MANILA - Danny Alday bought a 10.5928-hectare land in Barangay Bayawang, Rosario, Batangas from his uncle, Benito Alday, around 1993 or 1994.
He said two months after he acquired the land, he sold it to an agent of buyer from Makati City.
He said the agent told him that they wanted to buy the other lots around the parcel of land they already acquired in Rosario.
He said the agent also told him that they wanted to convert the then mahogany-planted area into a farm.
"Ang sabi nila may nabili na sila. Sabi nung ahente ay karatig daw nung kanila kaya interesadong mabili yung aking lupa na nabili ko nga dun sa uncle ko," Alday said.
"Ang sabi sa akin nung ahente, taga-Makati raw ang buyer nila. Yun lang," he added.
Alday said he sold the lot for around P550,000 per hectare. He said he surrendered the original land title and signed the deed of sale.
"Basta titulo nung lupa dala namin yun at kinuha nung ahente... Basta may pinirmahan lamang ako dun," he said.
After the transaction, however, Alday said his uncle still continued to receive demand letters for payments of tax delinquencies until 2010.
Three properties of Antonio Tiu's Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corp. -- girls' quarters, men's quarters, and bodega -- are constructed on the lot still listed under Alday's name.
Meanwhile, Lynette Desphy, whose name also appears on records of the Batangas Assessor's Office as one of the owners of the land where Sunchamp properties are located, likewise denied owning any piece of land in Rosario, Batangas.
She said her father sold their family's lot years before he died in 2006. She also noted that she never paid taxes for any land in Rosario.
"Akin yun? Hindi, wala akong pera. Wala na kaming lupa sa Rosario, Batangas," she said. "Hindi nga akin yun. Kung nakapangalan sakin, hindi ko alam kung bakit."
Sunchamp has 8 properties on her land: a hotel, butterfly farm, grand pavilion, greenhouse building 6, CR, kitchen, commercial building, and garage.
Records of the Rosario Municipal Treasurer's Office show that the taxes of the 1.3 hectare land supposedly owned by Desphy, as well as the properties Alday, Hilario Comia, Maria Guico, Maximillian Desphy, Balbino Perez and Renato Comia Sr. -- who are the recorded owners of the land where properties of Sunchamp are located -- were all paid last June 30, 2014.
The property taxes of Anna Marie and Laureano Gregorio Jr. were also paid on the same date.
Taxes for all the said properties were also all paid last December 23, 2013.
Meanwhile, the tax mapping division of Batangas said properties of Sunchamp are located in a 176.661-hectare area in Barangays Maligaya and Bayawang.
The Assessor's Office, however, said it cannot determine the lot under Tiu, who claimed that he bought a 145-hectare lot from Gregorio.
Records also show that Gregorio and his wife only own a 4.5283-hectare land.
The land property listed under Sunchamp, meanwhile, is just 1.1850 hectares.
Renato Comia Sr. earlier claimed that he is the rightful owner of a 21-hectare lot which he let Agrifortuna and Vice President Jejomar Binay use.
Ten properties of Sunchamp are built there: mansion, office building, guest house and seven greenhouses.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
