Loss of forest reserves to fake ancestral claims hit

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The imminent loss of the city’s remaining forest reservations to bogus ancestral land claimants is alarming and at present the city’s biggest ordeal, Mayor Mauricio Domogan said on Wednesday.

The mayor said the seemingly losing battle to reclaim areas within vital forest reserves like the Busol watershed where squatters remained scot-free due to a protective injunction issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Forbes Park, Wright Park and Botanical Garden which were issued Original Certificates of Land Title (O-CALTs) also by the NCIP is the most serious environmental problem the city is facing, which if not reversed, will lead to tragic results.

The mayor said the city has remained locked in a battle to reclaim said areas and will continue to pursue the recovery effort even if recent results were not encouraging.

Last January, the Court of Appeals quashed the petition of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for the nullification of the O-CALTs issued over 47 public properties including properties titled in the name of the City of Baguio including Wright Park, national, city and barangay roads and mineral reservations and 12 private properties because of failure to exhaust the administrative remedy. 

The mayor is hopeful that the Court of Appeals will reconsider its decision and will rule on the merits of the petition instead of the technical aspect.

 “I hope we will not sacrifice the merits of the case in favor of the grounds of technicality because it is the interest of our city and our people that is on the line here.  Even the Supreme Court has maintained in several decisions that merit should not be sacrificed on the altar of technicality,” the mayor said.

The mayor lauded the OSG for pursuing and attending to the case saying that in his opinion, the office did the right move despite the adverse decision of the court.

The city government has a similar petition pending before the NCIP for the cancellation of the spurious titles issued over Wright Park.

There were reports that the CA issued a similar ruling on another OSG petition covering Forbes Park lots but this has yet to be confirmed as no copy of the decision has reached the city government.

The mayor reported that many lots covered by the questioned CALTs at Forbes Park have already been sold despite the pending case and despite the city government’s warning not to buy said lots due to their questionable status.

The mayor said the city government will continue to cooperate with the OSG in pursuing the cases covering these forest reservations.

 “We maintain that these lots are not alienable and part of our forest reservation and the titles issued to them are not valid so we will continue to work together to reclaim and protect them,” the mayor said.