Tuesday, July 7, 2009
BAGUIO CITY -- Congress was asked Monday to look into the titling of forest and watershed reservations controversy in this city.
A special committee was tasked to investigate the titling of portions of Forbes Park forest and watershed reserves, and it recommended for Congress to inquire as to why the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Land Registration Commission facilitated the titling of these government reservations through the issuance of certificates of ancestral land titles (Calt).
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In a report signed by City Councilor Isabelo Cosalan Jr., City Legal Office officer-in-charge Melchor Carlos Rabanes, Planning Officer Arturo Orig, City Engineer Leo Bernardez, and City Assessor Augustus Medina, the committee also recommended for the Office of the Solicitor General to file cases for the recovery of five parcels of property now titled to the heirs of Lauro Carantes.
It further recommended that a request can be made from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to issue a proclamation declaring the remaining portions of Forbes as forest and watershed reserve, which would make reclassification and conversion of the area illegal in the future.
The council should also file an adverse claim, the committee stated.
A total aggregate area of 239,027 square meters (sqm) was awarded to Carantes' heirs. These titles include the Original Certificate of Ancestral Land Title (O-Calt-26) which measures 89,242 sqm; O-Calt-27 measures 2,327 sqm; O-Calt-28, which consists of two lots measures 34,855 sqm; and O-Calt-29 measures 112,603 sqm.
All were registered at the Registry of Deeds (ROD) last April, the committee report stated.
O-Calt-29 falls within Parcel I or Lot I, while O-Calt-26 and 27 fall within Parcel II. A portion of O-Calt-28 overlaps with Parcel II, the same report stated.
However, it failed to determine if a portion of Botanical Garden, which happens to be within Parcel II, was part of the awarded portion.
In an appearance last May 11, ROD head Juanito Ampaguey confirmed titling of the portions of Forbes Park, which prompted the City Council to form a committee to determine how large the awarded area was.
Documents from the City Assessor's Office showed annotations in the declaration of real property the Carantes property overlaps with properties named under the Republic of the Philippines Forbes Park I and the City of Baguio.
In that meeting, members of the council maintained that no title should have been issued.
The council also asked the NCIP to suspend receiving applications for ancestral claims and postponed issuance of preliminary and locational clearances in areas covered by Calts. (Rimaliza Opiña of Sun.Star Baguio)
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