Settlers were told to stop building illegal structures within a 505-hectare forested area in the hinterland barangays of Tabunan and Taptap in Cebu City.
The cease-and-desist order was issued yesterday by Regional Executive Director Maximo Dichoso of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas (DENR-7).
He met with retired police general Tiburcio ?Tiboy? Fusilero who reported that more claimants were entering the protected watershed to broker the sale of lots, cut trees and build structures.
Fusilero said there were only 12 original claimants in the area when the 505-hectare site was declared a protected area in the 1990s.
But today, more than 25 claimants inhabit the area based on a 2009-2010 survey conducted by the Cebu City government. Unregulated activities in the area like tree cutting pose harm to the forest?s biodiversity and the watershed as a source of water supply.
The 505 hectares was placed under Fusilero?s stewardship by the DENR in 2002 as part of the Adopt a Mountain program. While his group?s intensive tree planting activities have regreened the area, Fusilero has also clashed with settlers and farmer activist groups, who accuse him of depriving them of their livelihood.
The area is part of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) under the supervision of the DENR.
Although the land is not open to private sale and cannot be titled, the uplands continue to be the subject of real estate speculation and illegal sale of ?rights? based on tax declarations.
Dichoso tasked Fusilero?s personnel and the DENR Forest Resources Development Division to distribute copes of the cease-and-desist order.
Dichoso also suggested a dialogue ?as soon as possible? with the claimants and property brokers to check their documentary proofs of ownership.
?If it would be proven that their structures are illegal, the property will be demolished and they will be penalized,? said the DENR officials.
Fusilero said he reported the illegal sale of lots by claimants to the DENR-7 before but no action was taken on it.
?With the cease-and-desist order, the ?squatters? would lessen,? Fusilero said.
A special task force is also being planned for the CCPL, independent from the Protected Area Superintendent?s Office (PASO). The task force will conduct regular monitoring on the protected area.
The CCPL established in Republic Act No. 9486 covers five watersheds: Buhisan, Mananga, Kotkot-Lusaran, Sudlon National Park, and the Central Cebu National Park.
These watersheds are located in the cities of Cebu, Talisay, Toledo and Danao and in the towns of Minglanilla, Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela and Balamban in Cebu province. Any purchase, mortgage and lease of any portion of the CCPL is prohibited.
globalnation.inquirer.net
Lunes, Enero 16, 2012
Linggo, Enero 15, 2012
OUR CEBU WELCOMES Sinulog 2012
The 2011 Sinulog festival is Cebu’s biggest and most popular festival. It is celebrated every 3rd Sunday of January. The feast is in honor of the holy image Señor Santo Niño de Cebú. Fiesta Señor, as it widely known, is the most celebrated among Cebu’s festivals where people converge along the route of a grand solemn procession and partake in the gaiety amidst a mardigras parade immersed in vivid colors and the constant drums of the Pit Señor.
Mantawi Festival
Unique and exotic, dance steps are accompanied by a different beat, played by a brass instead of the usual drum and bugle. This makes up a one-of-a-kind festivity that entices and seduces the crowd to gather and witness one of the most anticipated celebration in the City of Mandaue, the Mantawi Festival.
In April 7, 1521, Magellan first sighted the island of Sugbo in search for food and supplies for his vessels’ voyage back to Spain. Mandaue at that time was called “Mantawi” – derived from a vine that grew abundantly in the coves of the area. This community with abundant vines has even been mentioned by Antonio Pigafetta as a flourishing settlement nearest to Sebu under the leadership of Datu Lambuzzan.
Paskuhan. A Christmas celebration of songs and lantern making held during the month of December spread good cheers to local residents and visitors alike.
Kadaugan sa Mactan. A one day re-enactment – held at the Mactan shrine – celebrated with much pomp and pageantry every 27th of April to commemorate the historic Battle of Mactan between the forces of Lapulapu and Magellan.
Virgin of the Rule Fiesta. Held to honor the patroness of Opon on November 20-21, this religious and social event reveals the deep religious faith of the people and the penchant for merry making. A food fair, a procession and a coronation of the Fiesta Queen highlight the festivity.
Semana Santa sa Bantayan.
