PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte has signed a law authorizing the University of the Philippines (UP) to sell parcels of its land in Barangay Krus na Ligas to the Quezon City government for housing and urban settlement. The law, contained in Republic Act No. (RA) 11454 and signed on Aug. 30, effectively amends RA No. 9500 or the The University of the Philippines Charter of 2008. UP, with its main campus located in the city, can now “sell, dispose, and alienate certain parcels of land” it owns in the said barangay, which shall not exceed 22,467 hectares. The law provides that the sale can only be made to the Quezon City government “at fair market price that is acceptable to the University.” Upon transfer of ownership, the city government shall “subsequently transfer the said property to legitimate residents of Barangay Krus na Ligas.” A technical working group is tasked to determine the legitimate residents of the barangay, “whose long-standing residence in the area can sufficiently be established by authenticated documentary and testimonial evidence, and who are qualified to become subsequent buyers of parcels of land.” The sale shall be considered “perfected” only from the time that the university is fully paid, which should be made “within one year from the signing and execution of the agreement.” The authorization will be deemed “automatically revoked” when UP and the local government fail to agree on the terms and conditions of the sale within one year from the effectivity of the law. The law also requires the city government, at its own expense, to assist UP in resettling all the other occupants in the properties adjacent to the subject area in Barangay Krus na Ligas. — Arjay L. Balinbin

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