Las Piñas City Representative Mark Anthony Santos has called on the government to carefully review a proposed land donation from the Villar family for the LRT-1 Extension Project, following revelations that a portion of the property remains mortgaged.
Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez disclosed in a radio interview that two of the six land parcels offered by the Villar group along the C-5 Road Extension—accounting for about 43% of the land required for the planned Las Piñas Station—are mortgaged to China Banking Corporation.
Lopez noted that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) only discovered the encumbrance in June, despite negotiations taking place for nearly six years.
Santos warned that accepting mortgaged land without resolving legal obligations could expose the government to severe financial and operational complications.
“A mortgaged property remains subject to the rights of the lending bank unless the mortgage is released or the mortgagee expressly consents to the transfer,” Santos noted.
“The government must first determine whether the property can be legally transferred with a clean and unencumbered title before accepting any donation,” he said.
He emphasized that failure to conduct thorough legal and technical evaluations could lead to further setbacks for the critical infrastructure project.
“The DOTr must ensure that the property is legally transferable and free from encumbrances before the government accepts it. Otherwise, the project could face further delays, legal complications, or additional costs at the expense of taxpayers,” the lawmaker said.
To protect public funds and maintain accountability, Santos urged the DOTr to make all relevant documents—including the draft deed of donation, land titles, and mortgage agreements—accessible to the public.
“The Filipino people deserve full transparency. If the government is asking the public to believe that the right-of-way issue is being resolved through a donation, then it must also disclose all the documents proving that the property can be lawfully transferred to the government,” Santos said.
The Villar family offered the property to help clear long-standing right-of-way issues that have halted construction on the project’s Las Piñas, Zapote, and Niog stations. Discussions between the DOTr and the Villar family remain ongoing.