BAGUIO CITY – The issuance of
land titles by different government agencies has led to conflict among lot
claimants like in the case of watersheds in this summer capital which are now
being openly sold.
Sen, Chiz Escudero bared this
saying vital government properties titled by the National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples particularly those within watersheds in the city for example
have added to the conflict.
The city government sought to
stop the sale of lands within watersheds to no avail as claimants said they
were the real owners of these properties since they have NCIP titles.
Escudero said this could not have
happened if there was only one government land titling office. “As of this time
we have different government offices which are issuing land titles: the NCIP,
courts, the Department of Agrarian Reform among others.”
He added if reelected, he would
work to make government come up with only one office which would issue land
titles nationwide.
The issue cropped up during a
forum with local media at El Cieleto Hotel Thursday where he showed up with
senatorial candidate Grace Poe.
His girlfriend Heart Evangelista
was nowhere in sight.
Baguio officials earlier said “unscrupulous
individuals” are now selling watersheds to buyers and have entered and
introduced improvements on them to the detriment of the city.
Vice mayor Daniel Farinas said
this was alarming and the city government had to do something legally during an
executive-legislative meeting recently at city hall.
Earlier, the Court of Appeals in
a decision denied the petition of the Office of the Solicitor General for the
nullification of Original Certificates of ancestral Land titles (CALT’s) issued
by the NCIP over prime lots within Forbes Park and Wright Park.
Mayor Mauricio Domogan said the
cases were not yet over and motions for reconsideration on the CA’s decision
have been filed.
The city government has brought
to the attention of the Task Force for Baguio and Boracay composed of top
officials, concerns regarding issuances of Certificates of Ancestral Land
Titles (CALT’s) over parks and watersheds of the city.
The move was for the task force
to understand the alarming environmental impact it poses to Baguio if forest
reserves within the city continue to be titled to private individuals.
Officials said these recent
developments will cause problems for the city and will have great impact on
remaining forest and watershed cover.
Mayor Domogan said sale of lands
within Forbes Park reservation and Wright Park remain invalid and illegal even
as the CA dismissed the petition for nullification of titles over the said
public properties filed by the Office of the Solicitor-general.
The local chief executive said
the CA decision did not attain finality because the Solicitor-General already
filed a motion for reconsideration questioning dismissal of the petition on
technicality.
“The public must be warned not to
be enticed to buy lands within the Forbes Park reservation and the Wright Park
area since the sale of the lands remain illegal considering that the areas are
the city’s only remaining forested areas that must be preserved and protected,”
Domogan said.
He cited the decision of the NCIP
favoring the ancestral claim of the heirs of Lauro Carantes over a 23-hectare
portion of Forbes Park and the claim of Josephin Abanag over Wright Park that
includes the site of the Philippine Information Agency in the Cordillera and
some golf holes of the Baguio Country Club are highly irregular.
According to him, the city
government has still a chance to question the merit of the case before the
Supreme Court if the CA decides to uphold its earlier decision dismissing the
petition to nullify the aforesaid ancestral titles considering that there are
numerous SC rulings that cited that merits of cases must not be compromised by
mere technicalities.
While
it is true that Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples rights Act
recognizes the charter of the city, Domogan said IPRA also recognizes ancestral
land claims that were previously recognized by administrative bodies and the
courts pursuant to Section 78 of the said law which took effect in November of
1997.
However,
Domogan raised the question whether or not the ancestral claims of the heirs of
Carantes over a portion of Forbes Park and the ancestral claims of Abanag over
Wright Park were previously recognized by the courts or administrative bodies
prior to effectivity of IPRA.
Domogan
also questioned the procedure adopted by the NCIP in granting the ancestral
claims of the heirs of Luaro Carantes over a portion of Forbes Park and Abanag
over Wright Park considering that the recognition of the ancestral land claims
grossly violated the outlined procedures, particularly the delisting of the
parks and reservations. – Alfred Dizon
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