Republic of the Philippines

Office of the President

HOUSING AND LAND USE REGULATORY BOARD
CENTRAL VISAYAS REGION
CEBU CITY

J. KRISTIL A. ABARRI
Complainant,

HLURB Case No:

REM-CVR-081619-1108
For: Claim for Full Refund of
Equity with Damages
-versus-

MONARES AND SONS REALTY &

DEVELOPMENT, INC. and/or
NUNILON MONARES

Respondents.

x-------------------------x

POSITION PAPER

COMPLAINANT, through the undersigned counsel, unto this Honorable

Commission, most respectfully submits this Position Paper and in support hereof states
that:

THE PARTIES

1. The complainant J. KRISTIL A. ABARRI, is of legal age, Filipino, and married with
residence at 1110 Ubos Pundok Basak Pardo, Cebu City. She may be served
summons and other processes through the address of undersigned office at Unit
9, Albulario Bldg. 2, General Maxilo Ave., Cebu City;

2. The respondents MONARES AND SONS REALTY AND DEVELOPMENT, INC.

(MSRDI), is a corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the
laws of the Philippines while Nunilon Monares acts as its President. The compay
has principal place of business at Unit III OPRRA Village, Kalunasan, Cebu City
where they may be served with summons and court processes;

STATEMENT OF FACTS

3. The complainant filed this case against herein respondents for a claim for full
refund of equity and damages as provided for in Sec. 23 of P.D. 957.

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 4. The respondent is engaged in the business of selling real property development
such as but not limited to house and lot inside a residential subdivision;

5. The complainant entered into a Contract to Sell with respondent sometime on

December 2016 for the housing development to be established by respondent at
Brgy. Upper Kalunasan known as “Villa Monares”. This Contract to Sell was
executed by parties a few months after complainant began her equity payments;

6. Under the Contract to Sell, respondent obligated itself to deliver a brand new 2-
storey house, model name APRIL, in favor of Complainant to be constructed in a
certain parcel of land known as Lot No. 3, block No. 4, with lot area of Sixty (60)
Square Meters1;

7. The total consideration or purchase price od the subject house and lot as stated
on the contract is Two Million Four Hundred Eighty Thousand Pesos (Php
2,480,000.00) while the equity payment period availed by complainant was 30
months;

8. Complainant religiously paid her monthly obligation beginning on January 2015.

As of January 2018, her total payment amounted to Five Hundred Nine Thousand
Five Hundred Pesos (Php 509,500.00)2;

9. Such amount accounts for the 36-month worth of equity payments as seen in a
Statement of Accounts covering equity payments which corresponds to the equity
amount necessary for the commencement of the house construction per
provision found in par. 4 f the Contract to Sell, to wit:

4. COMMENCEMENT OF HOUSE CONSTRUCTION

a. That on or at the Eighteenth (18 th) month in the case of 24

months equity settlement period as usually being the case at
Phase 1-a units and thirtieth (30th) month in the case of Thirty Six
(36) months equity settlement period provided there is no
delinquency in the monthly amortization payment of equity as
herein provided, the Owner/Developer shall have to commence
construction of the Contracted Housing Unit under this agreement,

10. Sometime on May 2018, the complainant personally visited the construction site
and discovered that the house had not yet even started 3;

11. On May 21, 2018, the complainant, through undersigned, sent a demant letter to
respondent seeking full refund of the Php 509,000.00 she paid for the equity 4;

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Annex A
2
Annex B
3
Annex C
4
Annex D
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 12. Complainant sought the intervention of the HLURB to mediate for any possible
settlement. However, Respondent refused to heed the demand for refund 5;

13. Respondent answered the demand letter stated that the complainant is not
entitled for refund because the counting of the date to start construction has not
yet arrived. According to respondent, commencement of the construction should
be counted from the time the full payment is made. Further, the commencement
is not only dependent to the full payment of the complainant but as well as
whether the adjacent units in the row or cluster of units are already qualified for
construction6;

14. The complainant allowed respondent additional time to comply with its
construction obligation based on how Monares interpreted the Contract to Sell;

15. On May 2019, the complainant visited the construction site and to her dismay, the
situation remains the same7;

16. For failure of respondent to file their answer within the reglementary period
despite proper service of summons, this Honorable Office ordered complainant to
submit her verified position paper and draft decision.

17. Hence, this Position Paper for the Complainant.

ISSUES

18. Whether or not respondent’s continued failure to begin construction entitled the
complainant to full refund as provided for in Sec. 23 of P.D. 957;

19.

DISCUSSION

20.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed unto this Honorable

Office that after due consideration and hearing, judgement be rendered ordering
respondent to:

1) Fully REFUND the complainant the amount of Php 509,500.00 with damages;
2) Pay for attorney’s fees in amount of Php 30,000.00 and cost of suit;

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Annex D
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Annex E
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Annex F
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 Other reliefs just and quitable under the premises are likewide prayed for.
Resectfully submitted this __________ at Cebu City, Philippines.

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