Baguio mayor hits titling of forest reservations by NCIP

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan assailed last week titling of forest reservations in the city which he reiterated has become the city’s biggest ordeal.

During the city council session on Monday, Domogan said one-fifth of the city’s total land area has now been covered by Certificates of Ancestral Land Titles (CALTs) including the spurious ones issued on the city’s vital forest reservations.

            

“We say this again that the most serious problem confronting our city at present is the titling of our reservations which is clearly a wanton violation of section 78 of Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous People’s Rights Act.  To us, (the act) is unscrupulous because these are not legitimate claims,” the mayor said clarifying that the city does not question CALTs issued on legitimate claims.

            

“Imagine what will happen to our city if we lose the legal battles to reclaim these reservations,” the mayor bemoaned.

            

The mayor said the city is now faced with legal battles to cancel the CALTs over Forbes Park, Botanical Garden and Wright Park and to drive away squatters at the vital Busol watershed and the Casa Vallejo area along Session Road.  He said the city will also tackle the CALT reportedly issued over the Loakan Airport including portions of the Philippine Military Academy.  

            

He expressed hopes that the recent pronouncements of National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Chairman Zenaida Brigida Hamada Pawid on an upcoming issuance from their end would be for the nullification of the subject CALTs.

            

“I’m praying that actions will be done on this pending very serious problem confronting the city,” he said.

As a result of the dialogue, Councilor Fred Bagbagen who initiated the council inquiry on the CALTs, proposed a resolution asking President Aquino to order the NCIP to stop the issuance of the CALTs in the city and another requesting the Senate and the House of Representatives to conduct a congressional inquiry and investigation on the said CALTs on reservations.  The said resolutions will be discussed by the body on Monday.

            

During the dialogue, the mayor appealed to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to help the city in its efforts to have the CALTs over reservations cancelled and to stop issuing more titles over forested areas.

            

Members of the city council joined the mayor in asking the NCIP to implement its Resolution No. 090 series of 2009 establishing the Baguio Ancestral Land Clearing Committee (BALCC) that will initially screen and evaluate applications before the same can be acted on by the NCIP. 

            

They said the problem on the titling of the reservations should not have worsened had this been implemented. 

             

NCIP-Baguio lawyer Bernadette Badecao who attended the dialogue said the NCIP has not started processing new claims in view of stoppage order since 2010.  In 2012 she said, they accepted applications but no formal processing was done.

            

She said the NCIP’s position is that Baguio is covered by the IPRA and that they are “banking on the IPRA provision that ancestral lands can be claimed.

She however informed that “there is an exemption order that if the claim is still intended for public use, it will be not given to them (applicants) and will only be recognized to compensation purposes only.”

She said there are also “new Omnibus Rules for the delineation of the ancestral land under the 2012 Revised Omnibus Rules that includes a provision on the titling of ancestral lands over reservations so it would be identified, it will be processed for recognition and then it will be recommended for CALC if it is not used by the public anymore or if it is still being used, (it will be processed) for payment and compensation to the legitimate claimant if they will prove that it is their ancestral land.”  

           

Badecao acknowledged that the reservations in question are for public use.

Vice Mayor Daniel Farinas asked the NCIP to go by their rules for the protection the people’s interest.  He said they anticipated bigger problems ahead as those awarded CALTs especially at the Forbes Park area are now selling the lots to the public.