Posted on March 26, 2015 07:38:00 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
By Louine Hope Conserva, Correspondent
ILOILO CITY -- Irregularities found in
16 land titles covering about 73 hectares of Sicogon Island are not expected to
affect an Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) project, as the resort to be developed by the
company lies outside the area with questionable documentation, an official
said.
Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) Region 6 Executive Director Jim O. Sampulna said the agency
has moved to cancel the titles. Among the faults are the titling of a body of
water, the Sicogon Channel, and erroneous technical descriptions and double-titling.
Bodies of water are not subject to
disposal for acquisition under the Public Land Act, also known as Commonwealth
Act 141.
Sicogon Island lies off the northeast
corner of Panay and forms part of the municipality of Carles, Iloilo.
“The DENR immediately took action to
rectify the problem. But we would like to assure Ayala and SIDECO (Sicogon
Development Corp.) that their development will not be hampered by this
development,” Mr. Sampulna said.
Mr. Sampulna said the problem is
believed to have originated from a cadastral survey conducted in 2010 by a firm
contracted by the DENR. The officials involved in issuing the titles are
subject to investigation, he added.
SIDECO has partnered with ALI for the
development of 800 hectares within Sicogon Island into a tourism estate with
residential buildings, retail shops, forest trails, diving spots, an airport
with a 1.2-kilometer runway and a jetty.
The ALI-SIDECO joint venture is
scheduled to begin construction on the air and sea ports within the first
quarter this year after the settlement in November of a dispute with farmers
and fisherfolk.
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