Ex-SolGen files case vs. neighbors in Ayala Alabang

MANILA, Philippines - Former solicitor-general Francisco I. Chavez has turned the tables on his neighbors in posh Ayala Alabang Village. After being accused of encroaching on real-estate beyond his property’s borders, Chavez has filed a case against his detractors last June 8, asserting that they themselves allegedly violated the same rules which he was accused of breaking. Members and officers of the Ayala Alabang Village Association (AAVA) allegedly failed to follow rules regarding deed of restrictions covering their respective properties, Chavez claimed in a six-page manifestation furnished to GMANews.TV. The case was filed last June 8, 2009 at the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), the agency that sets rules on land use. Under the deed of restrictions, all buildings including servant's quarters must be constructed at a distance of not less than four meters from the boundary fronting a street, and three meters from the other boundaries not fronting a street, measured from the property line to the nearest finished wall or column. Chavez accused Leandro M. de Leon, Meindrado G. Avisado, Miguel G. Victorio, Cynthia Arceo, Godofredo Victor A. Juliano, Pedro G. Picornell, Federico S. Sarabia III, Roberto A. Limcaoco, and Rogelio S. Santos for reportedly occupying and constructing structures beyond three meters as permitted under their properties’ deed of restrictions. These nine individuals, all members of the AAVA board of governors, were charged as third-party respondents whom Chavez claimed “condone, protect, keep silent and do not take action against violators when they happen to be the board of governors," Chavez’s manifestation said. These third-party respondents decide “who to sue, who to sue first, and why not to sue at all in a list of alleged deed of restrictions violators consisting of at least 2,000 homeowners including themselves who openly violate the deed of restrictions," Chavez claimed in the case. “How can AAVA governors credibly enforce the deed of restrictions when they themselves are violators? They exhibit the typical arrogance of satraps lording it over their parochial domain," Chavez said. Earlier, the AAVA asked HLURB to compel Chavez to remove his encroachment of the easement area – consisting of 240 square meters of real estate – beyond his property line. The AAVA also asked the HLURB to order Chavez to repair and restore the encroached area to its original condition prior to his alleged violation. The same complaint also said that Chavez should pay damages, attorney's fees, and other litigation expenses amounting to P3.1 million, 13 years after Chavez signed his property’s deed of restrictions. In 1996, Chavez submitted construction plans for AAVA’s evaluation and approval in accordance with his property’s deed of restrictions. Chavez claimed that the structure on his property “will erode and collapse…owing to a slope at the back of his lot" if nothing was done about the matter, he told GMANews.TV. After referring the matter to AAVA, Chavez was told to seek a city engineer’s opinion. “The city engineer sent a team to my place and discovered the land was sloping," he said. During the same year, the city engineer recommended that a retaining wall should be put up, which will in turn be charged to the village association because it is their property, Chavez said. However, the AAVA found Chavez violating this restriction by reportedly constructing his cabana or gazebo. By allegedly fencing the said area with a concrete wall, he reportedly grabbed some 240 square meters of real estate as he “appropriated for his sole use and enjoyment what otherwise is for the use of its members, guests, and the general public." In an interview, Chavez cried bad faith and accused the AAVA of “singling him out," something which the association denies. The board and officers gain nothing for themselves personally from filing the case against Chavez, AAVA said in an official statement. “The board is not persecuting him, and it has never persecuted anyone. There were at least seven cases that AAVA before it filed the case against Mr. Chavez. The results have been favorable to AAVA," the statement read. Asked why it took them 13 years to file a complaint against Chavez, village manager and lawyer Ramon F. Fernandez told GMANews.TV in a phone interview that “[t]he previous board didn't have the guts to do it." “The set of board members who took over were brave enough to face him," Fernandez said. “The dispute is plain and simple," said AAVA, whose members perform their duties without pay. “AAVA found him to have violated the deed of restrictions and appropriated for himself a public easement area. AAVA wants that he correct the infractions – nothing more, nothing less." At the same time, AAVA admitted that there are so many residents who committed and continue to commit violations of the deed of restrictions and easements. The board has persuaded offending residents to correct their violations by sending demand letters, holding meetings with them, and issuing personal appeals from their neighbors, AAVA said. The association has been filed cases “sparingly," since these cost money. - GMANews.TV