A unique mixture of solemn religious rites and local celebration highlights the Holy Week activities in Bantayan Island. The normally quiet island is visited by relatives and friends of the residents, as well as tourists to experience the scenic rites and to cool off the summer heat in the beautiful white sandy beaches and clear tropical waters.
Fiesta sa Carcar. Is celebrated on November 24-25 in honor of the town’s patron, St. Catherine of Alexandria. Carcar town is noted for its old Spanish style houses in the quiet countryside setting. During fiestas, the residents would invite friends, relatives and town visitors into their homes to taste popular local delicacies. A lively and enjoyable event.
Nuestra Señora de Regla Fiesta. Lapu-lapu City – Held to honor the patroness of Opon on November 20-21, this religious and social event reveals faith of the people and the penchant for merry making. A food fair, carnival, procession and a coronation of the Fiesta Queen highlight the festivity.
Tagbo. Poro, Cebu – Celebrated every January in honor of Patron Santo Niño de Poro. Beloved memoir of a living past, Tagbo is the cornerstone from which this great municipality has sprung. Rich in cultural heritage and deep in spiritual values, Tagbo is a very significant event preluding the birth of a town every dear to the hearts of her sons and daughters.
Sanayon. Agro-tourism festival in the southern towns of the second district about 100 km from the city. A month-long activity to spread out tourism to the countryside.
Tres de Abril Celebration. Celebrated every 3rd of April in commemoration of the Spanish resistance in the south. This historic battle under Leon Kilat’s leadership gave Cebu the glory of being the first major island outside Luzon to oppose Spanish dominance.
Siloy Festival. Celebrated every August 26 in the town of Alcoy.
Haladaya Festival. Celebrated during the summer in the town of Daanbatayan (see Datu Daya).
Bakasi-Dinagat Festival. Celebrated in the town of Cordova.
Sabado, Enero 14, 2012
CITYscape 2 Groundbreaking
Rain or shine, July was one of the most celebrated month of Myvan Properties & Development Inc., innovatively affordable, successfully unveils the fourth property project the Cityscape 2 at Juana Osmena, Cebu City.
The groundbreaking ceremony started with a blessing by Rev. Father Daniel Mata, guests welcomed by Mr. Jaylord Ebero, Sales Supervisor of MPDI, brief history of Myvan Properties success for years by Ms. Regina Solero the Operations Manager of MPDI. Introuction of Key Business Managers by Ms. Baby Cabarrubias, HR Manager.
COMING SOON:
MPDI proudly announces the launch of its 4th Condominium project soon, THE CITYSCAPE 2, a fusion of hotel (THE CITYSCAPE HOTEL) and condo residences. After the success of MPDI in its three projects, VERTU RESIDENCES, ATELIER RESIDENCES AND THE CITYSCAPE TOWER ONE, MPDI brings you another medium rise 16-storey-120 unit condo residences and condo-tel. Live, [...]
Biyernes, Enero 13, 2012
North Belton Communities in Q.C. to have its own SM
An SM mall will soon rise within North Belton Communities (NBC), a vast mixed-use township in Quezon City being developed by Belton Communities, Inc. (BCI), a subsidiary of Lucio Tan’s Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. (EPPI) catering to the middle-income segment. Three hectares in NBC’s 13.8-hectare property located along Quirino Highway, Quezon City have been dedicated as the area where the mall will be constructed. According to BCI Asst. Vice President and Project Director Jay Atencio, “Our partnership with SM in North Belton Communities is intended to give our homebuyers the best value for their purchased property. Adding to that, of course, is the convenience the mall would provide to the communities within the township.” North Belton Communities has three exclusive residential enclaves, namely, The Manors, West Wing Residences and West Wing Villas that would eventually be home to 1,600 families. “Very soon, residents can simply walk to shop, dine, or simply unwind at their neighborhood SM mall,” said Atencio. | The arrangement between NBC and SM marks the second tie-up between EPPI and the SM Group. The first partnership was in 2009, when EPPI and SM’s Super Shopping Market, Inc., sealed an agreement in relation to Eton’s two-level commercial center, Centris Station, in Quezon City, where SM Hypermarket is the anchor tenant. North Belton Communities’ partnership with SM is true to BCI’s mission of offering Filipino homebuyers security, comfort, and value-for-money in integrated communities that provide everything they need. Apart from having its own SM, North Belton Communities also boasts of being near favorite Q.C. malls. It is right across SM Hypermarket Novaliches and 10 minutes away from SM City North and Trinoma. North Belton Communities is readily accessible as well through main thoroughfares such as EDSA, Quirino Highway, Mindanao Avenue, Tandang Sora and the newly opened expressway connecting Mindanao Avenue to North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). Schools such as UP Diliman, Miriam College, Ateneo de Manila University and St. James College are also nearby. |
City Loft Updates - November 2011( Ground Digging )
City Loft Mango
After the success of its remarkable groundbreaking last April 16, Fuente Triangle Realty Development Corporation officially had the ground digging for the upcoming city attraction City Loft Mango, last November 8 . The ground digging formally starts the construction of the 17-storey condominium and finally ends public’s long-wait.
