message.
The said piece of land is located along Temple Drive near
Greenmeadows 3 within Barangay Ugong Norte, Q.C. It is a 9,800-square meter developed eco-green
park, jogging area, plant and flower garden, and venue of many landscape
exhibits, according to the Standard.
“Let the law prevail. No one is above the law, “ Vargas told
reporters in reaction to the plan of the city government to build a barangay
hall in the area in question.
She insisted that the government should respect PD 957.
PD 957?
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| Ex President Marcos |
As someone who lived and experienced the entirety of Martial
Law years, it sounded like a presidential decree enacted during the time
of Marcos. And I was not mistaken.
Otherwise known as the Subdivision and Condominium Buyer's Protective
Decree, it was issued in 1976 to regulate the sale of
subdivision lots and condominiums in the country and provides the penalties for
violating it.
It states that the developer of a subdivision project should
initiate the organization of a homeowners’ association among the residents for
the purpose of promoting and protecting their mutual interests and assist in
community development (Section 30).
It also provides that upon completion of a subdivision project, the
developer may donate the roads and open
spaces to the city or municipal government and no portion of it can be
converted for any other purpose unless approved by the national government’s
housing authorities (Section 31).
When I checked further to find out whether this decree was amended or
not, I discovered that it was indeed amended by another presidential decree the
following year, P.D. No. 1216.
In this amended version, the term open
spaces was clearly defined as an “area reserved exclusively for parks,
playgrounds, recreational uses, schools, roads, places of worship, hospitals,
health centers, barangay centers…”.
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| Mormon Temple Along Temple Drive |
Whoops, barangay
centers?
Maybe this is the provision of the amendment with which the Quezon
City government is using to justify the building of a
barangay hall in the contested property.
That is, if we are talking here of the same property donated by the developer, Ortigas and
Company, to the city government and eventually to the Greenmeadows Homeowners
Association.
If this is the case, then the city government has live
ammunition in its hands.
On the other hand, if this is indeed private property, as what Vargas
insisted, then the government is faced with an equally battle-ready opponent
who has the law on its side.
But then the government may have another hidden bullet, its
power of eminent domain or its right to take over private property if necessary.
I can only speculate here that a protracted legal battle may be in the offing in this case.
What about you dear readers, what sayeth thou?
