‘DENR execs feared Villars’ — Appointment veto served like Damocles’ Sword?
Apart from the road, four lots — around 1,000 square meters in total — were carved out of the reclamation of the creek by Camella Homes, Lao said
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Daily TribuneApart from the road, four lots — around 1,000 square meters in total — were carved out of the reclamation of the creek by Camella Homes, Lao said
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A resort owner being blamed for recurring floods in four subdivisions in Parañaque City has said that he offered a solution to the problem, but that the family of Sen. Cynthia Villar and former Senate President Manny Villar had turned it down.
Businessman Selwyn Lao said that in 2015, he wrote a letter to Senator Cynthia Villar because the Department of Environment and Natural Resources had not taken action on his complaint that a portion of his lot was eaten up by the Villar's subdivision and turned into a road.
"I was forced to write a letter to the Senate because the DENR told me to fix my own problem — not them — because all their appointments will go through the Senate," Lao, a civil engineer who owns the Wing-An Garden Resort and a construction firm, told the DAILY TRIBUNE.
Some members of the Senate and the House of Representatives serve as members of the most powerful Commission on Appointments.
"They didn't give me a chance to present the solution that I offered," he added.
DAILY TRIBUNE has been constantly reaching out to the Villars, Camella Homes, and the DENR for reactions to the stories. Calls and messages to them have gone unanswered.
Lao said he wants to return the lots to their original boundaries, along with his lot that was eaten up by the road and which was replaced with a lot inside the Camella Classic Homes subdivision.
He said that as early as 2014, he had written letters to various government offices asking for assistance on the problem of the creek encroachment by Camella Homes and other lot owners near his lot.
"Until now, they have not acted on it. No one from the government took action," Lao said.
He said that in August 2010, Camella Homes offered him P184,500, or P4,500 per square meter, for his 41-square-meter lot that was taken over by the subdivision road.
Apart from the road, four lots — around 1,000 square meters in total — were carved out of the reclamation of the creek by Camella Homes, Lao said.
Lao said he has all the documents to support his claim that he is the legal owner of the lot. According to him, he acquired the lot from El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde through Trader's Royal Bank.
"It was auctioned off by Trader's Royal Bank, and I won. It [the lot] came from Mike Velarde, and it was part of Multinational Village," he said. "I acquired it in 1996, wherein its original title was dated 1958."
Lao said that based on the lot plan, his property should be bounded by a creek, but the creek is now located inside his lot.
"The problem now is why the creek is inside my lot. It should be outside my lot," he said.
In earlier interviews, Lao claimed the Villars' real estate company reclaimed the original creek. He added that the Baloc-Baloc Creek inside his property was an artificial waterway dug up by Camella.
Lao also denied that the new building official of Parañaque City had not given him a building permit because his title was allegedly illegal.
"Where did the allegation come from that I was into illegal titling while her predecessor (building officials) gave me a building permit for other structures?" he asked.
"In fact, they pressured me to withdraw my complaints," he added.