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Cancel fake land titles in Baguio — urban poor residents

Irisan residents urge Land Management Bureau

BAGUIO CITY (Oct. 21) — Residents of barangays Irisan and San Carlos of this summer capital city trooped to at the regional office of the Land Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (LMB-DENR-CAR) and filed their petition calling for the cancellation of five original certificate of titles (OCT) and several derivative titles questionably acquired by the registered owners allegedly in collaboration with government officials.

Residents claimed that the OCTs, issued to registered owners which cover their residential homes in the said barangays where they introduced improvements for long period of time, were acquired under the 211 processes where titles acquired therein were declared void by the Supreme Court as there were acquired not through administrative legalization.

They added that other OCTs were issued to lands classified as forest lands which can never be subjected to ownership being inalienable and indisposable, or simply not subjected for ownership.

The assailed titles are numbered OCT No. 0-09 which was subdivided into 25 transfer certificate of titles (TCT), OCT No. 0-12 subdivided into 12 TCT, OCT No. -67 subdivided into 55 TCT, OCT No. 0-13 subdivided into three (3) TCT, and OCT No. 0-97 subdivided into 17 TCT. All the titles are claimed by petitioners to have been registered at the Baguio Registry of Deeds. The total land area was not determined though it affects more than 100 hectares of Irisan and San Carlos.

The TCTs were granted to 73 persons including the Philippine National Bank and the Rural Bank of Baguio, who are all respondents to the residents’ petition for cancellation.

Numbering more or less 300, they residents submitted their petition to the LMB office where officials received and promised them to address the issue within 45 days from submission.

Residents urge the officials however, to urgently address the issue as many homes in the area had been demolished and 11 others are pending for demolition.

211 titles

NORDIS, through its investigative journalism work, traced the land problem in the said barangays to the defect in Baguio’s town site sales application (TSA) and the scandal- ridden 211 titles.

Prior to 1973, Baguio courts had issued land titles by virtue of the reopening of Civil Registration Case no. 1, GLRO Record No. 211. It was known as judicial decree of issuing title.

On July 31, 1973, the Supreme Court issued a decision which declared all titles issued under 211 as void as they were issued by court decrees. It is understood that titles, to be valid, should be acquired through administrative legalization in the appropriate administrative agencies.

On December 22, 1977, former president Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1271 which nullified registration of certificates of title within the Baguio town site reservation issued in Civil Reservation Case No. 1, GLRO Record No. 211 in relation with RA 931. The Marcos Decree, however, recognized 211 titles considered as alienable and disposable. It granted revalidation period for 211 titles under certain conditions which include among others: the lands are alienable and disposable and they had introduced improvements in the area.

Substantial improvements

The petitioners from Irisan and San Carlos claimed in their petition that the registered owners failed to comply with the conditions to revalidate their 211 titles.

“Several of the certificates of titles subject of this petition were anomalously validated. The title holders – both the original and transferees – did not introduce substantial improvements on the lands in question either before July 31, 1973 or thereafter. It was the petitioners themselves who found the lots vacant, possessed the same for a period of more than 10 years in good faith, and introduced improvements thereon,” states the petition.

The 227 petitioners claimed that the validation by the registered owners is questionable including their claim to have introduced improvements on the lands in question.

Award land to actual occupants

While the petitioners urge for the cancellation of the title, they are equally interested for the awarding of the land to the actual occupants.

If the government will cancel the titles however, the land will be sold in a public bidding bidding and awarded to the highest bidder under the town site sales application that govern the city lands.

Meanwhile, the residential houses of the 11 residents who actually occupy the derivative title T-5379 of Atty. Herminiguildo Monta are subjected for demolition. The reason for the demolition, received by the residents on October 19, is not the nature of the land occupied but allegedly due to absence of building permits.

The residents were identified as Luisa Kinadoy, Maria Habiling, Benjamin Domahay, Alejandro Liagon, Paula Habiling, Donato Ballogan, Elnora Ballogan, Jaime Manait, Olivia Mama-o, Gemma Perey, and Tayaban Banawol.

“The residents will oppose the demolition. Why single us out for demolition when even big buildings failed to acquire building permits before constructing their big buildings,” a woman resident from Irisan claimed.

The residents also went to the City Hall to dialogue with the local officials. Their petition was submitted to the mayor’s office, but the staff claimed the mayor was out. Only Councilor Faustino Olowan, who claimed his office is supporting their issues, and Councilor Raffy Panagan, who urged them for sobriety appeared before the protesting residents. # Arthur L. Allad-iw for NORDIS

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