Registrar of Deeds to answer contempt raps today

Friday, May 20, 2011

A LOCAL court has scheduled Friday a hearing on the City Government's motion to cite the Registrar of Deeds (ROD) and office personnel in contempt for registering a property that is under its contention.

The Baguio City Government, through the City Legal Office (CLO), filed the motion citing City Registrar of Deeds Juanito Ampaguey and his staff in contempt last May 9.

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According to the CLO, the ROD failed to observe an earlier status quo order, which said pending resolution of its motion for intervention, registration should be held in abeyance in the meantime.

The registered titles happen to be derivative titles covering Forbes Park reservation.

The CLO argued that the ROD's "act of accepting and honoring instruments" in cancelling derivative titles of Original Certificate of Ancestral Land Title-28 and subsequent issuance of succeeding derivative titles is allegedly a disregard to the restraining and status quo orders issued in 2009 by a local court.

The CLO also filed a motion for reconsideration concerning the ROD's denial of the city's adverse claim over the same property.

ROD Juanito Ampaguey used as basis a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the National Commission Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in denying the city's adverse claim.

The CLO, represented by lawyer Melchor Rabanes, said the ROD could not use as ground for denial the TRO issued by the NCIP because Mayor Mauricio Domogan, who executed the affidavit of adverse claim, is not a party to the case when the TRO was issued.

The CLO also said registration of adverse claims should be a ministerial duty in the ROD.

"It would be grave injustice which the high heaves would frown upon if ownership rights of the city based on TCT-32093 is refused recognition and registration by the ROD," the office said.