Thursday, October 29, 2009 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
By Rimaliza Opiña
A REGIONAL trial court ordered the Baguio City Register of Deeds (ROD) to desist from accepting, registering or annotating titles, which form part of the disputed Forbes Park forest reserve.
The restraining order is valid for 20 days.
Regional Trial Court Branch 60 Presiding Judge Edilberto Claravall ordered the ROD to cease and desist from accepting, approving, registering, annotating or in any way giving due course to whatever deeds, instruments or any other documents involving voluntary or involuntary dealings, which may have the effect of transferring, conveying, encumbering, ceding, waiving, alienating or disposing in favor of any individual or entity the parcels of land with NCIP title numbers O-CALT 26 through 29, as well as its nine derivative titles.
These titles cover the property where the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) issued a certificate of ancestral land title (CALT). The titles were issued to the heirs of Lauro Carantes.
The City Legal Office meanwhile filed before the Land Registration Authority (LRA) an appeal asking for reconsideration of the ROD's denial of the City Government's adverse claim over the property.
The ROD denied the city's adverse claim on two grounds: the city is not a party to the case and there is an NCIP status quo order.
In the complaint, the City Government represented by the mayor, argued a TRO and an injunction is the quickest remedy at the moment because allegedly, the ROD is moving swiftly in having the nine titles registered.
"There is no other plain and speedy remedy by which the plaintiff can protect its rights and interests over portions of the Forbes reservation, except by way of injunction," a portion of the complaint stated.
"The awarding by the NCIP and the corresponding issuance of titles by the ROD in favor of the heirs of Lauro Carantes appear to be highly irregular in view of the fact the Forbes forest reserve is an inalienable forest reserve which was withdrawn from sale or settlement by virtue of Proclamation 10, issued by Governor General Leonard Wood on February 1924," the complaint added.
Meantime, the city is awaiting response from the Office of the Solicitor General for repossession proceedings.
Last week, the CLO also filed separate administrative complaints against NCIP commissioners responsible for Carantes' application for ancestral title.
Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on October 30, 2009.
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