Unity, the key to a CALT

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Roger Sinot 

BAGUIO CITY -- “Unity and oneness of claimants help much in fast-tracking the processing of CALTs within Baguio.”

This was a common observation among many ancestral land claimants and officials of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples during an assembly of members of the Baguio Ancestral Land Claimants (BALC) held at the EDNCP, Church of the Resurreccion last week. For the first time, the NCIP called for the assembly an gave updates and an overview on the status of ancestral land claims in the city.

NCIP Regional Director Amador P. Batay-an showed the assembly figures saying, of the 757 ancestral land claim (ALC) applications, 596 were received by the NCIP that were turned over by the DENR in June 2002. During the transition period, many claimants submitted their folders and records directly to the NCIP. As of 2013, some 130 claims were approved by the Commission. Around 139 were registered with the Registry of Deeds, 31 are pending, while 28 were processed, including the CADT (ancestral domain) for Happy Hallow.

“The creation of the Council of Elders , I hope, will bring harmony among you – claimants. In doing so, there is no need to go to the courts, If possible, these disputes between families and among relatives be resolved by and among yourselves. You are just enriching lawyers. In the end, you gain nothing but headaches,” Batay-an said.

In updating the claimants on legal matters and cases on file, NCIP Regional Hearing Officer Brain S. Masweng informed the participants that at least 11 cases were terminated, 12 cases pending for possible settlement and six cases are on-going investigation. He stressed that the limit, as far as his office is concerned as to the identification and delineation of claims, is the authority to issue CALTs as mandated by law.

He explained that the function of the Hearing Officer is to issue a temporary restraining order to hold in abeyance court orders to give leeway for the applicants to complete the necessary requirements. But this is only temporary.

Commissioner Zenaida Brigida Hamada Pawid emphasized the need for unity among the Ibaloy claimants in Baguio, saying further “If you really want your claims to be titled then be honest with yourselves and tell the truth. Claim only parties that your family owns. We Ibaloys are shy – shy enough not to get what is not ours.”

“If you say the NCIP is corrupt, they may be because you made them so. Awanti corrupt nu awan ti mang-corrupt ti panunot da. We in the NCIP are here to tell you to work out the requirements yourselves, not us to work them out for you. We will all cook your cakes before sharing them to your families, not the other way around, so that let us form the Council of Elders,” she said.

My fellow Ibaloy ancestral land claimants, why be shy when we can come out of our shells? I feel sorry for turtles. They live on to ripe old ages but spend their whole lives in a shell and there is nothing they can do about it. But you are not a turtle and if you are a shy person, you are luckier because you can do something about it. 

You can appreciate your good qualities, you can recall moments when you were proud of yourselves, and you can see yourselves that way again. You can learn to live with your weaknesses. You can adjust the image of yourselves truthfully and positively – then you won’t be frightened to come out of your shells, like a chick coming out into the world for the first time.

This should be the spirit, otherwise the fake council of elders who have fake ancestral genealogies and fake land claims will overtake us. My cousin March Fianza and I encourage you to write your family history. By doing so, you are also writing history. There are individuals in the BALC who are trying to tell a different history of Baguio to suit their side. Do not believe in people who tell second hand stories concerning your ancestors and land claims because it is only you who knows the history of your own family.

Happy trails then to all genuine ancestral land claimants. There is light at the end of the tunnel.