The rehabilitation of the Old Bacolod City Hall will continue pending the court’s decision on the claims of the Luzuriaga family, City Legal Office head Romeo Carlos Ting, Jr. said.

Ting said he saw no reasons to stop the ongoing rehabilitation and improvement of the old city hall on Luzuriaga Street.

He pointed out that there is a pending case filed regarding the claims of the Luzuriaga family on the lot where the old city hall is being built.

Only a temporary restraining order can stop the project, he added.

In 2009, the heir of the Luzuriaga family filed an annulment of property title against the Bacolod City government.

However, the city government insisted that, based on the Transfer Certificate of Title issued in 1934, there is no annotation on the title regarding the alleged deed of donation of the Luzuriaga family and regarding the inhibitions to the use of the property.

The P223 million rehabilitation of the old city hall started last August of this year.

Ting clarified that the rehabilitation project does not include the Fountain of Justice, which is recognized by the National Historical Institute as a heritage site and considered a historical landmark of Bacolod./WDJ