Found at the prime locale of the city of Cebu, along Gen. Maxilom Avenue, City Loft Mango was organized to build up, improve and promote next generations’ urban lifestyle. City Loft aims to provide quality investments with affordable, convenient and easy payment terms condominium units. It was designed to integrate investor’s way of life, bringing them into a world of pleasure and style. What more can you ask for its advanced facilities and highly equipped amenities with WI-FI ready milieu, high-speed elevators, videocom, and 24-hour security systems. This condominium also has a perfect setting because of its proximity to schools, offices and shopping malls.
Fuente Realty Development Corporation is a subsidiary of J.King and Sons Company Inc. who holds country’s tallest Crown Regency Hotel and Towers.
Huwebes, Enero 12, 2012
THE KING PROPERTIES
The event started with the blessing of Villa Solana Consolacion's newly completed Gazebo. It was then followed by the Induction of the 2011-2012 Homeowner's Association Officers with the presence of Mr. Jason A. King, one of the directors of Juanito King & Sons, Inc. Management and operation of the subdivision commence on January 2012 handled by the Villa Solana
Homeowners Association, Inc. (VSHAI) 2011-2012 Officers. The Housing Market - Where We Stand Now - Monday, 23 January 2012 - 11:46am After a few years of depressing information out of the U.S. housing market, this month’s data continues to be mixed. Is recovery truly in the works? Here’s what the numbers say Foreclosures According to numbers from real estate data firm Realty Trac, foreclosures in January were down, the second consecutive monthly drop.
The national foreclosure rate fell to one in every 409 U.S. households, representing a ten percent decline from December Realty Trac’s executive was not convinced this is a true sign of recovery though.
"January foreclosure numbers are exhibiting a pattern very similar to a year ago: a double-digit percentage jump in December foreclosure activity followed by a ten percent drop in January," James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement."If history repeats itself we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the existing loan modification programs or the new short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives works,"
He said The states still getting hit hardest by foreclosures are Nevada, Arizona, California, Florida, Utah, Idaho, Michigan, Illinois, Oregon, and Georgia.Home Sales Existing home sales were down again in January, falling 7.2 percent from December, based on data from the National Association of Realtors. According to the Census Bureau, new home sales hit an all-time record low in January, plummeting 11.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 309,000 units.
That is the lowest rate of sales on record. Foreclosed homes and short sales continue to attract more buyers than the higher prices of new homes. Fannie MaeThe government-sponsored entity, which has been under government control since September 2008, recently announced it will need another $15.3 billion in bail out money from taxpayers. Fannie Mae, one of the largest mortgage finance companies in the country, had $216.5 billion worth of non-performing, toxic loans on its books as of December and just reported total 2009 losses of $74.4 billion dollars.
Fannie and Freddie Mac, the other mortgage GSE , have been instruments in getting bad loans out of the investment markets, but apparently couldn’t take on the nation’s problems without eventually dealing with them as well. Interest Rates Mortgage rates stayed low for the entire month of February, but there is plenty of talk as to what will happen after the Federal Reserve stops buying up mortgage-backed securities at the end of March. Most say the laws of supply and demand suggest rates will rise, perhaps by a half to a full percent. Yet, based on recent statements by officials, there is reason to believe the Fed and the Obama Administration are perfectly willing and ready to step back in to aid the housing market if rates do start to rise, which would in turn bring lower rates again While no one is ready to say the housing market is back to normal, things are at least better than they have been during some periods over the past two years.
The question is whether they will continue to improve or head south again.
