By Aileen P. Refuerzo
BAGUIO CITY
– Mayor Mauricio Domogan said nullification of three Certificates of Ancestral
Land Titles (CALTs) covering key areas in the city by the National Commission
on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) was proper, adding these CALTs were issued
irregularly.
“We are glad
that the NCIP nullified these titles and we hope that they will do the same
with other areas in the city which are similarly situated (covered by spurious
CALTs),” the mayor said.
The NCIP
reportedly canceled CALTs 301, 302 and 303 covering tracts of land claimed by
the heirs of Cosen Piraso particularly the the Casa Vallejo property along
Upper Session Road, Josephine Abanag at Wright Park and Botanical Garden in
Pacdal and Lauro Carantes at South Drive.
The same
CALTs have been sought for annulment by the city government since 2009 as the
lots covered are within forest and park reservations and therefore inalienable.
The city is
also working with the NCIP and the Office of the Solicitor General for the
cancellation of CALTs over Loakan Airport and the Dairy Farm at Green Valley.
The NCIP
last August expressed readiness to cancel three of the five CALTs being
questioned by the city after finding irregularities in them.
In its
resolution voiding the three titles, the NCIP declared as missing the documents
supporting the CALTs thus invalidating the same.
The NCIP
move was assailed by ancestral land claimants who tagged the act as an
orchestrated “effort to disenfranchise” them.
The mayor
however said the annulment of the titles benefits the city because the titles
were spurious right from the start and the lots needed to be preserved as
forest reservations for the benefit of the people.
He said the
city will continue to respect ancestral land applications as long as these are
legitimate Igorot claims qualified for disposition as ancestral land under
existing laws.
He said what
the city is opposing are bogus ancestral land claims that seek to undermine
protected areas like the Forbes Park, Wright Park and other forested areas that
put the interest of the city and its people in peril.
The mayor
said legitimate claims are Igorot claims classified as alienable as ancestral
land as per section 78 of Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous People’s
Rights Act.
The said
section provides a special provision that the city of Baguio “shall remain to
be governed by its Charter and all lands proclaimed as part of its townsite
reservation shall remain as such until otherwise reclassified by appropriate
legislation..”
Section 78
also provides an exemption that “prior land rights and titles recognized and/or
acquired through any judicial, administrative or other processes before the
effectivity of this Act shall remain valid…” which means that Igorot claims
recognized before November 1997, the date of IPRA implementation, are qualified
as ancestral claims.
Among those
recognized are Igorot ancestral claims screened under Special Administrative
Order No. 31 and Dept. Administrative Order No. 02 issued by the Dept. and
Environment and Natural Resources.
The mayor
said all claims that fall under these circumstances are recognized by the city.
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