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Friday, March 29, 2024

Belmonte backs SC ruling on Torre de Manila condo

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FORMER speaker and Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has backed the Supreme Court decision allowing the construction of the controversial Torre de Manila condominium appearing behind the monument of national hero Jose Rizal at the sprawling Rizal Park in Manila.

Belmonte, a lawyer, said he agreed with the high court’s move to dump the petition filed by the Knights of Rizal that had sought the project’s demolition, saying the structure was ruining the sight line of the Rizal monument.

“I support the decision and the reasoning [of the Supreme Court],” Belmonte said.

Parañaque City Rep. Gus Tambunting said the high court had spoken and its ruling must be respected.

“We have to abide by what our laws say. We cannot hold DMCI liable if they did not violate any laws at the time they procured the permits and started construction,” Tambunting said.

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Voting 9-6,  the high court rejected the argument by the Knights of Rizal; and lifted the temporary restraining order it issued in June 2015 that stopped the construction of the condominium being built by DMCI Project Developer Inc.

The Court ruled there was no law prohibiting the construction of the building. 

It said DMCI did not violate several laws mandating the protection and preservation of the Rizal Monument by defacing the visual corridors of the monument.

It also junked the petition on technical grounds, citing its lack of jurisdiction on the issues raised in the petition as well as the lack of legal standing of the Knights of Rizal to question the construction of Torre de Manila before it.

Belmonte agreed.

“If anybody had reservations, same should have been raised much earlier and not when the building was almost complete,” said Belmonte, House committee on West Philippine Sea chairperson.

The Knights of Rizal filed its petition in September 2014 and the high court held oral arguments on the case in August 2015.

DMCI had persistently asked the high court to resolve the case and lift the temporary restraining order it issued on the completion of the 49-story building in June 2015, citing business losses and damages to third parties, especially the buyers of units in the condominium.

The developer asked the hight court to dismiss the petition that it said could cost about P4.27 billion in capital investments and unrealized profits, including the P1.28 billion it had already spent to build the condominium as of May 2015.

DMCI also warned that granting the petition would create a dangerous precedent and result in “economic havoc.” 

It said high-rise buildings were surrounding most of the monuments in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.

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