BAGUIO City Mayor Mauricio Domogan recently lauded the nullification of three Certificates of Ancestral Land Titles (CALTs) covering key areas in the city saying the move of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples was proper considering these CALTs were issued irregularly.
"We are glad that the NCIP nullified these titles and we hope that they will do the same with other areas in the city which are similarly situated (covered by spurious CALTs)," the mayor said.
The NCIP reportedly canceled CALTs 301, 302 and 303 covering tracts of land claimed by the heirs of Cosen Piraso, particularly the Casa Vallejo property along Upper Session Road, Josephine Abanag at Wright Park and Botanical Garden in Pacdal; and Lauro Carantes at South Drive.
The city government has been asking for the annulment of the same CALTs since 2009 stressing these lots are with forest and park reservation and therefore inalienable.
The city is also working with the NCIP and the Office of the Solicitor General for the cancellation of CALTs over Loakan Airport and the Dairy Farm at Green Valley.
The NCIP last August expressed readiness to cancel three of the five CALTs being questioned by the city after finding irregularities.
In its resolution voiding the three titles, the NCIP declared as missing documents supporting the CALTs resulting in its invalidation.
The NCIP move was assailed by ancestral land claimants who tagged the act as an orchestrated “effort to disenfranchise” them.
The mayor, however, said the annulment of the titles benefits the city because the titles were spurious right from the start and the lots need to be preserved as forest reservations for the benefit of the people.
He reaffirmed the city will continue to respect ancestral land applications as long as these are legitimate Igorot claims qualified for disposition as ancestral land under existing laws.
He said what the city is opposing are bogus ancestral land claims seeking to undermine protected areas like the Forbes Park, Wright Park and other forested areas which put the interest of the city and its people in peril.
The mayor maintained legitimate claims are those Igorot claims classified as alienable as ancestral land as per section 78 of Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous People’s Rights Act.
The section provides a special provision that the city of Baguio “shall remain to be governed by its Charter and all lands proclaimed as part of its townsite reservation shall remain as such until otherwise reclassified by appropriate legislation….”
Section 78 also provides an exemption that “prior land rights and titles recognized and/or acquired through any judicial, administrative or other processes before the effectivity of this Act shall remain valid…” which means Igorot claims recognized before November 1997, the date of IPRA implementation, are qualified as ancestral claims.
Among those recognized are Igorot ancestral claims screened under Special Administrative Order 31 and Department Administrative Order 2 issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The mayor said all claims which fall under these circumstances are recognized by the city. (Aileen Refuerzo)