Court orders Baguio City gov’t: Vacate Sinot Resort

Encroachment illegal 

TUBA, Benguet – The Municipal Circuit Trial Court here has ordered the Baguio City government to vacate the Sinot Hot Spring Resort saying it was owned by plaintiffs-spouses Roger and Karen Sinot.    

Acting Presiding Judge Modesto D. Bahul Jr. of Tuba MCTC, in a decision rendered March 21 ordered defendants: City of Baguio represented by Mayor Mauricio Domogan; Juris Awal and the Public Order and Safety Division of the City of Baguio represented by Policarpio Cambod to get out from the property of the Sinots.

“Said defendants, along with all persons claiming rights under them or acting in their behalf, are hereby ordered to remove their improvements at their cost, to vacate and peacefully surrender to the plaintiffs the physical possession of the plaintiffs’ property at Nangalisan, Tuba, Benguet covered by their tax declaration No. 2010-04-06-00798 that was encroached upon by said defendants and henceforth desist from disturbing plaintiffs’ possession of their said property.”

This civil case no. 410 was for “forcible entry and damages with prayer for a writ of preliminary prohibitory injunction.”

Also in criminal case no. 4003, Judge Bahul penalized seven persons in a decision dated March 27 after they pleaded guilty to violation of the National Building Code for fencing the Sinot property without fencing permit and fined them P1,000 each. 

Found guilty were Luther Batallier (also known as Louie Chester Batalier Agumas), Ian Batallier and Randy, Bryan, John and Jorly, all surnamed Agumas including Justin Ramirez.

In case no. 410, the Sinots said the defendants “forcibly entered through stealth and strategy” their property on Nov. 29, 2018.

Judge Bahul in his decision said defendants were served summons on March 2019 but failed to file an answer in due time.

The defendants, through counsel, filed a motion to admit answer and with opposition to the issuance of a writ of prohibitory injunction but it was denied by the court in its March 19, 2019 order. 

In their complaint, the Sinots said they and the Baguio City government were parties in civil case no. 293 related to the property filed before the Tuba MCTR.

On Sept. 9, 2011, Judge Marietta Brawner-Cualing ordered a joint relocation survey of the disputed lot.

On September 2014, a survey was conducted with Roger Sinot, engineers Marcos Badongen of CENRO, La Trinidad, Benguet; a certain Wakat of municipal assessor’s office of Tuba, Eugene Buyucan of the Baguio City general services office, Sheriff Joselito Tumbaga among others.

 The survey was documented by personnel of the Baguio City government.

A survey plan was then released by Badongen, Buyucan, Tumbaga and engineer Fabrico Guyon.

In said survey plan, one of the boundaries will pass through the children’s pool and adult pool of the Sinot Resort, Bahul’s decision read. “Outside said boundary is the property owned and possessed by the plaintiffs as evidenced by a tax map issued by the municipality of Tuba and had been paying their taxes.”

Bahul said plaintiffs had been occupying and were in possession of the property.

On Nov. 26, 2018, the decision said, POSD men of the Baguio City government went to the Sinot property, covered the CCTV cameras around the area and had other cameras turned down so their (POSD) activities will not be recorded.

The POSD men later padlocked the gate and installed hollow blocks going to the residential house of the Sinots.

The family had to pass a longer way through the property of a neighbor to go to their residence.

Plaintiffs objected to the barricades and even reported and blottered the incident at Tuba police station.

The police did not stop the installation of barricades and fences and entry of the men to the property despite complaint filed by the Sinots with the police station.

“On Nov. 30, 2018, Atty. (Rhenan) Diwas (of the Baguio City legal office) went to the place and checked the construction of the property. He along with the POSD had the laundry wires and galvanized steel wires removed from the property of the plaintiffs, believing that they could do whatever they want with the plaintiffs.

“Plaintiffs insisted that that part is outside the property of the city but defendants refused to listen. They even had the gate in the entrance padlocked to prevent the plaintiffs from entering,” the decision said. “The Sinots again reported the incident to the Tuba municipal police station. Since then, defendants remained in illegal possession of the property and completed their improvements thereon despite demands to stop construction and to vacate the same and turn over the improvements in favor of the plaintiffs.”

On different days of December, defendants took out the water hoses going to the Sinot Resort, placed a tarpaulin at the entrance of the property saying it is closed for repair and installed fences and hollow blocks so the Sinots would not be able to enter their property.  

One time, the Sinots met the Nangalisan barangay captain who told the POSD men to remove a yellow line they installed in the Sinot property.

“The POSD personnel in the name of Jackson Tugana, however replied that they were ordered to paralize the business of the plaintiffs and refused to heed the barangay captain. The line was again placed outside the property of the city of Baguio as according to the survey and

Google maps,” the decision read.

“The unjustifiable acts of the defendants caused the plaintiffs to suffer sleepless nights, anxiety, nervousness and besmirched reputation which the defendant must be made to recompense by way of moral damages.”

Judge Bahul ordered the payment of P20,000 as attorney’s fees to the plaintiffs by the defendants.

 To date, Roger Sinot told the Northern Philippine Times their property is still under control of men reportedly sent earlier by city officials despite Bahul’s court order for them to vacate the area.

He said their resort business stopped as a result.

The Tuba municipal government earlier issued a certification saying the city government of Baguio did not own any property in Tuba.