NCIP finds fake land title issued to coop

BAGUIO CITY – The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples – Cordillera Administrative Region (NCIP-CAR) traced and identified a fraudulent title situating a parcel of land in La Trinidad, Benguet to a certain cooperative.

Said fraudulent title was brought to the NCIP-CAR regional hearing office by a local lawyer seeking consultation of the same on whether or not the title is valid.

After seeing the title, NCIP – CAR Regional Hearing Officer, lawyer Brain Masweng said the same was fake and nothing more than a scrap of paper.

Masweng after striking down the title to be fake immediately informed NCIP-CAR regional director Roland Calde and recommended the latter to inform the greater public considering the title was well-done that it almost passed the supposed judicious eyes of one local lawyer.       

Masweng said the title, citing laws that were, in fact, inexistent are red-flags through the judicious eyes of a lawyer.

The fraudulent title cited, among others, ‘Real Property Act 1858’ and ‘IPs/ICCs Torrens System Law’ which are inexistent.

The title likewise underscored Presidential Decrees which were long abandoned and if not repealed by latter laws.

Adapting the recommendation of Masweng, the NCIP-CAR regional director issued a public advisory regarding the issuance of the fraudulent titles and the same was posted in the NCIP-CAR social media account.

Subsequently, after the posting, the NCIP-CAR received information that individuals that were issuing those fraudulent titles are deceiving IP/ICCs in the CAR by giving them false hope, mostly senior citizens, asking them 50 to 90 thousand each for the registration of the title under the Registry of Deeds (ROD). 

These title are being issued by a certain “Ang Bagong Lahing Pilipino Multi-Purpose Cooperative”. a duly registered cooperative under the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

The Cooperative’s status however, as of this writing, was suspended due the Show Cause order issued by CDA back 2017 where “Ang Bagong Lahing Pilipino Multi-Purpose Cooperative” has yet to comply with.

“We would like to inform the IP/ICCs in Cordillera that NCIP is the only agency, authorized by government, who has the power in issuing title covering Ancestral Lands”, said Calde. 

NCIP-CAR officials said their office will be seeking legal action against individuals extorting IP/ICCs in the Cordillera through the issuance of fraudulent titles.

They will also be opening their doors to IP/ICCs who were aggrieved by the Ang Bagong Lahing Pilipino Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

Meanwhile, Masweng shared tips on how to determine a fake title.

The hearing officer disclosed that, authentic titles are registered with the Land Registration Authority/Register of Deeds and embodied in security papers (with serial numbers).

The security papers can only be released by the Central Bank through proper procedures.

A person or a private organization cannot legally secure the security papers from the Central Bank.

Masweng also differentiated the titles being issued by different government agencies.

“Authentic titles are issued by the DENR (free patents, townsites sales patent, special patents), the DAR for CLOAS, and the NCIP for ancestral lands and domains titles,” added Masweng.