QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 5941)
RA 5941 amended Sections 3 and 4 of Republic Act No. 1361. The amendment concerned the sale of national government cottages in Baguio and the lots on which they are built, including the furniture and equipment.
They are sold at public auction to the highest bidder under rules and regulations that the President may prescribe.
No cottage and lot (including furniture and equipment) may be sold for less than the appraised actual value found by the Committee on Appraisal.
No person or family may buy more than one cottage and the lot on which it is built (including furniture and equipment).
No person who already owns residential property in Baguio may participate in the public auction to sell these cottages and lots (including furniture and equipment).
Every cottage and its lot in Jungle Town and Engineer’s Hill shall be sold at a price fixed by the Committee on Appraisal in ten yearly installments to the present lessee or occupant who has continuously leased or occupied them for at least three years prior to the approval of the amendatory Act.
If the lessee/occupant refuses within six months from written notification that the cottage and lot are ready for sale and the price is set, the property shall be sold in like manner as cottages and lots not located in Jungle Town and Engineer’s Hill.
It provides a window from the date the occupant receives written notification to decide whether to exercise the granted right to purchase at the fixed price on installment terms.
The occupant or lessee shall be assigned another lot in Jungle Town and Engineer’s Hill, which shall be sold to him under the same installment rules provided in Section 3.
Except as provided in Section 4, no government official or employee or member of his family may purchase any of the cottages and lots (including furniture and equipment), and any sale to such person shall be void.
If he is the occupant and lessee of a cottage continuously for at least five years prior to the approval of the amendatory Act, and he does not own any residential lot in the City of Baguio, he may purchase the same and be given preference in the sale of the cottage and lot he occupies and leases.
They are given preference in the sale of the cottage and lot occupied and leased by them, provided the eligibility conditions are met.
No. It generally bars them and renders any sale void, but it provides an exception for those who meet the specified five-year occupancy/lessee requirement and who do not own residential lots in Baguio.
It takes effect upon its approval.
The enactment note states it was enacted without Executive approval. However, the Act itself still states it takes effect upon its approval; the practical effect is typically understood in light of the constitutional process of enactment without Executive signature.