Property firm to build 500 houses in Cebu
A LOCAL real estate developer is aiming to add at least 500 residential units in Cebu in the next two years as it introduced its third house and lot project in Minglanilla town in southern Cebu.
Arli T. Arenas-Vergara, sales and marketing head of Paramount Property Ventures, said the Minglanilla project called the Vizkaya Zen Residences, would be part of the firm’s expansion plans for Cebu.
Vergara said the firm was very confident of the Cebu market based in its experience with its three past projects – Coral Bay, Fonte di Versailes, and Mazari Cove.
“Our Coral Bay project with 74 units is sold out, Fonte de Versailes has 232 units and about 65 percent of that is sold while our Mazari Cove with 400 units is 80 percent sold out,” she said.
Their new project called Vizkaya Zen Residences will have 121 units located in a 2.2 hectare property in Calajaan, Minglanilla, Cebu.
“All our existing projects are located in Naga and Minglanilla which are south of Cebu because the owners are from Minglanilla and they are also very confident about the prospects of developing projects in the area because of the South Road Property,” she said.
Vizcaya Zen Residences will be the first residential project in Cebu that will feature a Basic Intrusion Alarm System provided by SSMI or Security and Systems Monitoring, Inc.
“With this project we hope to attract the higher middle class market,” she said.
The firm is also targeting expats, foreign nationals and overseas Filipino workers for their three project in Cebu.
Mar Relampagos, a company official, said the Cebu real estate industry was expected to continue growing with more players coming in to introduce their products to the Cebuano market.
“Based on the data from HLURB (Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board) there are about 45 more projects applying for permits here in Cebu, which only shows how confident developers are about the market,” Relampagos said.
He said this was the reason for the expansion of 500 residential units on top of the 1,000 units provided by its three other projects.
Roy Vincent Lumayag, another company official, said they were studying plans to go into the condominium market.
“We are still looking at the plans and negotiating with land owners as of this time but we will definitely go into vertical projects perhaps in 2013,” said Lumayag.
The firm also plans to expand outside Cebu particulary in Bohol and Davao, which have growing real estate markets.
“While Cebu remains an attractive market to tap, we thought that we can also start expanding outside to also offer our products to the huge and still untapped market in these areas,” Lumayag said.
newsinfo.inquirer.net
Arli T. Arenas-Vergara, sales and marketing head of Paramount Property Ventures, said the Minglanilla project called the Vizkaya Zen Residences, would be part of the firm’s expansion plans for Cebu.
Vergara said the firm was very confident of the Cebu market based in its experience with its three past projects – Coral Bay, Fonte di Versailes, and Mazari Cove.
“Our Coral Bay project with 74 units is sold out, Fonte de Versailes has 232 units and about 65 percent of that is sold while our Mazari Cove with 400 units is 80 percent sold out,” she said.
Their new project called Vizkaya Zen Residences will have 121 units located in a 2.2 hectare property in Calajaan, Minglanilla, Cebu.
“All our existing projects are located in Naga and Minglanilla which are south of Cebu because the owners are from Minglanilla and they are also very confident about the prospects of developing projects in the area because of the South Road Property,” she said.
Vizcaya Zen Residences will be the first residential project in Cebu that will feature a Basic Intrusion Alarm System provided by SSMI or Security and Systems Monitoring, Inc.
“With this project we hope to attract the higher middle class market,” she said.
The firm is also targeting expats, foreign nationals and overseas Filipino workers for their three project in Cebu.
Mar Relampagos, a company official, said the Cebu real estate industry was expected to continue growing with more players coming in to introduce their products to the Cebuano market.
“Based on the data from HLURB (Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board) there are about 45 more projects applying for permits here in Cebu, which only shows how confident developers are about the market,” Relampagos said.
He said this was the reason for the expansion of 500 residential units on top of the 1,000 units provided by its three other projects.
Roy Vincent Lumayag, another company official, said they were studying plans to go into the condominium market.
“We are still looking at the plans and negotiating with land owners as of this time but we will definitely go into vertical projects perhaps in 2013,” said Lumayag.
The firm also plans to expand outside Cebu particulary in Bohol and Davao, which have growing real estate markets.
“While Cebu remains an attractive market to tap, we thought that we can also start expanding outside to also offer our products to the huge and still untapped market in these areas,” Lumayag said.
newsinfo.inquirer.net
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