Tuesday, July 17, 2007 Ledesma: The tale from Davao fairyland By Jun Ledesma Sunbursts
YOU have heard of and probably seen the epic movie "How the West Was Won." There too is "Gone with the Wind." You find similarity in the story line in one of the chapters of "The Thorn Birds." This one is a story closer to home -- Davao Fairyland.
It's actually a tale, a fantasy of sort. My grade school boy tells me that a fantasy is like make believe but it can happen in real life. This one is all about land, and the loyal subjects that live in the vast expanse of about 160,000 hectares coastal areas that face the blue pacific. There, where the winds blow only so gently.
A story has it that once upon a time, this flat land south of Davao river was surreptitiously declared alienable-disposable. Having been logged over and close to the gulf that is abundant with marine resources, many pioneers put a stake on areas they claim. It was so vast; there was land for every one.
Among the pioneers from Visayas and Luzon were a few chink-eyed fortune seekers from Tsinadu. Some of them went into small scale selling and trading, some into scrap bottles and papers, others into restaurants specializing in "siopao". (They were not using cardboard paper softened in caustic soda) yet. Others were engaged in hardware like most do today.
But one of the aliens opted to go into real estate. And so one morning, he stood at the southern bank of Davao river and, as far as his eyes and imagination can see, declared that he wants the land all to himself.
He sailed back to Manila, for he knew of someone somewhere near the Tsinadu capital lives a man with seven fingers in each hand who can forge even the most delicate design of currencies and contracts. He had a land title made. The parchment was so exquisitely done, that those who are not trained to detect the flaws will surely believe the title was real.
There is only one thing that cannot be altered by the magical pen of the forger. The alien, being from Tsinadu, cannot be faked. Facial Surgery was not available then and the Tsinadu medicine cannot be of any help.
Unlike in Tsinadu where those involved in fraud are decapitated, there were very few laws that were as harsh. And so it came to pass that many titles were issued from the fraudulent titles.
And these were passed from one owner to the other, others were used as collateral for bank loans. Still many unsuspecting citizens of Davao Fairyland leased vacant lots from the alien from Tsinadu who in no time became untouchable because of his enormous wealth and influence. And this invincibility went on for decades.
The vast lands were peopled and soon many parts were modernized. The children of the pioneers have become wise to the ways of the sly and soon they learn to question why. They asked and how and where they got the titles to their lands.
Some questioned why they have to pay lease rentals to lands the titles of which seemed vague to understand. So, they went to the courts and the registry of lands and there they found some cracks in the so-called mother title. The lower courts had made some decisions which were appealed and then had went up to the highest court.
Something happened in the highest magistrate. The eagle-eyed judges found that some judges in the lower court had sat on so many cases involving what they alleged were among the alien land disputes. A lawyer notarized documents using his SSS number in instead of what was asked for.
And then one day, a new twist developed. The lord of the forest from where the decree that issues whether the lands are alienable and disposable or not directed his loyal servants to re-survey the lands and make sure that those who made their legal claims be protected.
The lord of the forest said that it is not possible that only one man, an alien at that, can make a claim of ownership of a vast and fertile land that should fully belong to his loyal subjects.
The loyal subjects cannot believe what they had heard and they beat their drums oftentimes so loud the decibel that some cannot hear or refuse to hear. But the subjects had promised to go on beating their drums for sooner or later the man from Tsinadu will have to go or if he opts to stay will be made answerable to the subjects who are not inclined to believing the saying that to cheat is human, to forgive and forget divine.
