NCIP suspends processing of ancestral titles in Baguio

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples en banc approved a resolution last week suspending the processing of ancestral land claims in this city until these have been officially endorsed and passed upon by a clearing committee of the city government.

This, after local residents questioned the award of a huge portion of the Forbes Park reservation here to purported ancestral land claimants.

The NCIP ruled suspension of processing of increasing number of ancestral land claims to be issued certificates of ancestral land title (CALTs) will allow the clearing committee to investigate whether or not the pending ancestral claims are legitimate and in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act.

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the Office of the President must make necessary directives to the Office of the Solicitor-General to immediately file the necessary pleadings for the nullification of the CALT issued to the heirs of Lauro Carantes covering at least 23 hectares of the Forbes Park watershed reservation considering that the ancestral land title was allegedly dubiously issued.

Section 78 of RA 8371 allows Baguio City to maintain its townsite reservation provided that land rights recognized by the courts or other administrative bodies prior to the enactment of the IPRA will be duly recognized.

Based on records, there are 47 Igorot claims that were recognized by the courts in 1910, followed by another 285 ancestral claims until 1957. Under Special Order No. 31 issued by former President Corazon C. Aquino in 1990, 6 Igorot claims were initially approved while another 757 ancestral claims were again recognized by Department Administrative Order No. 2 before the recognition of the claims were halted.

Domogan underscored there is an urgent need to validate the increasing number of ancestral claims being filed by indigenous peoples in some portions of the city so that those legitimate claims will be given the approval while those which are illegal should not be entertained.

He cited the glaring example of the approved CALT within the Forbes Park reservation where even the heirs are now at odds with each other on how to proceed with the sale or disposal of their claims or maintain the same in accordance to the primordial aim of the IPRA which is to preserve and protect the rights of indigenous peoples over their ancestral domain.

Domogan said there is need t o investigate the Forbes Park CALT considering that initial plotting made by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources showed the area covered by the title even extends to the golf course of Camp John Hay and Baguio Country Club.

The members of the Baguio ancestral lands clearing committee include the city mayor as chairman with the members coming from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in the Cordillera, city legal officer, city administrator, city council committee on urban planning, lands and housing and the regional technical director for lands.