Don’t use village roads; CA confirms injunctive relief

In resolving the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the City of Parañaque and “surprisingly” Romulo Bersamina, et al, the Special Tenth Division of the Court of Appeals in a Resolution on June 22, 2006, ruled that:

“We have perused with care the records of the present appeal and simply found nothing therein that would persuade Us to deviate from the conclusion earlier arrived at by the Eighth Division of this Court in the Resolution sought to be set aside or reconsidered.”

It will be recalled that when Parañaque Mayor Jun Bernabe opened the access roads of the subdivision, homeowners challenged the validity of Ordinance 00-15(672), asserting that homeowners are the beneficial owners of the roads and open spaces privately titled to the developer, having paid for them when they purchased their properties. As such, the local government cannot simply take over private property without due process.

The Parañaque City government was prevented from opening the gates of BF Homes Parañaque village gates after the umbrella village association obtained a writ of preliminary injunction from the Court of Appeals (CA).

The CA 8th Division ruled in favor of the United BF Homeowners’ Associations Inc. (UBFHAI), preventing Mayor Jun Bernabe from enforcing City Ordinance No. 00-15 (672), authorizing the Mayor to open to the general public privately owned subdivision roads of BF Homes, Multinational Village, Better Living and other residential subdivisions abutting barangay, city or national roads.

Due to the CA order, Bernabe, the local police from the Philippine National Police and other persons invoking authority cannot enforce the ordinance.

In issuing the injunctive relief, the CA recognizes “the authority of the UBFHAI as an entity that has continuously administered, regulated and maintained the use of the private roads inside BF Homes Parañaque Subdivision to the extent of employing security guards to man major gates, issuing passes and tickets for entry into the subdivision and charging fees set by the association,” among others.

The CA further ruled that “as owners or administrators of private roads, homeowners are entitled to continue to enjoy exclusive access therein for their own protection and security and to regulate its use by non-residents within the limit prescribed by law and administrative rules.”

The UBFHAI petition was recognized by the CA after they showed that the opening of the gates resulted in an unmitigated flow of vehicular traffic and pedestrians and proliferation of crimes that left the residents more vulnerable.

The mayor has hitched his political future to a very contentious issue (commercialization of BF Homes Subdivision) instead of keeping his electoral promise (“click” on highlighted texts) to resolve the chronic water supply shortage in the subdivision. Undoubtedly, there will be political repercussion.